Welcome to the No Spin PE Zone! It’s been nearly four years
since my last post and reading back through all of them allowed me to see how I
have grown as a teacher and left me nostalgic for my college career. It is nice
to be back on here posting and I look forward to (hopefully) posting on here
more often. This post is for an assignment in my Communications Technology
course through SUNY Stony Brook regarding my digital footprint. Obviously looking
back on my blog, I am glad it still exists. However, here are my reactions to
the questions provided.
Based on the content
provided, what are your greatest concerns with your digital reputation?
Perhaps my greatest concern with my digital reputation is
the ease of access in which anyone can literally obtain my information for a
few dollars. Much of the information I post on social media is generic and
places me in a good light. However, every keystroke is recorded and all of my
personal information is stored somewhere ready for someone angry at me or with
a vengeance to steal and use against me. I know that there are likely some
photos from college out there I’d rather not see but so far so good. It would
be a good exercise for students to be given someone else’s digital footprint
and critically analyze the good and the bad of it from the perspective of a
parent, employer, and friend.
What precautions do
you have to take to preserve your digital reputation?
In order to preserve my digital reputation, the precautions I
take are simple: don’t post anything stupid and don’t post it immediately.
Before anything is posted, I assess how it could be viewed or interpreted and
base my decision off of that. I never post about vacations until after the fact
and posts are typically vague and neutral as to not incite bias or allow for
print outs to be used against me. I typically ‘Google myself’ in order to
maintain my image.
As an educator or
company your work for, are you held to the same ‘digital reputation’ standard
as others? Is the standard you are held
to fair/unfair? Why?
Those involved in the field of education are held to a far
higher, and sometimes unobtainable, standard in regards to their digital
reputation. One must be very discreet and aware of what they are posting and
always be cautious of who may be able to see it. Teachers are perceived as role
models in their communities. Any lapse in judgement on social media can lead to
their downfall. As a PE teacher, I work with every child and I am well-known by
the parents. I ensure that my digital footprint and post only things that
highlight my accomplishments in and out of the school. This standard is both
fair and unfair. Obviously it is fair for the reasons I listed above. It can be
unfair as it may leave many ‘walking on eggshells’ in fear of what could
happen.
Whose responsibility
is it to teach our children/students to understand/preserve his or her digital
footprint/reputation? Educators? Parents? Or is the responsibility on them?
In order for students to understand and maintain a positive digital
footprint and reputation, it is up to the collaborative efforts of the student,
the parents, and the teachers. One of the new life skills in which students
should be competent in is digital intelligence. They need to be aware of what
the long term repercussions are of their digital activity. Something that may
be worth a hundred ‘likes’ now could be the very same thing that costs you your
job in the future. I do think parents play the biggest role in this. There are
numerous children in my school who tell me about their Instagram pages when
they should not even have one. Hearing it from their parents may encourage them
to make the account, but hearing it from their teachers and even from older students
could help make it resonate.
Have you or someone
you know ever been negatively (or positively) affected by something found
online? Share if you'd like.
I do not personally know of anyone who has even been
negatively affected by something found online. However, I continue to hear of
situations presented on the local news and it does cause a certain degree of
panic. I try my best to keep a positive digital footprint but sometimes cannot
help but to think that it would be easier to fall off the digital grid.
