The Power of Digital Footprints

Digital Literacy and Online Safety (Y8) - Lesson 3

A note about this lesson

Common Sense Education

This lesson is taken from Common Sense Education’s excellent Digital Citizenship curriculum. Their resources are shared for free under A Creative Commons Attribution- NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

You can find the original resources HERE. 

Objectives

  • Define the term "digital footprint" and explain how it can affect their online privacy.
  • Analyse how different parts of their digital footprint can lead others to draw conclusions -- both positive and negative -- about who they are.
  • Use the "Take a Stand" thinking routine to examine a dilemma about digital footprints.

Links to Education for a Connected World.

This lesson from Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship curriculum links to the following strands from the Self-image and identity, Online reputation and Online relationships sections of the Education for a Connected World framework.

Warm-Up: Every Time Online

10 mins.

1. Project Slide 4 and tell learners they're going to watch a short video about being on the internet. Ask learners to pay special attention to the images they see. Show the video What's in Your Digital Footprint? Allow two minutes for learners to discuss the images with a partner. Images include:
  • a lighthouse
  • a photocopier
  • a whisper in the ear
  • a stadium and a big screen
  • a permanent marker
2. Ask: According to the video, what do these images have to do with the term "digital footprint"?

Invite learners to respond. Confirm that a digital footprint is all the information online about a person posted either by that person or by others, intentionally or unintentionally. (Slide 5) Explain that, like the images show, a digital footprint can reveal a lot about someone (lighthouse, whisper in ear), it can be shared widely (photocopier, stadium and big screen) and it's permanent (permanent marker). These images remind us that a digital footprint is persistent, which means it lasts a long time.

3. Ask: Using only one word, how does it make you feel knowing that everything you do online is stored and can be searched for, shared or even broadcast? 

Do a whip-around, where each learner shares their answer when you point to them. Answers will vary but may include worried, confused, curious or scared.

4. Explain that what you do online is different from what you do in person because the audience who sees it is invisible.

Define invisible audience as unknown or unanticipated people who can see information about you posted online. (Slide 6)

Say: For example, imagine a friend from nursery school you haven't talked to in years follows you on Instagram and is part of your audience. What if he shows your posts to his mum? Or takes a screenshot to send to his cousin? Or, what if you don't realise that your Instagram posts are getting saved and archived, and they pop up years later once you've forgotten about them? These are all examples of invisible audiences that you probably weren't thinking about when you made a post.

Ask: Who might be part of the invisible audience that would search for information about you or posted by you online?

Call on learners to respond. Explain that it includes both people they know personally and people they don't. It might include:

  • old friends
  • universities they apply to
  • possible employers
  • leaders of groups or organisations they want to join
5. Pair up learners. Ask: How might people who don't know you see your posts, or posts about you, differently from those who do? Take turns sharing your ideas with your partner. Responses may include:
  • They might make incorrect judgements about you based on incomplete information.
  • They might misinterpret something you post because they don't have the whole context.

 

Analyse: Search for a Host

10 mins.

1. Say:Let's look at how a digital footprint might be used to draw conclusions about people and their reputations and abilities.

Arrange learners into groups of four or five. Distribute a copy of the Truth Be Told handout.

(Note: This is a lengthy handout, so you could also just print a couple of copies per group. Learners will be analysing pieces of "evidence" in the handout. You can also only print pages 6–7 for learners, which is where they write their responses and project the rest of the handout to your class.)

2. Ask a learner to read aloud the instructions of Part 1. In groups, have learners look through the evidence for Sophie and James. Then have them discuss the question in the handout: Does anything you see make you think twice about either candidate?

Invite groups to share their responses.

 

Take a Stand: Truth Be Told

20 mins.

1. Explain that in the next activity, the class will be using the steps of Take a Stand to consider whether the digital footprint of one of the candidates should affect if they are allowed to keep the job.

"Take a Stand" is a thinking routine for exploring perspectives on dilemmas about community and civic life.

Read the directions for Part 2. Then, display the new piece of evidence. (Slide 7)

2. Give learners one to two minutes to read through the new evidence, or invite two learners to take turns reading out loud as the different characters. 

Ask: After seeing this evidence, do you think that Sophie should be fired? Why or why not?

3. Show the steps of "Take a Stand" (Slide 8) and facilitate the class discussion. Have learners follow along and take notes on their handout.

Note: Use the Teacher Version of the handout for guidance and suggestions for an enriching discussion. (This will take the majority of time in this step!)

4. Say:The aim of this activity was not to lead you to a "right" answer. Rather, the goal was to slow our reactions down, take time to listen to different perspectives and be reflective about our stances on this dilemma about a digital footprint.

Explain that listening to others' perspectives can also help us discover shared beliefs or values, even when we disagree on how to resolve specific issues. If possible, give an example that surfaced during the discussion -- e.g. two learners who had different stances but were both thinking about people's rights.

Understanding how and why we don't see eye to eye can support greater mutual understanding and more productive dialogue about how to resolve issues in our society and world.

5. If time permits, invite learners to share one insight from the discussion. Sample responses:
  • "It helped me understand other people's points of view, even if I didn't agree with them."
  • "It allows us to get different perspectives on situations from our peers, and to better understand what to do and how to deal with the situations."

 

6. Optional: If time permits, have learners discuss one or more of the "Complicate Questions" in Part 3 of the handout.

 

Wrap-Up Exercise

10 mins.

1. Say:Your digital footprint is somewhat in your control and also somewhat out of your control. You can make decisions about what you post about yourself and what you send to others. However, your footprint, what you post and what others see about you, can have a big impact on your life. So it's important for you to think carefully as you share online and add to your digital footprint.
2. ProjectSlide 9 and invite learners to suggest ways they might be able to monitor and shape their digital footprints. List their suggestions on the board. If not generated in the discussion, provide the following ideas to the list:
  • Think before you post, because many things you do online will add to your digital footprint.
  • Remember to review your privacy settings.
  • Perform a search on yourself every so often to see what your digital footprint looks like.
3. Ask learners to complete the Lesson Quiz, and send them home with the Family Activity and Family Tips.

< Previous Lesson

Next Lesson >