Report and Reflection 1- Making Connections in a Digital Environment

Hewson, Kurtis. (2011, October 26) 

Digital Footprint [Online Image] 

Retrieved from (https://kurtishewson.wordpress.

com/2011/10/28/evolution-of-digital-footprints/)

As the everyday uses of technology become more prominent in our society, the more involved everyone becomes in the digital world. There are many different ways for people to immerse themselves in their technology and create an online presence. Through the use of many social sites such as Youtube, Facebook, twitter, Instagram, blogs etc. people will become digital citizens, creating a digital footprint in the process. A digital footprint is the term used to describe the trail, traces or "footprints" that people leave online. This is information that is transmitted online, such as forum registration, e-mails and attachments, uploading videos or digital images and any other form of transmission of information — all of which leaves traces of personal information about yourself available to be viewed by others online. (Beal)

When it comes to having a digital footprint I would prefer not to have one at all. This of course is nearly impossible, since I have a number of social media accounts. I do not normally post anything on these accounts and I try to monitor who is able to view the things I post my adjusting my privacy settings. Since having no digital footprint is not possible, instead I focus on having a positive digital footprint. Having a positive digital footprint is especially important for me, since many employers will search potential employees to see is they have any inappropriate things online, and may choose not to hire them due to these. I can achieve a positive digital footprint by having good online etiquette, by being careful with what I share online and ensuring I post no inappropriate subject matter.

Brooke, Tyler. (2011, September 11). 

[Online Image] Retrieved from (http://

bleacherreport.com/articles/2195854-

ravens-terrell-suggs-comes-out-of-tunnel-

with-gladiator-mask)

While doing the digital footprint scavenger hunt, by searching someone’s name on a search engine such as google, many types of information can be found. Since I do not have much personal content on the internet, not much appears when I search my name. There are only my Facebook and twitter accounts that appear, and they are not even at the top of the list. Many other people surprisingly (to me) share my name and most of their content is what appears. When I search a celebrity on the other hand, such as NFL player Terrell Suggs, much more content appears. Any news stories and articles related to him appears, along with his Wikipedia page and NFL and ESPN profiles.

For the Secondary Digital Driver’s license exam, I finished with a score of 18/20. I made two mistakes under the elements of digital communication and etiquette. I found the quiz fairly straightforward, with the one of the mistakes being from misreading the question. I found it a little surprising that schools are expecting students to keep their phones turned off. I felt like this defeats the purpose of having a phone at school, since if there was an emergency the student would not know. I thought keeping the phone on silent was a fair compromise.

These were the main things that I learned this week, I look forward to further improving my knowledge of the digital world.

-Jordan R