As you learned in Lesson Two: Digital Footprints and by completing the Trillion Dollar Footprint activity, digital footprints can significantly alter and, in many cases, skew your perception of others. In this lesson, we will take a look at our own digital footprints, learning how to maintain a positive digital footprint now and in the future.

Students: As you continue on this journey, learning what it takes to embody the role of a positive digital citizen, it is crucial that you routinely ask yourself the following essential questions:

1. How can I maintain a positive digital footprint?
2. What implications does my digital footprint have on my future?

You will...

1. perform an online search for yourself and analyze the results.
2. create a vision and write a credo for your digital footprint.

You will...

1. distinguish the difference between public and private information.
2. understand the importance of utilizing privacy settings.
3. understand how to consistently monitor what your digital footprint consists of.
4. know how to increase your awareness of your digital footprint and stay focused on maintaining a positive one.

Some digital information that exists about you is private, which means that the only people who have access to it besides you and your parents/guardians are those who are granted access — i.e., a doctor receiving your medical records. On the contrary, most digital information that exists is public for the world to see — i.e., social media activity, online gaming stats, YouTube comments, etc. You may be thinking to yourself, "Why do I care if others see YouTube comments that I leave?," but think back to the Trillion Dollar Footprint activity; sometimes people do seemingly silly things online that can significantly hurt their reputation. Can you think any other private or public forms of digital information that exist? Try to list a few for each in your digital notebook.

Social media activity is what usually gets people into trouble. For example, they may post something embarrassing or hurtful and someone else takes a screenshot before they have a chance to delete it. This may seem like a simple occurrence, but one poor decision can have a long-lasting impact.

What happens offline doesn't always stay offline...

Remember the Trillion Dollar Footprint activity? Of course you do! Jason's steroid use in college is a perfect example of something happening offline that ended up online. For this reason, it is just as important to think critically about the person you are in real-life in addition to your actions online. After all, no one wants to end up in a situation like the one Jason was in. What are some other examples of things happening offline and then ending up online? There are plenty of positive ones too! Write them down in your digital notebook.

Let's see what's out there!

1. Go to http://google.com.
2. Perform a search, including your first and last name — e.g., John Smith.
3. Analyze the results. First, take a look at what appears under the All page (this is the default search results page where websites appear along with typically a few images). Don't just look at the first page of results. Click through and dig a little deeper.
4. Click on the Images page and see what's there.
5. Do the same for the Videos page.

Find anything interesting? Perhaps, shocking? Share your takeaways in your digital notebook. What you just completed is one of the simplest tasks in helping to maintain a positive digital footprint. In-fact, how can one do so if they don't know what's out there in the first place?

It's not uncommon to find images from your social media activity or from people you're connected with on social media show up in Google Images. I know you may be feeling a bit violated given how much information exists about you, but here are some steps you can take to clean up your digital footprint. It's just like cleaning your room, except — and shh, don't tell your parents this — it's way more important.

1. If there are images, comments, etc. online that you posted and don't want them publicly contributing to your digital footprint then delete them immediately from your specified accounts.
2. If there are images that someone else posted of you that you don't want publicly contributing to your digital footprint, simply ask the person to please remove them.
3. Turn on privacy settings! Go into every single application you use and make sure you are using the appropriate privacy settings, limiting what others can see.

These may seem like simple things you can do and they are. It's just a matter of actually doing it. However, the more you can get in the habit of doing so, the better you can stay on top of your digital footprint.

What will your digital footprint look like when you are getting ready to graduate from high school? I know it may seem like it's a long time away, but if you are going to continue to maintain a positive digital footprint, why not begin envisioning your digital life ahead of time? To wrap up our unit on digital footprints, you are tasked with the following:

Using any digital tools you see fit, create a digital vision board of what you desire your digital footprint to look like upon your high school graduation day.

• More specifically, "A vision board is a tool used to help clarify, concentrate and maintain focus on a specific life goal. [A vision board allows you to] display images that represent whatever you want to be, do or have in your life" (Make a Vision Board, 2018). In this case, your overall goal is to be a positive digital citizen. What you need to decide is what that will look like for you.

In addition, you will write a credo that will guide your actions in helping you maintain the positive digital citizenship that you envision. A credo is "a statement of the beliefs or aims which guide someone's actions" (Oxford Dictionary). The credo should be visibly included within your digital vision board.

• The credo should be brief, yet powerful. It should be something that you carry with you on a daily basis (either written down or kept digitally on your phone) as a reminder to keep you on track. My digital citizenship credo is as follows: I will treat all people with respect. I will always be empathetic rather than reactive online. I will post and share positivity and limit my time using social media. Lastly, my actions and footprint online will inspire others.

Reminders:

• Make sure you properly cite any content you use that was created by anyone other than you.
• Lastly, upon completion, submit your digital vision board and credo by uploading your final project to Google Classroom under the topic titled, "Lesson Three: Digital Vision Board Project."

Questions to consider when creating your digital vision board:

• What do I want people finding online about me?
• What accomplishments do I hope to achieve?
• What reputation do I want to uphold?
• How do I want to be perceived by others?
• What will I be proud to share with others publicly?

Although you can use any digital tools, here are a few suggestions: Google Drawings, Google Slides, Adobe Spark, iMovie (only available on Mac computers), Piktochart or Venngage.

Here are a couple of traditional vision boards for your reference. Although, feel free to search the internet for some more inspiration!

References:

Common Sense Education. (2014, September 4). Oversharing: think before you post (Video). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyjd73tUXig

Common Sense Education. (n.d.) Top 10 list poster (Image). Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/oversharing-think-before-you-post

Credo. (n.d.) Retrieved on April 3, 2018 from Oxford Dictionary: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/credo

Pierce, K. (2015, January 14). My vision board (Image). Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/keepitsurreal/17116730591

Privacy Settings. (n.d.). Retrieved on April 3, 2018 from Cambridge Dictionary: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/privacy-settings

Sh1ra. (2014, November 8). Vision board (Image). Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/vision-board-manifestation-scrapbook-520757/