Materials and Preparation

• Preview the video “Abbas’s Story – Pride in Your Digital Footprint” and prepare to show it to students.

• Preview the Admissions Packet Student Handout– Teacher Version.

• Copy the Admissions Packet Student Handout, one for each student.

• Prepare a list of search results for a celebrity or other well-known person in a form that all students can see, perhaps on an interactive white board or overhead projector.

Essential Question

How can information you post on the Internet affect your future opportunities?

Lesson Overview

Students learn that everything they or anyone else posts about them online becomes part of a public online presence known as a digital footprint. Using the Admissions Packet Student Handout, they view elements of two students’ digital footprints and consider how the footprints might affect those students’ admission to college. Students then discuss what kinds of information they would want included in their own digital footprints, and learn strategies for shaping a positive online presence.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to ...

• learn that they have a public presence online called a digital footprint.

• recognize that any information they post online can help or hurt their image and future opportunities, including their chances for college admission or employment.

• consider how to present an authentic and positive image of themselves online.

Key Vocabulary

digital footprint: all of the information about a person that can be found online

admission: to let in or to be given entrance

candidate: someone seeking entrance to a school or placement in a job, usually competing with others for the position

Warm-up (10 minutes)

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term digital footprint.

DISCUSS with students how the information in a digital footprint becomes public by being copied and passed on so that it can be searched and viewed by a large, invisible audience. Also discuss the fact that the information in a digital footprint is often permanently online, because it is archived in a variety of ways and passed on by others.

SHOW students the video, “Abbas’s Story – Pride in Your Digital Footprint.”

ASK: What were some of the messages that stood out to you in this video? Can you relate to Abbas? Why or why not?

Abbas says that he thinks colleges would actually “kind of like his Facebook page.” What examples does Abbas give about how he has created a positive digital footprint for himself?

Do you think you should judge someone based solely on what you find about them online? Why or why not?

SHARE with students that they will be exploring how information they post today could affect themselves and others in the future – for better and for worse. Point out that this online material may affect them as they apply to college or think about future jobs and opportunities. Encourage students to consider that they have the ability to shape their online profile so that it presents an image they can be proud of.

Review College Applications (15 minutes)

DEFINE the Key Vocabulary terms admission and candidate.

ARRANGE students in groups of two to three and distribute the Admissions Packet Student Handout, one for each group.

EXPLAIN to students they will be role-playing college admissions officers, the people who decide which candidates should be admitted to a college. Tell them that two high school seniors, Markus and Tommy, have applied for admission to college. Their applications include their grades, test scores, and a personal essay. The problem is that the college only has room for one of them. The admissions officers decide to gather information from each candidate’s digital footprint to help make their decision.

Note: Your students will likely have a variety of paths in their futures. You may wish to emphasize that many of the same factors that affect their college admissions would also apply to getting a job or getting into a training program.

INSTRUCT students to work as a group to read and fill out their handouts.

Select a Candidate (15 minutes)

INVITE a volunteer from each group to explain which applicant they chose to admit, and why. Refer to the Admissions Packet Student Handout – Teacher Version for guidance on leading the discussion.

ENCOURAGE students to further probe their choices by using these follow-up questions.

ASK: Why did you not choose the other candidate? Is there additional information about this candidate that could have made you want to choose him?

Do you think the comments by JJ and Maggie had a positive or negative effect on their friends’ chances for college? Do you think this is what they intended when they wrote the comments?

Do you think this is a good way for a real admissions officer to make a final choice? Why or why not?

Do you think teens share too much information about themselves or about others online? Why or why not?

Wrap-up (5 minutes)

You can use these questions to assess your students’ understanding of the lesson objectives. You may want to ask students to reflect in writing on one of the questions, using a journal or an online blog/wiki.

ASK: How is a digital footprint created? Why does the information in a digital footprint often become public, and why is it permanent?

What types of online information would help present the most positive image of you?

What are some of the larger ethical implications of sharing information online about others?