The Importance of a Digital Footprint

Everyone who has ever gone on the internet has left a digital footprint.  Many people don't realize that what they look at or pictures they post on the internet are acceptable to many different people.  Compared to a lot of other people, I think I have a relatively small digital footprint.  I do have a Facebook page that I frequent often and I do have a couple different email addresses (one for work/professional and one for when I order items online).  Many of my other sites are for classes (such as Twitter and my Blogger account) or to check the news.  Comparatively, my digital footprint is probably smaller than some of the elementary students I hope to teach some day.  I will admit to posting many pictures and status updates on my Facebook page since I started it but I am always very careful about what I post or what I let people tag me in.  I was warned when I started the teaching program at Plymouth State that potential employers could be looking at resources on the internet to see what kinds of things we've been posting.  The thought was that if employers could see it, so could parents of students in your class.  Therefore anything inappropriate should not be posted to our pages.  Digital footprints can make a big impact on your professional and personal life.

For so many reasons, students should be told about their digital footprint from the moment they are introduced to technology.  They need to understand the impact that making bad decisions concerning the internet could have on their future.  If the students are taught from the beginning (maybe five or six years old) to be respectful of the internet hopefully they will continue to be respectful as they get older.  Teachers and parents should be responsible for educating their students of the dangers of the internet; school is a great place for students to be introduced and monitored using the internet.  It also helps if the teachers and parents are being good role models for the students; you can't tell your students/children not to post inappropriate statements or pictures online if you have been doing just that.  Everyone needs to be aware of their digital footprint and the impact it has on the people around them!

Technology Integration Specialists

Hello everyone!

Technology is becoming more and more important in schools today.  Important enough that not only are school districts hiring technology teachers but also hiring technology integration specialists.  When I first heard the term "technology integration specialist", my mind automatically thought of the teacher that came into my classroom when I was in elementary school that taught me how to type and play math games on the computer.  But that is not what a technology integration specialist is.  A technology integration specialist is an educator who specializes not in how to do the basics on the computer (turning it on, typing, etc.) but instead an educator who specializes in how to most effectively use the computer as a teaching tool.  It is the job of the technology integration specialist to teach the teacher how to help his/her students learn using the computer most effectively.  I met one of these "technology integration specialists" during my student teaching; she taught my students how to use the computer to record their voices to make public service announcements about severe weather that could be shared on the school's webpage.  Never in a million years would I have thought to have my students create something so awesome to show what they had learned about how to prepare for severe weather!  Other teachers I talked with told me about how they were learning to use blogs as part of their homework regime; yet another piece of technology that I would never have thought to use with my students!  The technology integration specialist is a very important person in a school because they help teachers meet the standards regarding technology (International Society for Technology in Education, 2015).

Students today use technology in and out of the classroom.  In many places, it is rare for students to be without technology surrounding them in their homes: computers, laptops, TV's, iPads, iPods, tablets, cell phones, etc. The same technology is not always accessible at school.  Some schools lack the funding to have the latest technology within their classrooms.  Other schools have received grants to allow them to have a laptop cart, a smartboard, projectors, or iPads for the students to use.  Teachers are expected to learn how to use all of these devices and be able to teach the students how to effectively use them too.  Many teachers are embracing the use of technology in their classroom and trying to include technology whenever they can.  Others are more reluctant to try it.  They have taught one way for all of their careers, why should they change now?  The world is changing and quickly becoming more digital.  The teachers and the students need to be prepared for these changes and the best way to do that is within the school.

References

International Society for Technology in Education.2015. Digital age learning. Retrieved        from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-students