by Lyndsay McCabe
While our students are asked all kinds of Essential Questions throughout the day, one big question that all ninth graders in Hampton City Schools encounter in Success 101 is: “Who Are You?” Throughout the course, students explore interests and career opportunities and then return to this Essential Question to reevaluate their previous responses. Students examine what is important to them and what piques their interest, and in doing such, each student begins to form a perception of his or her own identity.
Though our students may think they know who they are, they may not realize how great a role technological advancements have played in their daily lives. Technology has shaped this generation of students moreso now than ever before, and we need to start asking our students, “Who are you…. Digitally?
Sculpting (or Discovering) Your Digital Presence
Most of us have an online presence, whether we know about them or not, and so do most of our students in middle school and high school (and maybe even some elementary students).
A simple Google search can turn up social media accounts, news articles of accomplishments or stats from school sports, or less favorable information. Though our students likely have less information that is “Google-able” than we do, they have a very strong online presence on social media sites and apps like Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Even if they do not use social media sites in the more traditional sense, students who have gaming accounts such as accounts through XBox or computer games can still communicate with one another and mold their online persona.
Snapchat is favored by many students because it is easy to use and the photos you take “disappear” after they are viewed, and though most young people use this to take innocent pictures with silly filters on them, there is still the chance that they will be used to send inappropriate pictures with the assumption that they will simply disappear.
Fortunately, students at Hampton City Schools have a built-in library program that addresses Digital Citizenship and works to impart on students that your online presence isn’t temporary… whatever you share or post in your experience can and will become part of your permanent presence online.
What Do We Need to Teach Our Students About Their Digital Footprint?
Though Digital Citizenship is typically taught in the first library unit in middle school through high school, it can easily be incorporated into any classroom so that all teachers can be a positive influence in how students use technology. What is it that we should be teaching them, and how can we get our students to make responsible decisions online?
Your digital footprint is forever
We all say and do things that we regret, but when we say them or do them online, it leaves a trace that can be very difficult to erase. Hurtful words and inappropriate pictures that you may think you are just posting on your personal account can easily be copied or screenshotted and shared all over the web or your own community. One way to think of it as squeezing a tube of toothpaste… once you have squeezed the toothpaste out, you cannot get it back in the tube. Likewise, once something is out on the web, it can be very difficult to rein in.
Mistakes online can lead to missed opportunities in life
If someone were to look you up online, all they would know about you is what you post. What kind of person do you want that to look like? Most young people aren’t thinking about the future yet, but they need to know that teens often lose opportunities because they made bad choices online. When these stories come up in the news, take a few minutes to talk about them with your students. Why would a young person lose a college scholarship for posting pictures of them drinking while underage? Why would a teenage girl lose her job for posting something mean about her employer on her personal Twitter page? Students love to debate these questions, but they need to understand the reality whether they agree with it or not. People in power can and will look at your personal posts and accounts and create judgments of you based on what they see.
Don’t give away personal information, but still be real
Students have been told since a young age that they should not give away any personal information online, but on the other hand, students should also not create a false identity that can lead to cyberbullying. Treat people the way you would treat them in real life, and don’t hide behind the screen so that you can say hurtful things or share harmful rumors or images. As mentioned before, what you post is permanent, and if you decide to use the web to attack peers or others, it would not be that difficult to trace back the account to discover your true identity. If you have students in your class who may be creating alternate identities to log in to classroom resources, this may be an appropriate time to discuss this. Having a Google Classroom, class blog, or other shared online class platform can be a good place to start teaching students how to have positive social interactions with one another, such as by constructively commenting on one another’s blog posts or projects. Use of other Google apps can further provide opportunities for students to collaborate online and practice good digital citizenship.
By opening up conversations with students and modelling good citizenship with controlled educational platforms, we can show them that they are neither invisible nor invinceable online. For more lessons or ideas for starting the conversation, check out the following resources:
Resources for Teachers
Everfi - Free Digital Citizenship Lessons
Everfi has a free computer program with pre-made lessons called Ignition: Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. What may have the biggest impact on your students is that they have a specific lesson on sharing inappropriate photos, and how sharing one photo to someone you think you can trust can end up with that photo being shared to everyone at school. It is easy to lose control of what you post online, so students must learn how to be guarded with their personal information and photos.
NetSmartz.org
NetSmartz also has a variety of lessons and activities that are centered around videos, comics, and conversation starters to help teachers find a way to talk about digital topics in the classroom. Lessons are available for elementary through high school, and include basic internet safety, webcam use, cyberbullying, predators, inappropriate content, file sharing, and sexting.
To make the most of the Internet, kids need to be prepared to make smart decisions. Be Internet Awesome teaches kids the fundamentals of digital citizenship and safety so they can explore the online world with confidence.
Lyndsay McCabe is a special education teacher at Jones Magnet Middle School in Hampton, Virginia, and previously taught elementary and middle school special education in New York. In her free time, she can typically be found reading, listening to music, and trying to identify Virginian wildlife. You can contact her at lmccabe@hampton.k12.va.us.
I definitely think this is an Essential Question that we need to continue to ask our young people often and in earnest!
ReplyDelete"Still be real" is one of the best things I've heard in a while. Kids forget that what they text or post can be just as hurtful or dangerous as what they say out loud. Be real, and remember your words can have consequences!
ReplyDelete