Tips For Developing Your Positive Digital Footprint

Week 3

When venturing into the vast land that is the world wide web, there are some ways to make sure that what you leave behind reflects back positively. The following list is ten ways to make sure you are managing your digital footprint in the most positive light. The path of footprints you lead is of your choosing.

1. Search yourself frequently. By using a variety of search engines, you will be able to see results from across the internet. When do you search yourself, try using different varieties of your name, such as your first and last or full legal name. The usage of different names when you sign up for sites will yield different results. (Waldman, 2016) Seeing what is listed under your name can help to control what your reputation is.

2. Control your privacy settings. There is a time and a place for fun and silly posts, but in the eye of potential employers or important people is not one of them. On social platforms, such as Facebook, that can be seen by both friends and people in the professional community, it is best to control your privacy settings so only friends can see your posts. "Most social networking sites have privacy settings to help you manage the content you share and who you share it with," (UK Safer, 2015). Also, you can change who can view your photos and see the posts you make on other peoples' walls. 

3. Strong passwords are crucial. "You need to make sure your online accounts are secure by using the strongest passwords you can," (Davidson, 2016). Having strong passwords are going to prevent people from gaining access to your accounts and posting things that you would not want posted. Some sites require you to have lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special symbols. Even if a site doesn't require all those security measures, take it upon yourself to protect your image with an impossible-to-guess password.

4. Promote yourself. If you are someone who has a business or is selling product, "Instead of harassing family and friends through your personal account, create a new account for your business and allow the traffic to grow organically," (Stewardship Team, 2015). Set up that professional account on social media to allow people to follow or interact with that side of you if they choose. Having those separate accounts allows your family and friends to support your business while still getting to post about you at home and out in public. 

5. Keep your information locked away. When signing up for a new social media site or discussion forum, make sure not to give away too much personal information. If a site is asking for information that is not common knowledge, don't keep signing up! Free social networking sites should require a minimum amount of information to get started. You can choose what information will be published once you gain access to your site. (Granville, 2016)

6. Up-to-date keeps you safe. Whether you are part of an internet site or using a mobile app, keeping your site and information up-to-date will make your digital footprint a current one. "From time to time, review the apps on your phone or tablet. What are their privacy or information-sharing settings? If you don’t use an app anymore, delete it," (Kovacs, 2015). Leaving out-of-date information on the internet that you've completely forgot about can come and haunt you later. Stay on top of the information you expose to the public and make sure it is current.

7. PG 17 language only. When commenting on a thread or complaining about something that happened today, make sure your language is PG 17. You don't have to post as if you were on a children's show, but keep the foul language to the privacy of your own home. (Scambusters) Your opinion matters in terms of the internet, but using foul language makes other people think less highly of what you have to say.

8. Post when appropriate. Sitting in a board meeting about posting about your boredom is not appropriate. Whether you are friends with your boss on social media or not, posting at the wrong time can break a career or friendship. "Make sure your social media use isn’t simply a diversion from other more important things like chores and relationships," (Stewardship Team, 2015). If there is something or someone you are supposed to be focusing on, make sure to put Facebook and Instagram aside. 

9. Post what's appropriate. With politics raging rampant on the internet right now, people are coming out of their shell and posting opinions in discussion boards and all over social media. Before posting something that may hurt others due to a difference of opinion, think about what you're going to say and try to say it differently. "Respect the opinion of...If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully and acknowledge...arguments," (Touro College, 2014). No matter the issue, there are going to be people who disagree. Realize that not everyone will agree with you, and post your opinions thoughtfully.

10. Post wisely. "If you wouldn’t want a potential employer seeing something, don’t post it," (Pfeffer, 2014). When deciding whether to post that really funny picture from last night or not, consider who could potentially see it. If you wouldn't mind a potential employer seeing the image then consider what your grandmother would say. Sometimes, it is beneficial to go "old school" in your thought process when trying to determine if posting is a good idea.

References:

Create a positive digital footprint online. (2015, October 19). Retrieved from http://www.saferinternet.org.uk/news/create-a-positive-digital-footprint-online

Davidson, P. (2016, May 09). 8 Tips To Effectively Manage Your Digital Footprint | JUST™ Creative. Retrieved from http://justcreative.com/2016/05/09/8-tips-to-effectively-manage-your-digital-footprint/

Kovacs, N. (2015, November 19). How to Clean Up Your Online Digital Footprint. Retrieved from https://community.norton.com/en/blogs/norton-protection-blog/how-clean-your-online-digital-footprint

S. (2015, July 20). 10 Dos and Don'ts for a Positive Social Media Experience. Retrieved from http://www.stewardship.com/articles/10-dos-and-don-ts-for-a-positive-social-media-experience

T. (2014, May 19). 15 Rules of Netiquette for Online Discussion Boards [INFOGRAPHIC] - Online Education Blog of Touro College. Retrieved from http://blogs.onlineeducation.touro.edu/15-rules-netiquette-online-discussion-boards/

My Digital Footprint

Week 3

The best description I've found about digital footprints is comparing them to tattoos. Once they are impressed into the online world, they are nearly impossible to erase. Even if you can manage to "erase" the footprint, just like a tattoo, it will always leave a mark behind. But knowing this, it is your job to determine what that footprint will look like. The websites you join, the pictures you post, and the comments you make all point fingers right back in your direction. Online users must be aware of their posts and the impact it could make on their footprint in the long run. You cannot control the fact that your digital footprints are made each time you type on your keyboard in an online capacity, but again, you can control what it is you are adding to your footprint. 

When I Google search my name, the first thing that pops up is all the images I have allowed to be used as profile pictures or have been published of me. The first seven images are actually of me. Five of the images are profile pictures for Google or LinkedIn and other public sites. One image is the picture from my school's website and one image is a school-related article published in an online newspaper. There are no videos connected to my name.

On the Google web tab, the first page consists of all the public sites I am linked to. The first two are the links to my school's webpage and faculty list. The next couple are from social sites like The Knot and LinkedIn. One of the links on the first page actually connects right back to this very blog. Some of the links go back to articles published about my for community service or volleyball stats in college all the way back to published track meet results from high school. 

To search even further, I decided to look back into the posts I've made on Facebook, my longest running social networking site of ten years this month. Back when Facebook only existed for people with college email addresses, mine was born. Over the years all of my pictures and posts have been positive. There isn't any alcohol or embarrassing pictures on Facebook, as I don't let those get taken. Most of the posts I make now are about my upcoming wedding, but before that, for the last 5 years, a majority of posts are made about my beautiful pit bull and breaking stereotypes about Breed Specific Legislation. I very rarely post about work and have never posted pictures of my students' faces. I know how my footprint looks, but I don't want to be the person who impacts someone else's footprint in a negative way. 

Twitter for Professional Development

Week 3

For this Module, I had to follow five new-to-me educational hashtags. I looked through some of the more popular ones, but decided to go with the hashtags that meant the most to me and what I am currently teaching. The hashtags that have been added to my Tweetdeck are: #kidlit, #ELTchat, #elemchat, #spedchat, and #gbl.

In just a few minutes of scanning #ELTchat, the phrase WORD DOMINOES stuck out like a beacon. There is a link for a resource of how to make your own word dominoes for students to use in class. These are awesome! You can choose question words, like the example gives, or adapt to spelling words, story words, or vocabulary words. There are so many ways I can adapt this into my centers in my classroom.

Looking through #kidlit, I'm finding that there are so many resources on book lists for kids or up and coming authors. This one book list gives students a whole bunch of books to read about summer vacation, while they are on summer vacation. I wish I had this list in hand before we let out for summer break. I could have given the link to students so they can find high interest books for the break. I'll be able to use this hashtag during the school year to dig up some current books to introduce into my classroom.

Although I'm not currently teaching Special Education, I will always see through the sped lenses. #spedchat is filled with current articles about all the newest research and trending topics in Special Education. One that caught my eye directly relates to some of the struggles I saw students experience in my classroom this past year. I would have referenced this article about the signs of Dyslexia in struggling readers.

As far as using Twitter as Professional Development is concerned, I feel like it could be used as a good resource, but needs to be monitored. I know in completing this assignment, I took frequent breaks to check in on my favorite celebrities and the juicy gossip. There would have to be some way to hold people accountable to their own personal, professional development. If you are someone who just wants to learn new things to further your education without having to attend class, Twitter is an awesome way to develop professionally. I surfed Twitter for about ten minutes without interruption and wrote down nearly seven different resources that I would like to bring into my classroom. Twitter can be beneficial to someone who wants to grow professionally.

Creative Expression of Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks

Week 2

For Module 2, I had to create a piece that shows my creative expression of Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks.

When I think of the connections made over the internet in regards to working with other people, everything connects and is equally independent at the same time, just like the lines of a Subway system. This system in particular, Tokyo, is one of the most complex systems I've seen in map form. There are so many lines that the colors needed to be varied by shade in order to link a color to each line. These remind me of the invisible lines created when people share knowledge over the internet. I added the three major theories that are the basis of learning through the use of social media, Communities of Practice, Connectivism, and Personal Learning Networks. 

When I image those three theories, I almost visualize them as the different lines you can take to get you to where you want to be. The stops on each line are the apps or sites. Facebook, for example, is a stop that could be access from all three of the theory lines. It is the prime example for Connectivism in that you are connecting with others to gain and share information. "...found that distant education students significantly outperformed classroom students when media-supported collaborative discussion tools were used among students in asynchronous undergraduate courses."(Hogg & Lomicky, 2012) Although Facebook isn't always seen as a site that could be used for learning, but with video tutorials, chats, and links, people are able to connect with one another.

For people who get together to solve problems in a Community of Practice, a site like Google Groups is perfect. It allows the user to experience "experiential learning, social constructivism, and connectivism can be combined, illustrating the limitations of trying to rigidly classify learning theories." (Bates, 2014)

When one wants to link different sites and make an academic connection, people can experience the "...seven factors play a pivotal role in professional learning through networks: sharing, motivation, perceived value of the network, feedback, personal learning, trust and support, peer characteristics and peer value." (Sie, 2013) 

Some sites can only be accessed by one of the theory lines, while other stops share two, or even all three theory lines.

References:

Bates, T. (2014). The role of communities of practice in a digital age. Retrieved from http://www.tonybates.ca/2014/10/01/the-role-of-communities-of-practice-in-a-digital-age/

Hogg, N., & Lomicky, C. S. (2012). CONNECTIVISM IN POSTSECONDARY ONLINE COURSES An Exploratory Factor Analysis. Quarterly Review Of Distance Education, 13(2), 95-114.

Sie, R. L., Pataraia, N., Boursinou, E., Rajagopal, K., Margaryan, A., Falconer, I., & ... Sloep, P. B. (2013). Goals, Motivation for, and Outcomes of Personal Learning through Networks: Results of a Tweetstorm. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 16(3), 59-75.

Thoughts On Using Social Media For Professional Learning And For Student Learning

Week 1

What are you initial reactions about joining these social networks for use in this course?

Overall, I am excited about having to join many different social networks over the course of this summer. I am already a Facebook user, having to stay in touch with family and friends from across the USA when I moved from New Jersey to Louisiana. I am a little nervous about this Twitter thing. I had a Twitter account with my former 8th grade class and they loved it. We posted under a classroom name and they students were able to tag the people relevant to their posts. My current class of 3rd graders may not understand the gist of posting Tweets as well as the 8th graders did. I look forward to introducing this writing platform to them. I'll be able to teach the summarizing skill through use of the Tweets: short, sweet, and to the point. 

What is your experience in using social media for your own professional development?

I've never really dabbled in using Social Media to develop myself professionally. I have taken webinars, but I didn't have to communicate with anyone else, just sit and listen to the presenter. I would classify myself as a willing rookie. I look forward to finding and using social media resources to focus on sharpening my craft.

What is your experience in using social media as an instructional strategy in your learning environment?

Since Facebook has been on the block list for every school system I've taught in (5 different ones), I've never gained the opportunity to use Facebook as a tool for learning. As I go through my coursework in this program I am learning more about "fake Facebook" sites that have the same social media experience, but with an educational focus. That is something I will be using. I have used Twitter in class. The students created their own class Twitter handle and we would live Tweet on the Promethean Board for all to see. They would have to respond to literature, voice opinions about current events and political views, as well as write poetry all within the allotted characters. They loved the chance to tag the people that they were speaking about or responding to. It showed them that their voices can be heard in a positive and academic way, rather than cyberbullying and social nonsense. 

What are your expectations for this course?
I expect to leave this course with an arsenal of social media platforms to infuse into my classroom curriculum and the knowledge to do so flawlessly. I want to truly enrich the students' educations by showing them how to use their devices for positivity and academic enlightenment. I would love for them to leave my classroom with the confidence to continue using social media to have a voice and search for knowledge.