When and where should we be teaching students about their digital footprint?

footprints by sixmats via flickr.com

I don't remember when I started thinking about my own digital footprint. I do know that when I first started using the Internet I tried to be invisible. Why would I want anyone else to know who I am?, I thought.

It wasn't until a few years ago that I started my own online presence. I was taking a course that required me to reflect on my teaching and was required to start a journal. I seriously considered using a leather journal that I have and used in my first year of teaching. But, I decided that a blog would be better.

That blog helped me become more comfortable with having an online presence.

By the time I had changed my beliefs, I was an adult.

The question that stayed in my mind all week was: How can I explain to first and second graders an abstract concept as a digital footprint?

I decided to try to think of an analogy or a narrative to which they can more easily relate. Here's what I came up with.

Using the internet is like changing with the curtains open. If someone tries hard enough, they can see what you are doing.

I have not tried this yet, but please let me know if you have any suggestions for analogies or narratives I could use.