5. Sharing your PLN

My PLN

My PLN

I think this is the part of the workshop that I will most remember.  I have never thought of my digital footprint until this workshop, I wasn't even aware of the term.  I realize that this is a part of my activities that can make me or break me.  The things that I post on social media and other online platforms.  I think that this isn't and won't be an issue for me as there are few platforms that I use basically to get information more than to share information about myself.  I am very careful with what information   I want people to know about me and who I want to know things about me, so before now, I wouldn't post anything on the internet.  It was appalling for me to note that others help create my digital footprint.  I went online to look for my name and surely I came across a recording that I did many years ago with a student of mine.  That made me even more careful of what I allow people to post about me.  I use most of the basic communication software - Google, Facebook (Sparingly), Gmail, Yahoomail and now Messenger. 

My digital self is an online sample of my daily life. Every search, upload, download, etc. is recorded and store in the server database, which can be found and user my unknown individuals.  We try as much as possible not to engage our online social life with our professional online life but it is hard to keep them separate.  Every item we post, can be seem differently from different angles by many individuals. 

Yes, I have conciously made choices about who I interect with.  I chose on which platform to connect and i choose who to participate with. 

After doing a quick research on my self I realized that I can be found very easily because I use my full name.  Prior to signing up for these social media I was consistent in give the same information required to sign up.  

I have not made very conscious choices about who I interact with online.  Therefore, with this new knowledge, I am screening whomever I want to interact with now.  Since I can easily be traced I need to protect my digital identity.

Other probably perceive me as someone mostly private because I do not update my social media page on a regular basis.  My career as an educator can be compromised if I do not guard my footprints.  I would not want any of my students looking up for information that can be harmful to my career.  

My digital footprint is very limited as I am only on Facebook and LinkedIn. Also I use my picture so if someone was looking for me they would find me. One interesting findings shows that my name is very common so there are more people who also use my name.

I think that because from an early age I loved computers and technology besides I'm an IT teacher I've always thought that social media/internet can be very dangerous if we are unconscious/ignorant when posting sensitive and private information about ourselves to people/contacts that we don't know. In my social networks, I always set my profile and configurations as private and only add people whom I know as well as I limit my information in my profile.  I'm not much of a person that posts too much of my personal life on my social media.

My digital self says that I am not someone who posts much online, I mainly use social media for communicating with family and friends or for entertainment. There is a consistency in the spheres of my life definitely. I am normally a private person therefore there is not much posted about myself online. I do make conscious choices of the people I interact with and it has been more of a effort now for me to keep up with these interactions as I limit myself to what I do online. I believe others might see me as a private person, I hadn't really thought of how others view me. I think my digital footprint is good enough. It could be slightly better but I am satisfied. 

I searched for my name in Google i found my name to be only in facebook, instagram and youtube. I also searched for my students name and found out that majority don't protect their personal information. We as individuals must be very careful with the information we share. Thanks to the my knowledge in information technology i have always implement new methods to protect my information. Finally we must learn that technology is constantly changing the way humans live and we need to adapt to the new changes and try to find tools that will help us adapt to the change.

I really enjoyed this activity. Please find my PLN attached.

This TED Talk was rather interesting as Michelle Clarke entitled her presentation an “Advice in Disguise”; she reminds us to encourage young people they must be “responsible youth of the internet.”

The three main issues that stood out were:

1.            We must use your head to protect and navigate our social maps.

2.            Before you upload, take time, think, consider before you press enter.

3.            If they are aspects our lives, we want private, then we should keep it that way, we do not need to post every part of our pedestrian progress.

I conclude that we must indeed make intelligent choices so sensor what we enter.

I do concur with Mr. Marcel Palma listed points to practice online safety as digital data accumulates everywhere.

I shared for my name on the internet and the only hit that i got back was a Facebook link to my account. My other social account didn't came back because i have change the setting for those that only my friends would be able to see and view content. I used almost all of the apps available for social communication and some are just for specific purpose like the skype and snapchat. While the Instagram, Facebook, messenger, WhatsApp I use these to contact friends and colleges when necessary. I am not into socializing that much but i just have them for the sake of having them. I still consider what what upload on these social medias and also change setting that i must review a post when someone tag me in a post until then it will show only wall on social accounts. I always make sure there isn't anything on my social that is inappropriate. So for me my digital footprint is very positive. 

I search on google for my full name and I couldn’t find any article about me then I did another search but this time I used quotations to force google to search on my full name. I was surprised since google gave me zero hits. In truth, this happened because I have limited my social life to be visible publicly. I have tweaked the setting of various apps to conceal my identity from google search engine. 

1.       My Digital self is concealed from google search engine avoiding exposure to others who are gathering any information from me.

2.       I am an individual that enjoys being at the background. I don’t like being on the spot light. 

3.        I choose what content to relate or share on social media. Hence, I see consistency in my personal and social life.

4.       As a public worker and a known figure in the community, I do mind my digital footprints. I prefer have dual Facebook social life rather than compromise my persona negatively, in case I get involved in an appropriate event.

After conducting a Google research on my name, I noticed that it has very limited content.  The only link I was able to find was a Linked account which I have not updated.  I would really want to have Google keep me there and with not much personal information for others to gather about me.  I am not into social media as much and therefore I feel more secure. Maybe I can work on presenting my professional aspect.

1.       Digital footprints are linked to the perspective others will gather from you.

2.       The individual choses (Most times) what content to relate or share on social media.

3.       Content brings along advantages and disadvantages and thus; one needs to reflect and carefully consider the effects each post may bring along.

3 Take away from the video

1.     Online safety – the internet is not a safe haven. Personal information must be kept private

2.     Online activities can put a risk on professional career.

3.     Social media gathers personal information

Learning about PLN, it allows me to keep track on my activities that I do daily. I am more of an entertainment guy and look to explore in educational websites. I hardly use social media outlets because there are many social media outlet and I only have two outlets.

It is the same across my life because I am an entertaining type of person but I also try to keep up with my educational career as well. I hardly interact with people online and hardly post. I only interact with friends and family.

3 Takeaways from video

1) Be careful what you do online because your activities online can affect your professional career

2) Be careful what you post on social media as it can also impact your professional career

3) Be safe - take in consideration your safety when doing activities online 

I think my digital self is very scanty. I communicate only when necessary. one thing I can say is that my name is different for each account that I create. In reality, I am a very private person and also very cautious maybe it is based on my upbringing. Is. do not post a lot and I think that I am always careful with what I post. Maybe it's the fact that I don't have a lot of pictures.

I may need to be a little more active online because that is how people will learn about me and my small business.

My digital identity is limited but appears on our school website beside the social network that I use.  

Is there consistency or difference across the different spheres of your life?

There is consistency as I do not post much on my personal life. My social media posts are limited to greetings to family and friends.

Have you made conscious choices about who you interact with online and how?

Yes. I have made a conscious choice about who I interact with online and do not make any comments or post about controversial or political issues.

How might others see you online?

My students can find me online via Microsoft Teams within our school domain. I do not keep students who are enrolled at our school as Facebook friends. My friends and family. My work colleagues can find me online via Facebook beside WhatsApp, Teams, Gmail.

What do you think about your digital footprint?

Although my name and email address is listed on our school website, the information available online about me is limited and the social media posts are non-controversial nor political in nature so I must conclude that I have a positive digital footprint.

Hi Colleagues,

As I reflect on this activity, I can say that the different aspects of my personal learning network indicate that I am very active, positive, and very engaged online but responsible. Therefore, I need to ensure that my digital footprint is professional and censored at all times especially since my circle is small. Even though my PLN is diverse, it is kept professional and monitored. 

I can see that I have been consistent across the different spheres in my life by making conscious choices to interact responsibly online. Based on my PLN, I believe that others can see that my interaction is professional and limited information can be found about me on social media platforms. I believe that my digital footprint is positive and responsible. 

Take a look at my Personal Learning Network! 

Thank you! 

From the TedX Talk on Digital Footprints, Clarke highlighted some very important points we tend to take for granted.

The issue of how much information is shared online is quite alarming. We tend to use social media platforms to practically share our personal information without considering the consequences.

Integrity is like virginity (Clarke, n.d.), so once it is being compromised, it may be hard to get back. Digital footprints impact our lives as it is difficult to take back private information shared by mistake. At times, we believe that we protected when we create passwords or sign-in patterns, but our interface on a digital device is being recorded somewhere in the form of our digital footprints. Making our every move public, we are allowing the public to have access to our personal information in cyberspace.

We need to slow down to take time to think, consider because our digital decision has a lasting impact. We need to empower ourselves to sensor what we enter on our keyboard (Clarke, n.d.). Therefore, we need to be cognizant of how we share our thoughts, images, etc. in cyberspace especially since we are role models and professionals.  

Thank you

3 issues this video raises that I think are important.

-Your digital decisions creates a lasting impact. You can't take everything back.

-Slow down - take time, think, and consider - how can this be interpreted?

-We need to navigate our own social map.

Michelle Clark discusses the effects of our digital footprints, the impact they have on the user and the effects of global mapping on online users.

3 key issues raised in the TED talk are:

      1. The effects of digital footprints which is a record of all your interactions online can be positive or negative.

      2. The impact they have can be positive or negative on a user professional career and education or employment opportunities as digital footprints are not easily removed

      3. Online users need to be careful what is posted online and keep parts of personal lives private.

In regards to my digital self, there is limited information. I have ensured not to post personal posts and to safe guard my digital footprint. An an Information Technology teacher in BHSA, I do share my social platforms since I do not post my social life. 

attached is my PLN

My digital self was limited. Whilst searching via Google,  I found two sources about my self - Linkedln and Facebook. I appear private and I may seem too personal. Thus, not much to say about my digital consistency in different spheres of my life. I did see a picture of myself under images. I have really made a conscious decision as I was always afraid of someone stealing my identity or a scam. Others will find limited information about me! I think that my digital footprint needs to show more about me as I do engage in professional activities that I can share. My digital footprint remains legal and positive!

Digital Footprint video reflection

1. We can always provide life lesson through other means (she uses spoken words)
2. Safety online is just comfort of the mind.
3. Once something has been created digitally the history is accumulated somewhere.

If anyone was to search for the Name Marcel Palma the footprints would be limited to only what I want them to see.  I have always been careful of my digital footprints left online and often time I use an alias name when communicating online for anything else.  For me online I am seen as a educator, vlogger, DIY guy, and IT expert.  I have constantly been sharing material about how the get online and offline stuff done.  I have taken part in several forums discussion that focuses on the use of technology and have been careful of whom I interact with online.   

What does my PLN say about me?

1. There is consistency across the various spheres of my life

2. I am a more conscious digital citizen today than I was 10 years ago. 

3. My social, professional and knowledge networks are global thus heavily reliant on the digital sphere. 

4. While I am fairly satisfied with my digital footprint, I could put more effort into curating a professional profile. 

3 key issues raised in the TED talk are:

      1. The right to digital privacy - Does the digital citizen have a right to digital privacy? How that right can truly be expressed if everything is stored somewhere?

      2. Individual responsibility -   for something to be truly private it should not be posted. ultimately the internet is a remarkable tool that like every other tool that we must learn how to effectively and safely use.k

     3. Mindfulness in the digital world - Wellbeing includes the ability to balance quality time in the tangible, outside world, with quality digital time. 

Another question I have -  What constitutes the "real" world? If the digital world feels "real" to me, is it not then "real?"

My takeaway from the video "TedX talk on Digital Footprints" is the challenges which may arise due to attack of private information

1.    We as adults and our students are very susceptible every time we are utilizing the web and not being aware of who is watching with their perverted and wayward mines ready to use information to their benefit, even if just to defame or cyber bully someone

2.    The World Wide Web concept really stood out because it very alluring ways to captures our attention and if we are not observant about this we can really get trapped by content and ads that are some eye-catching. 

3.    Likewise our young people need to understand that their personal information and life should remain private as much as possible

4.    Overall very interesting video and a reminder to us all

What does your digital self say about you?

My digital self is no as limited as I thought I was able to find myself a few websites which means I am not as careful as I need to be  

Is there consistency or difference across the different spheres of your life?

There is consistency across the different spheres of my life yes since to don’t share much personal information online.

Have you made conscious choices about who you interact with online and how?

When it come to interacting I have indeed made it my business to be very careful to the point that I don’t even have 100 friends one face book and I don’t response to comments if I don’t have to.

How might others see you online?

I am mainly on face book so that would be the only place that they would be able the locate me.

What do you think about your digital footprint?

Even though I could find myself on a few website the information there is more than limited so I would say my footprint is more than ok, limited information about myself is out there.

                  When I reflect on the availability of information, I was stunned by it's magnitude. The history of the search by Google. The links to other platforms give me a new perspective of how clicking and searching can be interconnected. I never knew that I can find my YouTube profile in Google.

                 There is consistency but the extended use on Facebook has got to be altered. Like the previous activities suggested the word World Wide Web is really a web indeed. I must say that I have been able to separate the professionalism from the Social Interaction medium. 

               I would use a different platform for professional duties and a separate platform for Social interactions. 

              There has got to be a better approach in the way I use social media especially after seeing the digital footprint.

The video shared a very important but yet debatable analysis. "Integrity is like virginity". This is so important because when we share something it stays out there, not everything is deleted.

Another important issue derived from the video is that our digital footprint can impact our personal livelihood. This is so true since our affiliation can depict who we are and what we stand for. 

The reason why it is called the World Wide Web really stood out to me. Just like a spider uses it's web to capture prey. The World Wide Web captures our attention and we are really and truly trapped by content and more. 

My PLN. (Emiliano Sosa)

What I know about my PLN is that it is very limited. The only people I connect and communicate with are my family in Facebook, WhatsApp and Email. I also use the same media to interact with my school principal and staff members.

The few people that see me online already know who I am and what I do. With the teachers I share information mostly related to school.

With regards to my digital footprint I can say that I mostly use google to do my searches. Until now that I am learning various and more specialized ways of searching I believe that my digital footprint on the net will increase. I typed my name Emiliano Sosa on google and received over 3 million results but none are my own information.

When it comes to my digital self, I have the benefit of being away from social media for years so anything about me would be considered old news. If it is not for work I tend to not interact with anything. Social media is solely there for communication with those closest to me. Even if I have social media, I do not post. That being said, my family tend to be avid users of social media and the internet all around so some information about me is there, however not to the extent that I would worry about. What I have noticed doing this exercise, however, is the certain reliance on certain websites such as Google and its services. From both a professional, educational, and personal perspective, Google plays an important role. The accounts may be different, but the service provider remains the same.

Please find PDF attached. 

The video was quite interesting in that it reaffirms some of the things I had mentioned in my previous reflection about one's digital footprint. Particularly how one's digital footprint can be advantageous if it is positive and also detrimental if it is negative. All that we do on cyberspace, as mentioned by the speaker, is recorded and some of it can be tied directly to us when we use facebook and google sign ins. As educators, we must teach our students to use the web wisely so that they formulate a digital footprint that is pleasing, safe, and honest. It is true that many employers nowadays will simply google your name or search for you on facebook and what they see is a reflection of you as a person. 

When searching about myself, I found out that most of my information posted is on Facebook and I have restricted my personal information to my friends only. I realized that much of the posts that appear on my timeline, are posts or pictures shared by my friends. 

When I searched my name on Google, I was surprised to see that there were at least 4 persons with my same name and surname. Additionally, Google links me with the organization I volunteer with. The information about me speaks of my involvement with the organization. 

Apart from that, when tracing my web history,  I can see the links to the resources that I use on a daily basis, either for  professional development or work-related. 

I believe that my footprints have portrayed a positive persona about me. 

Three issues the video raises that I think are important are:

1. The responsible use of the Internet is very important for our digital footprint. As we navigate and search we need to proactively protect our own social maps. Our digital footprint has value; it's a constant currency.

2. Social media has some dangers and we can make ourselves vulnerable to them. In cyberspace a visible and accessible map of our lives is created based on the information we publish or what others publish about us. 

3. Digital footprints can impact our personal livelihood. There are aspects of our lives that need to and must be kept private. Censor what you enter on your keyboard. 

While googling myself, I found about three other persons with my name in Belize. Out of the three, one of them is my same age. This makes it difficult for someone to gather all the accurate data about me online because they would have to filter through so much information to find the correct person. I read a news article about a young lady with my exact name and age who was robbed at gun point in Belize City. While this incident did not happen to me, if someone were to track my digital footprints, they would think that this person is me.

I would say I have very limited information about me online. I consider myself to be a private person and don't interact much with people I don't know. 

Attached is my PLN. 

Reflection: I am very satisfied with my limited footprint. I have taken the right steps to stay away from most social media websites and keeping my information private. I believe that due to the fact that I was employed early on and have been able to keep the same job for 10 years has kept me from having to post more of my professional life online. The main source of information about me is on facebook. Thankfully, I have kept most of my facebook posts to small snapshots of my life and mainly positive interactions with others. 

The video was very informative. Below are three main issues that I have identified:

(1) As a parent and teacher, I see the need to provide this information to our young children. It is unfortunate that young children are given the unmonitored access to social media. Therefore, it is our responsibility as informed adults to educate and sensitise our young students and children. To add, if possible we can withhold access to social media or unmonitored use of technology until we have given the child enough information and warnings about the dangers of their digital footprints. 

(2) "Everything has a price" : The presented stated that our digital footprints have a price. It is unfortunate that these large companies sometimes see us as just a sequence of numbers and pieces of data. If we fail to treat each "user" as a human being we loose the true value and find it easier to sell the data and not the user. 

(3) "Sensor your keyboard": The presented stated that we should sensor our keyboards. It is a very powerful statement to make which goes against the push of social media and sharing one's life. 

I enjoyed this TED talk and can relate a lot to the speaker. I also teach at a small school where everybody knows what's going on. I observed that because many students reside in rural areas and are not so exposed, they don't know the dangers involved in social media.

It is frightening to know that every interface is recorded somewhere. I bet if students know this, they will post more responsibly. I always warn my students to not share private information to people they don't know on social media. Like the speaker said, we need to "slow down".

Finally, I love how she highlighted that employers look at our social media page and some people can be fired for things they post. This is very true, I know to enter into the Police Training, a person has to be vetted and they social media pages are checked to see the type of posts they make.

My take away from the Talk was that:

So as our Carbon footprint can impact the world so can our digital footprint impact our personal life.

Every thing we do on the internet is stored somewhere and have a price.

For our young people this is very important because they may yet want a certain job or desire to enter a certain college but their digital history can impact them entering their future dreams.

The talk was very informative and ‘eye-opening’. The first point that struck me was when she mentioned that everything we do is recorded online. When we think that we may be in the comfort of our homes and being private, these items are being recorded.

Secondly, before we upload or download we need to think how that information can impact us and how it can be interpreted by others. She mentioned that for the most part even schools and businesses are researching about potential students/employees before they are enrolled/hired. I must say that this is very vital for both teachers and our students to be aware of. Before I became a teacher I was working in HR, and I can attest to this statement as it was something we occasionally did even before we set an interview.  What we post online can definitely affect our future.

And lastly, once we understand what we are doing we can make better informed decisions as to how we search and what we search for. This definitely makes me reflect on my first month of being a teacher. I overheard the way how students referred to a teacher because of what she posted online and the way she dressed. This made me conscious of how serious what we post online affect the way of how students may view us.

The first attention getter for me was the fact that I also teach at a very small school. Which causes us to know each other's business without even trying to. The staff gets to know students' business and students learn about our business with us telling them.

Secondly was the statement about integrity and virginity. That's a great comparison, it seems to hit directly on the nail head. Why? because our students are in that stage where they are becoming or being pressured to become sexually active and just that one statement may help them to not give in. It also lets them get an idea of what integrity is and so may help them to make better decisions when dealing with the internet.

Thirdly, the ending statement is definitely a statement to never forget. This statement is a generalized statement that can be helpful for everyone, adults, and students. "Always pause and think before we enter on that keyboard". I can write or print that statement and display it in the computer lab, in the staffroom, and on any social media platform and google classroom.

A major takeaway from the video "TedX talk on Digital Footprints" is the challenges which may arise due to invasion of privacy. 

1. Our students become vulnerable every time they are utilizing the web and not being conscious of who is possibly tracking their footprints and what they aim to do with that information; for instance, it may be used for the sole purpose of cyberbullying. 

2. At this point in our student's lives, they may not be knowledgeable about the implications of their digital footprints; What they do now can have a lasting impact on their future, especially when seeking for a job and their prospective employer gains access to personal information posted in the past. 

3.  Students need to learn to maintain their private issues private; Once it is out there, it is difficult to delete