DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP
What is Digital Citizenship?Digital Citizenship is a concept focused around educating and informing parents, students, teachers, and technology leaders about the appropriate uses of technology. With the advances in today's technology, the impact of social media and the new technological trends influencing our daily lives, the creation of a society online has emerged. Not only must students learn how to act as responsible citizens in today's society, but it is imperative that they learn how to act as responsible citizens in our online society. In other words, they must learn to become digital citizens.
|
|
Digital FootprintWhat is a digital footprint?
A digital footprint is all of the information online about a person either posted by that person or others, intentionally or unintentionally. Filling out a form, leaving a blog comment, updating your status, checking into a location, emailing or IMing a friend, posting a photo, visiting a website, using a search engine… everything you do online leaves a trail. This trail is your digital footprint. Understanding how to manage your online reputation or “digital footprint” is a challenging process. To complicate matters further, it’s not just your own online actions you need to worry about—what others say and post about you also contributes to your digital footprint. |
|
“Today our digital footprint is our new first impression, and it starts taking shape the minute we go online.” – Diana Graber, CyberWise
Managing your digital footprint
Do you know what your digital footprint says about you? Below are two easy steps to help you identify whether or not your online “first impression” aligns with how you want others to see you now and in the future.
Google yourself
Google yourself by typing your full name into Google’s search box. Keep in mind people might search for you in many different ways.
Example: Jane Doe, [email protected], Jane Doe, teacher, etc.
Questions to ask yourself: Were there any surprises? Were you happy with the search results? Was there anything you wish you could change?
Use Google Alerts to monitor what others are saying about you.
You can sign up for Google Alerts to receive email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) about you by simply visiting the site and entering your name. You can set the frequency of updates to “as-it-happens,” “once a day,” or “once a week.”
Tips to keep your digital footprint safe
Managing your digital footprint
Do you know what your digital footprint says about you? Below are two easy steps to help you identify whether or not your online “first impression” aligns with how you want others to see you now and in the future.
Google yourself
Google yourself by typing your full name into Google’s search box. Keep in mind people might search for you in many different ways.
Example: Jane Doe, [email protected], Jane Doe, teacher, etc.
Questions to ask yourself: Were there any surprises? Were you happy with the search results? Was there anything you wish you could change?
Use Google Alerts to monitor what others are saying about you.
You can sign up for Google Alerts to receive email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) about you by simply visiting the site and entering your name. You can set the frequency of updates to “as-it-happens,” “once a day,” or “once a week.”
Tips to keep your digital footprint safe
- Always remember to log off when you have finished with an online service.
- Do not enter your password on a website using free public Wi-Fi. Hackers on the network can snoop on what you’re doing.
- Remember that most of the websites you visit will make a note of your visit and may also track the websites you visit before and after their website.
- When you sign up for a new social media site, or when you buy something, you are giving personal information to the people who manage those websites. That information is often shared, circulated, and sometimes sold.
- Remember that anyone can copy and paste anything you say online, and they can then send it to others, or publish it on the Internet.
Protecting your Privacy
Tips for Protecting Online Privacy
Source: Consumer.FTC.Gov |
|
Think Before You Post
Things to Think About Before You PostBefore you hit Send or Upload or Post, stop for a minute and consider the following:
Think: If you wouldn't say it to someone's face, don't post it on their wall. Think: Emoticons are everywhere for a reason. It's hard to convey your tone of voice – how you are saying something – online. Comments that are meant to be sarcastic, witty, tongue-in-cheek, funny, even constructively critical, all rely a lot on context and can be easily misinterpreted online. Read it back before you post it and if it's not really clear, try again or hit delete and consider speaking to the person on the phone or in person instead. Think: If you think your friend might be embarrassed by that photo from your party, check with them first before you post it. Think: Just to briefly take it to the next level, if police see evidence of illegal activity in a film or in photos on a website or a mobile phone they can use it in court as evidence. Think: It's important to think about how much information you're sharing with strangers. You wouldn't stand in the street and hand out cards to everyone with your name, your photo, your address, school or university and favorite band on it – don't do the same thing online. Think: You need to be especially careful if you have several sites on the go, particularly if you have a profiles on social media sites – people who spend their time stealing identities can put your information together and get a very clear picture of who you are, where you live, how to contact you and the sorts of things you like to do. |
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.
Here are some other examples of behavior that could cross the line into cyberbullying:
Here are some other examples of behavior that could cross the line into cyberbullying:
- Sending a mean email or IM to someone
- Posting mean things about someone on a website
- Making fun of someone in an online chat
- Doing mean things to someone’s character in an online world
- Creating a hostile environment in an online world or game
- Impersonating someone online—including creating a fake online profile
- Repeatedly texting someone to the point of harassment
- Directly threatening or intimidating someone online or in a text
- Starting rumors or spreading gossip online
- Stealing someone’s password and logging into someone else’s account
- Taking a photo or video and sharing it without the subject’s consent, knowing it might be embarrassing
Plagiarism and How to Avoid It
What is plagiarism?
All of the following are considered plagiarism:
Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source is usually enough to prevent plagiarism. |
|