Often times educators hear the words digital footprints, and naturally view it with a negative connotation. Teachers warn students of how their digital footprint can negatively impact them from getting into their choice college or landing their dream job. But what if the connotation were changed? What if we taught students how to use their digital footprint to get into the best colleges and land their dream job.
Some Helpful ways for students to create a digital footprint in the classroom that will help them land colleges and careers.
Write a Blog - A simple way for students to create a positive digital footprint that can highlight any number of topics is a blog. The blog entries can be small (250 each) and contributions can be limited to two times per week.
Free Blog Sites include:
- Blogger
Write a press release - who, what, when, where of an activity or event that highlights your skills and contributions.
Write an Ebook - Research shows that it is rather simple to write about an experience, internship, or project, upload it to Amazon.com, and become a published writer.
Linkedin - As students move to professionals, it is important they create and manage a Linkedin account.
This Video highlights more negative and positive ways to leave a digital footprint.
It is our job as educators to prepare our students for postsecondary education and beyond. Schools should provide a safe environment for students to learn about creating a positive digital footprint.
I feel like this is often true about social media but also technology in general. People have a negative connotation about technology because that's what makes the news and those that only read the headlines, that's what they see. No doubt social media is a very powerful and influential tool. I think it's irresponsible for K-12 Education to not be proactive in addressing and teaching how to create and maintain a positive digital footprint.
ReplyDeleteUp until I read your post I have only thought of a digital footprint as being negative. What a great idea, if someone is going to search you why not making them find something you want them to find? I think the list provided is very helpful when thinking about educating our students. Especially high school age students and college grads who are looking for jobs.
ReplyDeleteI agree! Your digital footprint could very well become your resume- it records the places you've worked and the schools you went to. Even volunteer work or organization membership is going to be forever recorded on the internet. This is definitely an idea we'll need to plant in the heads of our older students.
DeleteI agree as well! I have always thought of a digital footprint in a negative way but after reading this post, have realized that it can be used in a positive way as well. I think that having a postiive digital footprint is important for our students to have and we should help them develop one as best we can.
DeleteGreat way to market yourself- find a way to make your name connected with charity, achievement or positive organizations.
DeleteInteresting... one of my google searches brought my name up on a former student teachers resume on wordpress. We need to find ways to implement it being a positive way of telling about ourselves. I think that we, myself included, need some educating in this area.
DeleteI had been aware of blogging as a way to market one's product and to create a positive digital image, and I had seen Ebooks that were connected to bloggers and their Websites, but I had not thought of writing Ebooks or press releases for that purpose. Very useful information! When it comes to students writing blogs, press releases and Ebooks, my warning bells really go off. Students would really want to make sure that they are writing quality content in a quality format, and for a worthwhile purpose. I know there are built-in safety rules, such as having to be 18 to use blogging sites, but I really think that adult instruction and guidance is needed more than ever so that a positive digital footprint is indeed created and not, accidentally, the opposite (like using text-speak instead of grammar, e.g.).
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that students could write a press release to announce an accomplishment. This reminds me of the way teachers can use a class blog to post achievements of individual students, yet it is something that will far extend the reach of family and classmates. Another idea that could benefit students is to start a Facebook page (or something similar) that creates a volunteer organization. This would be a huge positive for the students involved, and something employers would definitely like.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of using social media as a positive tool. It immediately got me thinking about how I could use it in my classroom. Some of the ideas that came to me was blogging about different topics in Social Studies class. Or maybe divide up a chapter and have student blog about it. I also think it would be fun to try and write an ebook about the key things that we are learning in class and then use it as a review tool for students at the end of the year as they are preparing for major tests. I think there are several different ways for us to promote a positive digital footprint and show students positive ways to use social media.
ReplyDeleteI just recently began to think about a Digital Footprint being used as a positive thing to express your strengths. This blog post helped to see some ways in which to do that. I really would like to learn more about Linked in. I recently joined Linked in because I was getting a lot of emails to join. Once I joined, I would get messages stating that people were requesting to be part of my Linked in network. I really didn't know what that meant and I still really don't because I haven't spent much time on Linked in. I really have no idea what it can and can't do for someone.
ReplyDeleteI was just invited to be connected to Linked in this week, and I, too wasn't sure how it works and its ramifications. I also did not want to offend the person who invited me because he is a personal friend, so I ended up emailing him an explanation that I have not yet set up a Linked in account, explaining that. I am still considering setting up a Linked in account. I wonder what the etiquette is--did I need to email him, or just ignore the invitation? If anyone has experience with how this works, let me know!
DeleteI am also interested in learning more about Linked in. I used to get a lot of invitations and I had no idea what it even was. I do believe it could be a great way to improve your digital footprint.
ReplyDeleteI too should check out Linked In. It would be a great resource for professional development and it would be an awesome way to connect with the education community.
DeleteUsed both wordpress and tublr- loved them especially the easy to use applications. LinkedIN is a great tool professionally, awesome way to recruit or hunt out talent in a field, or even make contacts to help you professionally down the road. It is always good to have connections
ReplyDeleteTo me, having connections or networking is the #1 most important skill that our students today can have. There are a lot of people out there who are just as smart as you and have just as good of a resume, so a lot of times the key to getting the job over someone else is "who do you know".
DeleteI've started a blog for my classroom on Blogger for next year (I previously have used wix.com or Google Sites for a class website). I love the interface, the convenience, and how you can use the Blogger app to make updates on your page. I think it might be useful to check out these other options mentioned in your blog. I'm sure tumblr would be a great option, and I'm sure the students would be more apt to use it than Blogger. Thanks for the suggestions!
ReplyDelete