Your Digital Footprint: Leaving a Mark
LESSON SUMMARY
In a digital world and information-sharing age, it can sometimes be hard to understand where privacy ends and what the real risks are. Everyone cares about their reputation, but many students don't know that what they do online can impact their digital footprint, permanently. In this lesson students will continue learning about the rights and responsibilities they have as digital citizens, and gain awareness of steps they can take to be safe and secure, and be empowered to make smart choices in order to remain InCtrl of their digital reputation!
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Students will...
• Identify what personal information should remain private, and what is suitable to be shared publicly
• Demonstrate good digital citizenship
• Explain how one's digital footprint can impact him/her in the future
WORDS TO KNOW
Digital Footprint: The trail or history left behind by your interactions with the digital environment including use of TV (on demand), mobile phone, Internet, email, texting, and social media. It can often be permanent. Online presence can also be measured by number of people you interact with.
CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act): A law that allows companies to collect and share information about users.
COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act): A law that intends to keep children under the age of 13 protected from the collection of private information and safety risks online. However, it is not 100% effective; there are several ways kids can get around it.
Avatar: A graphical representation of an online user.
Cookies: A piece of data sent from a website and stored in a user's web browser. Often cookies are essential for the website to work. But sometimes a cookie can track user behavior. Approximately half of all websites use cookies in some way. • Cookies remember you, and prevent you from having to sign inon every page you visit.
Cookies can optimize how information is delivered to you by knowing the type of computer or device you are using, operating system, browser you are on, etc.
They can also track what you look or search for when visiting an online store (such as Amazon or Etsy) and serve up suggestions for similar items on other sites or in advertisements (on Gmail or Facebook).
INTRODUCTION [10 minutes]
Brainstorm! Start by asking students to think about, then respond to, the following questions in their process journals: Why is your privacy important? Have you ever been in a situation when something private, or secret, of yours got out? Explain that this could involve people they know or don't know, online or in person. Invite any student volunteers to share.
Ask students to consider: How do you keep private information private in the "real world"? How can you keep information private in the digital world? What information about you is being tracked, saved, and shared online? Invite volunteers to share and explain their rationale for both private and public sharing. Keep track of student responses on the board. Explain that while we can't always see it, our online behaviors are being tracked and saved. For example:
• Our browser remembers what page we visited for weeks, and can even remember our passwords for us!
• Our search engine provides us with suggestions based on recent key words we've searched.
• Web pages we visit post advertisements for items we've checked out on other websites. Some of this technology is helpful, but we need to be aware of when it is not.
ACTIVITY 1 [20 minutes]
Show the Student Video Your Digital Footprint: Leaving a Mark. After watching, invite students to share their initial impressions. Ask: What is your digital footprint? Distribute the handout Shared ... Squared2, and give students a few minutes to individually complete it.
• First have them think about the latest piece of information they shared with a friend or family member, or (if they meet age limit requirements) what they posted on a social media site.
• Next, have them go through the steps to calculate the number of people they reached online. Ask: Did the results surprise or shock you? Why? What could be the negative implications of sharing information with so many people? Invite students to share their responses.
Discuss. Next, ask: Could there be a positive side to sharing information? Allow students to discuss. For example: In cases of emergencies or good news, online sharing can spread important information quickly, and reach a lot of people.
ACTIVITY 2 [30 minutes]
Deconstruct the Cookie Recipe: Write the following riddle on the board and give students a couple of minutes to guess the answer:
Q: What sweet treat follows you around online? A: A cookie! Explain that our online behaviors are measured by something called "cookies" (see Words to Know above) Share or project the sidebar, Privacy & Your Digital Footprint.
Ask: What are some examples of online "cookies" that you've experienced? For example, have you ever browsed or shopped for something online (like on Amazon, NewEgg or Best Buy), then notice how ads for the same item appear in the sidebar of your social media or email sites?
How can cookies be helpful? For example, ever forgotten your username or password but your device or browser remembers it for you? How have you stayed InCtrl in the past ... and how will you change your approach now that you know more?
Make an InCtrl Plan. Distribute the InCtrl of My Digital Footprint handout. Have students work in pairs to ll out what they've learned about how information is shared online. Ask: Are there aspects of online sharing that they'd like to learn more about? Provide them with access to computers (or tablets) and the Internet to do additional research if needed. Have them refer back to the sidebar to generate a discussion on other components of privacy and to discuss the science of how information is collected online
ACTIVITY 3 [30 minutes]
Share InCtrl Tips. After students have compiled information on their handout, have each team choose one "tip" list to share with others. Have them explain how their tip can help create a positive digital footprint.
Students may create posters or flyers to post around the school, or share on the class blog or website. Or, have them try one of the free online tools listed below to transform their list into a visual infographic. These tools are easy and fun for students to use, and will help them think about how to communicate their information in an engaging and impactful way!
• Easel.ly
• Infogr.am
• Piktochart
REFLECTION [15 minutes]
Ask students to reflect on what they have learned by writing in their process journals.
Ask: How can you be in control of what you share online? What do you want your digital footprint to say about you? Why is a favorable digital reputation important for you? Invite volunteers to share and discuss their thoughts with the rest of the class.
EXTENSIONS
Blog: Have students share their tips and/or infographics
from Activity 2 on the class blog or wiki (see Lesson: Living in a Digital World). Show them how to adjust the privacy settings of the blog. Discuss if you want to allow public comments and the pros and cons of inviting blog visitors to contribute.
Build My Avatar! Ask students to think about and discuss why they may or may not want to share their personal photos online. Ask: When is it okay to share a personal photo? When would it not be okay? Have students create an avatar to use in place of their own photo to use on social media, in their online communities, or on their blog. Try one of the avatar generators at right for fun!
• Marvel - Create Your Own Superhero
• Build Your Wild Self
• Face Your Manga
• Clay Yourself
After students have built their avatars, share them with the rest of the class. Can students guess which avatar belongs to which classmate? Discuss that while an avatar may represent a person while keeping their identity private, it can also misrepresent the creator (intentionally or unintentionally). Our perceptions of ourselves sometimes differ from how others know or see us.
EDUCATION STANDARDS ADDRESSED IN THE LESSON
Common Core ELA Standards
Reading: Key Ideas and Details; Craft and Structure; Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
Writing: Production and Distribution of Writing; Research to Build and Present Knowledge
Speaking and Listening: Comprehension and Collaboration; Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas
Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Use
Common Core Math Standards
Operations and Algebraic Thinking: 4.OA, 5.OA Number and Operations in Base Ten: 4.NBT, 5.NBT The Number System: 6.NS
American Association of School Librarians
Standard 1: 11.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3, 1.1.6, 1.1.7, 1.1.9, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.4, 1.3.3, 1.3.4, 1.3.5, 1.4.2, 1.4.3 Standard 2: 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.2.2, 2.2.3, 2.2.4, 2.3.1, 2.3.2, 2.3.3, 2.4.1, 2.4.3, 2.4.4
Standard 3: 3.1.2, 3.1.3, 3.1.4, 3.1.5, 3.1.6, 3.2.1, 3.2.2, 3.2.3, 3.3.1, 3.3.2, 3.3.3, 3.3.4, 3.3.5, 3.3.6, 3.4.1, 3.4.2 Standard 4: 4.1.5, 4.1.7, 4.1.8, 4.2.3, 4.3.1, 4.3.4
National Education Technology Standards (NETS), ISTE
1.Creativity and Innovation: a, b, d 2. Communication and Collaboration: a, b 3. Research and Information Fluency: a, b, c 4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making: a, b, c 5. Digital Citizenship: a, b, c, d 6. Technology Operations and Concepts: a, b, d
Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21)
Learning and Innovation Skills: 1. Creativity and Innovation 2. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving 3. Communication and Collaboration
Information, Media and Technology Skills: 1. Information Literacy 3. ICT Literacy
Life and Career Skills 1. Flexibility and Adaptability 2. Initiative and Self-Direction 4. Productivity and Accountability 5. Leadership and Responsibility
Lesson plan from www.teachinctrl.org/lessons/yourdigitalfootprint.php