Being connected with all this technology means everyone is leaving a digital footprint.

You need to complete at least one of the green activities. 

Activity 1. Watch the following 2 videos then leave a comment on Miss W’s post about something that you found very interesting in one of the videos. Write a post explaining the differences between the videos. Which did you prefer and why? These show how easily a footprint can be created. It is not only you but your relatives, friends, newspapers etc also add to your footprint.

 

 

Activity 2. After watching the two videos, write a post about your digital footprint. Is it positive or negative? Would you be proud to have your grandparents or your future grandchildren look at everything you have included in your digital footprint? Why or why not? Maybe Google your name to see what is online about you, that you might not have put there. Remember to Google your nickname used in online games etc as information might be included there.

Activity 3. Imagine you are debating this topic: It is better to have a negative digital footprint than no footprint at all. Write a post, giving three reasons with supporting details, to support each side of the debate. You may also create a comic strip showing each side as the one below does.

Activity 4.  Watch the video below to see how easy it is to find out information about you. Jenny Luca, director of ICT and eLearning at a college in Australia used this with her grade 7-12 students. Read her post to find out their reactions. Jenny then directed Miss W to another tweet from Doug Peterson in Canada linking to this post from lifehacker. Then, write a post that addresses the following questions:

With so many students now involved in social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter, how much information are they leaving by not checking their privacy settings but leaving things on default? Why is it important to check out the settings whenever you buy a new device? Default settings often allow the manufacturer to gain information about you without you realizing it.

 

Activity 5.  During 2017, Miss W is going to be adding to our list of web tools to use in the challenge. She will be sorting them according to how old you have to be to use them, whether they are free or you have to sign up, whether there is an education version or not and whether that is free or paid and finally what is the tool/app used for.

She would like your help to get the list organized. Write a post about 5 of your favourite web tools or apps. In your post mention how old you need to be to use it, whether you had to sign up to use it and what type of tool or app it is eg mindmapping, poll/survey, slideshow. Also, tell why you enjoy using the tool or app.

Activity 6. Here are some websites to visit related to cybersafety and digital footprints. Visit some of them and write a post that may include a poster, Glogster, or cartoon about what you found out.

• Australian government has some resources for use with students
• Google has some digcitizenship adventures relating to digital footprints
• Kidsmart from the UK has some great tips and information

Activity 7. There are 9 elements to being a good digital citizen. Read the linked post then write your own post about what you consider are the most important parts of the nine elements. Are there certain areas you need to improve on? Why?

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Here are some links to  sites relating to digital footprints and internet safety:

• Kathleen Morris – blog
• Jenny Luca – blog post with grade 8 students and managing footprints
• Pinterest – deaflady,  somslibrary, janetcorder,
• Cybraryman’s digital footprint links
• scoop it – digital citizenship for teens
• Common sense education has great resources on digital citizenship

Still time left?

Check your widgets. Do you have one called Class blogs? If yes, then add it to your sidebar. Use the drop down arrow and make sure the number is 30 or so to cover all the students in your class.

Visit other student and class blogs, read our new flip magazines, add links to your blogroll of blogs you visit often. Try to categorize these eg class blogs, overseas students, my friends etc.

Before playing the games next week, make sure your blog is ready for visitors.

1. You have lots of interesting posts for visitors to read and comment on.
2. Visitors can find posts by using tags or categories on your sidebar.
3. You have a visitor widget to see where your visitors are coming from.
4. You have at least five student blogs from other places around the world on your sidebar.