Digital Legacy
Digital Legacy is about the digital footprint you want to be visible online. As educators, we must also consider our digital footprints and the online profile we are modelling for students. To start down this path, we must first understand the digital footprint that currently exists. From there, we need to determine what we want to share and how we want to share it. Keep in mind that when we work with young students on this topic, it is not necessary to make these profiles public "to the world." Perhaps we model a positive digital presence or have them share within a small or closed community.
Educators
- Google Yourself - What’s your digital footprint?
- Create a Google Alert for your name
- How will you build your professional digital profile? Start a Class Twitter account, build a website, start a blog.
- Start a social media trend in your school to highlight #awesomestuff
Students
- Find examples of ways students are using social media for good. Share these stories with your students.
- Example: How Nicholas Lowinger Used Social Media to Change Lives
- Example: DevelopingInnovations.org
- Example: @FishFlops
- How can you support students in building their Digital Legacy?
- Online Art Gallery
- ePortfolios
- Linkedin Profile (13 yrs)
- Example: Samaira M
- Personal website
- Teach students to use Creative Commons Licensing in their work.
- Start a School Tech Team not only for tech support but leadership in technology.
- Example: Humberwood Downs IT Team
- Example: Burlington High School Help Desk
- Provide opportunities for student leadership in technology (not just tech support). Invite students to share and present at PD, conferences, and parents’ nights.
- Instead of paying for a “Social Media” specialist to talk to parents about online safety, have the student become the media specialists and present to parents.
- Have a Digital Citizenship Summit - Students can share how to be safe online, how to build a digital profile, etc.
