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