Digital Awareness
What is digital awareness?
Digital Awareness is the knowledge of your online identity. Whether you are online for school or just for fun--every time you sign on to the Internet, you leave a digital footprint. Your digital footprint is the information about you that exists on the Internet as a result of your online activity. What you work on, view or access all becomes a part of your identity online. It is kind of like a digital tattoo--it becomes part of you, the you who exists in the online world. In other words, your digital footprint is permanent! If you were to research yourself online, what do you find? You'll find information, pictures, video, etc. online that is there to stay that you or friends posted. In a world with copy/paste/share, a picture you took for fun with friends may resurface years later in an interview; a video that you sent in a private message to someone can be spread to anyone and everyone in an instant. Be aware of your identity before posting anything!
Why
As an IB learner, we want to know why--why does this matter, why do we need it, why is it important? For this unit we will explore the Global Context of Identities and Relationships. The definition of Identities and Relationships is an inquiry into the nature of the self; beliefs and values; personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health; human relationships including families, friends, communities and cultures; rights and responsibilities; what it means to be human.
So what is the why? Why is our personal, physical, mental, social and spiritual health important? How are our beliefs and values tested through social media? How can our relationships with our family and friends be impacted by our online behavior? What are our rights and responsibilities for online behavior?
Through this lesson we will explore these questions and others while learning about Digital Citizenship, Cyber Bullying and Internet Safety.