From what companies extract from our data to what we post online throughout our lives, the permanence of a person's "digital footprint" can be lost on even the most information literate of us, so to expect children to comprehend this is pretty crazy.

We have a duty to help students protect their identity and the identity of others online, or our digital reputations while also not using scare tactics to fear technology.

Having a digital reputation is good and there are positive ways to cultivate one, such as:

• Photos and videos of people being active in sports, their community, and school;

• Positive public comments that add to a discussion or support a friend or business;

• Hobbies, artwork, projects, and more

But, there are also things that can darken your digital reputation:

• Photos and videos that can be seen as silly now, but could be embarrassing later;

• Drugs, alcohol, or showing a party lifestyle;

• References to illegal activity;

• Negative, hateful, or trolling comments;

• Personal information or photos taken of you without consent.

• Cyberbullying

What many people don't think about is the permanence of our online activity. Many children, especially adolescents, simply cannot think about future consequences. The Merck Manual notes that risky or non-reflective behaviour stem from neurological development as the areas of the brain that control emotions change and mature during adolescence, resulting in lack of impulse control and emotional turbulence (Merk, 2019).

1.2 Forever is a long time

Research is pretty clear on what parents and teachers need to do to making digital citizenship a firm place in students' lives.

1. Create deeper learning experiences by connecting students interests to the subject matter. A student is more likely to have passion for his or her learning when they're learning about something that actually interests them, so connecting the topic of digital citizenship to something they choose.

   • Neither deeper learning nor information literacy, however, fit into a traditional teaching model, so to promote deeper learning, researchers suggest education shift from teaching static content to focus on the learning process as a whole, allowing students to develop their own abilities and take charge of their own learning (Loertscher & Wools, 2012; Ontario, 2016).

   • The ultimate goal of this active learning is not only to promote deeper learning experiences, but to also encourage meaningful connections between students and learning.

2. Start the research process young. Having kids begin critically evaluating what they are reading, hearing, and saying. This online allows them to begin the process of transferring the skill to thinking critically about their own decisions.

   • Common Sense Media makes a careful observation. "As young people and adults navigate the digital world, they increasingly face dilemmas and sticky situations that lack clear-cut right or wrong answers, such as

     1. How much communication is too much?

     2. What is the boundary between being authentic, oversharing, privacy, and dishonesty ?

     3. "If someone posts an offensive comment on social media, should I leverage the technology at my fingertips to call them out publicly, even if it might damage my reputation?" (Common Sense Media, 2019)

3. Don't just cultivate skills . . . cultivate disposition. Common Sense Media, the industry leader in digital and information literacy curriculum, have completed extensive research on implementing a holistic curriculum. In their updated research, they note,

As educators, we often focus on the skills students need to learn but less on fostering the dispositions necessary to actually enact those skills. Dispositions guide students' thoughts and behaviors as they go about their lives. (Common Sense Media, 2019)

Common Sense Media (2019) recommends five core dispositions with supporting steps. These include:

Slow down and self-reflect

• Take a breath and step away.

• Check your gut reaction.

• Name your reaction and emotions - anger. embarrassment. sadness.

• Remember to reflect, don't react.

Explore perspectives

• Consider other points of view.

• Try to empathize - put yourself in the other person's place

  • What are they feeling?

  • What are they thinking?

• What is your responsibility in this situation?

Seek facts and evidence

• Look for facts.

• What are the events you know of that have already happened?

• What about what you don't know?

  • Find more facts from different sources.

  • Ask friends, family, etc., if needed

Envision options and possible impacts

• What could you do?

• What should you do?

• What are the possible consequences?

• Consider how choices reflect on you as a person.

Take action