GoalExplain what a digital footprint is and how to leave a positive one.
New words
digital footprint · the record of what you do online and what others post about yourecord · something that is kept so it can be seen laterpost · something you share online for others to seepositive · good and helpful
Explanation
When you walk on a sandy path you leave footprints, and they stay for a while. Online you also leave footprints: the websites you visit, the things you post and what others post about you. Together they make your digital footprint, a record of what you do online. A footprint can last a long time, even when you wish to take it back. So think before you share. A positive footprint is made of kind comments, helpful ideas and honest work. Ask yourself: would I be happy for my teacher, my family and my future self to see this? Be careful with other people’s footprints too, and ask before you post about them. Children of your age look at and share things online only with a teacher or a family member.
I do something online→It leaves a footprint→Others may see it for a long time→So I think before I share
Worked examples
Mina writes a kind comment under a school project, on a pretend page with her teacher: “Great drawings!” This leaves a positive footprint.
Karim wants to post a funny photo of his cousin asleep. He thinks: would my cousin be happy for everyone to see it for years? He asks first. His cousin says no, so Karim keeps the photo to himself.
Not everything leaves a digital footprint. Visiting a page, writing a comment and a friend posting your photo do. Drawing on paper at home does not.
Class activity
Footprint trail. Draw a path across a page with ten footprints. On each footprint write something a person could do online. Colour the positive ones green (a kind comment, crediting a source) and the “think again” ones orange (an unkind joke, sharing something private). Then rewrite two orange footprints so that they become green. Use invented names only.
Practice
1
What is a digital footprint?
The record of what you do online and what others post about you.
2
Name two things that make a positive footprint.
For example: kind comments, helpful ideas, honest work.
3
Why should you think before you share something?
Because a footprint can last a long time, even if you want to take it back.
4
Which of these leave a digital footprint? Say the letters.
