NYS has many safeguards to protect student information when they are in school. However, it is equally important to teach students about managing their digital identity when they are on personal accounts and devices. So what is a digital footprint?

A digital footprint is basically anything that a student writes, posts or comments online. Email, social media posts, photo collections, comments, gaming chats... all these can be part of a digital footprint.  Information posted about a student by others is also part of their footprint. A digital footprint itself is not a bad thing. In fact, every internet user has some form of digital footprint. This strand teaches students to be aware of information to protect, and to manage their online identities.