We’ve been discussing the idea of digital citizenship and some of our concerns about it. We’ve been trying to understand what digital citizenship is all about. Our students are online pretty much constantly. Working with technology is like second nature to them. Jabiz stated that there is a website entitled, “Time Machine” that can find everything that an individual may have ever posted online; even if the individual thought it was deleted. That, to me, is really scary!
Photo by Don’t get me wrong, there are great things about the Internet. I love it! I love the ability to keep in touch with friends and family members around the world. I love the idea that I can see photos of my nieces and nephews instantly. I love the connections that I have made. However, I’m a little worried about my students.
There could be something students post today about another individual or themselves…something embarrassing, something that as time progresses people forget about. Human connections and interactions can be forgiving; however, the Internet, with the ability to store everything “forever” even after you’ve deleted it and think it’s lost, does not seem forgiving at all.
How do we make students responsible citizens? How do we help students realise that something they do now will have ramifications in the future? These are age-old questions, but they just seem so much more problematic online. I would say that my biggest concern is that there are footprints that we will regret creating because we think we can erase them; but unfortunately, we cannot online because they are indelible.
