Week 1 Report & Reflection

After going through all of the content on digital footprints, I have to say that I'm extremely intrigued by my own digital footprint that I have built and that others have helped me build! Watching the Digital Dossier video (to watch the video click HERE) really sparked my intrigue because the video really lays out the path of your digital footprint from birth to death. One thing which I didn't get to experience that was outlined in the Digital Dossier video was how social media and digital footprints connect for young infants. "Andy", the character we are following in the video, has pictures posted of him on social media as a small infant, pictures shared on behalf of his parents and family members. Because social media didn't exist when I was an infant, this was not a part of my digital footprint or my digital dossier. However, I found it interesting just how much technology and social media has changed the digital footprint of children born today.

Thinking of my digital footprint prompted me to wonder if I was leaving a positive digital footprint. I had gone through my social media posts and content before and also googled myself several times to ensure my name and my reputation was positive. But in the past, I had never found anything to be worried about. I think a big part of my positive digital footprint is my job at Career Services at Brock as a Sr. Career Assistant. Many students come in  to the Career Resource Centre wondering how important online reputation is when it comes to the job market and I always tell them it is crucial! Employers can easily type your name in to Google and find out about you through your digital footprint so it is vital to make sure you are making a positive imprint.

Creating a positive digital footprint isn't as difficult is many think it is! I think a good resource which outlined simple rules or netiquette to follow to make sure you are leaving a positive digital trail is the Core Rules of Netiquette (to read these, click HERE). One example of leaving a positive digital footprint presented is the quality of writing in your online content. It is important to note grammar and punctuation to present yourself as an intelligent and conscientious individual even though it is tempting to avoid doing this online!

Another great resource which has to do with identifying what a positive digital footprint is and how to go about building a positive digital footprint which I discovered this week was the CHARACTER COUNTS program created by the Josephson Institute highlighted in the textbook (to check it out, click HERE). Trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship are all pillars which are described as the basis for working effectively with others. In digital contexts, and in order to maintain a positive digital footprint, these pillars are important to remember! What we post online about others reflects us just as much as what we post about ourselves!

After doing the Secondary Digital Citizenship Quiz in the textbook, the areas I should explore to further my knowledge of digital citizenship in the coming weeks are digital right and responsibilities and digital health and wellness. Both of these areas of digital citizenship interest me. Digital rights and responsibilities is particularly interesting for me because of my newfound interest in knowing more about my digital footprint. It's important to remember that there are expectations that need to be upheld by us as users of technology and I'd like to explore these expectations more to improve upon my digital dossier. Digital health and wellness interests me because I never really considered the health factors of using technology, like not using the right computer chair as an example. I'm also very interested in my own health and wellness and want to learn more on how to use technology safely.

I'm excited to learn more through my online exploration and can't wait to post again next week!

Photo: http://dpollina22625.blogspot.ca/
Digital Dossier Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79IYZVYIVLA&noredirect=1
Josephson Institute: www.josephsoninstitute.org
Core Rules of Netiquette: http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html
Textbook: Ribble, M. (2015). Digital Citizenship in Schools. International Society for Technology in Education.