GR 5 Digital Citizenship Seminar
Maintaining a Positive Digital Footprint
The Purpose
This week the 5th graders at ISL experienced a 90 minute Digital Citizenship Training Seminar. The aim was to help them understand that they are the creators of their digital identity. It is completely within their control to maintain a positive digital footprint.
Just like in the physical world, the choices we make and the things we do online will have a direct impact on the story that is left behind long after we are gone. It's really important for our students to understand the public nature of social media like Instagram and Twitter, so they can make informed choices about what to share and who they are actually sharing it with.
Part One - Cyberbullying
Mr Georges Knell from Kanner-Jugend Telefon, partner in the BEESECURE Luxembourg initiative, was present in order to clarify the laws which are in place to protect citizens from this type of online behaviour. He also showed the BEESECURE and KJT resources available in English should someone find themselves in a situation where they need help.
BeeSecure
Email: info@bee-secure.lu
Website: https://www.bee-secure.lu/
Phone: 8002 1234
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BEESECURE
Twitter: @BEESECURE
Part Two - What does a positive digital footprint look like?
For this part of the seminar, students, parents and teachers were given some training on google search operators and then asked to research a set of predetermined young people with an extremely positive digital footprint.
This exercise gave participants a real world example of someone with a strong digital identity. These are young people who are purposeful about what they choose to post online. It was also intended as the impetus for further discussion about the importance of being deliberate about who you follow and who you allow to follow you online.
Finally, we all watched a 9 minute TED Talk about extracurricular empowerment.