Digital Footprint

What Kind of Digital Footprint are YOU Leaving Behind?

Do you think before you post? 

Your social media posts can be held against you. In today's digital world, people are more likely to post negative comments because they feel "safe" behind their screens. Did you know that these posts could come back to haunt you? Colleges and employers do background checks and often include social media accounts in their screening process. One negative comment, a derogatory/racist post or a compromising photo could result in you losing scholarships and/or potential job opportunities. Think before you post, especially if you are angry or upset.

Change your story - 

Start now!!! Take the time to change your story by cleaning up your digital footprint. Start posting positive comments. Apologize for hurtful comments or posts. Begin to post comments and photos that show your thinking has changed. High School seniors need to especially take this step to correct any previous actions and postings that reflect poorly on them. Start posting photos that show your volunteer work. Comment on how helping someone else or cleaning up a park makes you feel good about yourself... not about how you had to get up early in the freezing weather. Build up your positive online reputation by starting a blog or creating a website that showcases your positive habits, work ethic, and/or hobbies. 

Create a more professional digital appearance-

Creating a more professional digital appearance can be as simple as changing your email address. The best format for emails is firstname.lastname@email.provider. You may have to make some adjustments like adding a middle initial, shortening your name, or inverting your name (lastname.firstname). It is really confusing for colleges and employers to get emails from addresses such as llamagirl, hiphopboi, webmaster, madgamer, and burgergurl - they never know who they are corresponding with until they open the email. Start fresh with a professional looking email address and begin sending resumes and college applications with your new email address. Join a professional networking site such as LinkedIn. On LinkedIn, individuals post resume style information to promote themselves professionally and employers post job openings and search for potential employees. 

Protect yourself - 

There are several steps you can take to protect yourself. First, begin with keeping your computer and cellphone software updated. Updates help fight against viruses and spyware. You can even use free software to scan your computer for viruses, spyware, and malware. Second, make sure to use strong passwords and never use the same password for social media sites that you use for banking sites. On cell phones, use a screen lock to prevent others from gaining access. Next, check your privacy settings, especially on social media sites. Finally, have you ever searched your name on the Internet? You can easily do so - and you should!! When searching, change up the spelling of your name to something similar or use common misspellings. For example, your search should include John Doe, Jon Doe, Jonathan Doe, Johnny Doe, etc. Do you like what you see? Does this information portray a positive, professional image? Start working to counteract negative information by contacting site administrators and requesting information to be removed or changed. 

Do you have Ed Tech Goals?

Do you have Ed Tech Goals for the new year? I am asking myself - what do I want to accomplish as the new year and new semester begin?

Creating an Online Learning Platform for teachers -
We recently trained teachers on using video in the classroom. I believe that this is a great resource to offer our students and have purchased the premium version of Screencastify for my students and teachers. Now, I have come to realize that if I encourage my teachers to utilize a program, I should probably use the program, also. You know... practice what I preach. :)

I intend to use Screencastify to make "How To" videos for my staff that I will roll out at the end of the school year. I have plans to create video-based training that my staff can access during the summer - when they are relaxed and actually have time to devote to learning. My goal is to offer a multitude of sessions that teachers can pick and choose from that will fit into their classroom plans. I will show how to use the program, provide reasons to use the program and examples of the program being used. After a recent survey of my teachers, regarding training, I have learned that they prefer online training and need to know the "Why" of the training. Hopefully, I live up to their expectations and mine. Once I get rolling with the teacher side of the training, I will develop the student side to let them know what is available.


Becoming more visible - 

As the campus tech, I feel the responsibility to be more visible on campus and online. I need to be out walking around the campus, visiting classrooms and documenting how technology is being used on campus. Then, I could showcase technology being used on my campus through Twitter and my website. This would help me become more visible online. Even though I work with technology, it is not in my nature to share "all of my business" with the world; but, I know that I need to model sharing information so that my teachers will follow. I need to promote my school and the technology being used. 

So, I will be working on these two goals for the second semester. I actually think that making the videos will be easier for me than promoting on social media. Here's to a fabulous new year!

Participation in school activities...

Monday - Movie Day

Do you participate in school activities? I love when it is Homecoming / Red Ribbon week at my school because I love to dress up!! 

Thursday - Camo Day

Once upon a time, we had several days of dress up opportunities at my school. One week of Homecoming festivities and one week of Red Ribbon week, plus we had the occasional Pink Out day. It was a blast to find the absolute "best" costume. One of my fellow teachers and I usually get together and plan our outfits. We generally have a friendly competition and bounce ideas off of each other. Sometimes we even share the shopping list, lol. 

Tuesday - Galaxy Day

Wednesday - Twin Day

During October, we celebrated both Homecoming and Red Ribbon Week from October 23 - 27. Pinterest really came in handy this year! I searched for a Movie themed costume with short hair - I think I portrayed Ursala really well. On Tuesday, we had Galaxy Day - that one was fun because there really is not a rhyme or reason to being an alien. Wednesday, my teacher friend and I were Ketchup and Mustard for Twin Day. Thursday was the easiest day - Camo Day. I live in East Texas and it is hunting season... nearly every store has something with camo on it. And finally - Friday was Color Wars. Seniors were to wear Neon Yellow, Juniors were to wear Neon Orange, Sophomores were to wear Neon Green and Freshmen were to wear Neon Pink. Since I am a Campus Technology Specialist and I teach all grades I decided to wear all colors. Fortunately, this has been one of the dress up days the past several years and I have the colors down. I have not taught a "specific" grade since I moved to the High School in 2009. 

I have really enjoyed seeing the smiles on the students' faces when they see me coming down the hall or into classrooms. I even had students that started stopping by my office just to see what I was wearing that day. I truly believe one of the ways to show students that we care is to participate in activities on campus. I do not dance well, so I don't get in on the pep rally fun and I do not play volleyball, so I don't participate in the student versus teacher game. But, I can dress up! I also try to attend games and performances. This year I have fallen down on attending  Volleyball and Football games. However, there is still Basketball and Concerts! 

The next time your school has an event, make the effort to support your students, in any way you can. It will definitely make a difference to them, whether they admit it or not. 

Chromebooks...

This year, my district rolled out Chromebooks in grades 9-11. So far, we have about 650 of the 740 Chromebooks assigned. Students could choose to receive one of the school-issued Chromebooks or bring their own device. 

This is my first experience with handling issues with students having their own devices to carry home. I did not realize the extent that my Tech Assistants and I would be called upon to assist with Chromebook issues. Some are relatively easy to solve, like rejoining our Wi-Fi network. Others are a little more in-depth. We have had several issues of the Chromebooks not powering up, which have been warranty repairs and we have had to contact the company and ship devices for repair. We have also had several devices damaged accidentally. We have had to use our group insurance policy for these repairs. Needless to say, my Tech Assistants and I have learned several new jobs this year. 

In addition, I have learned that I need to be more organized... I created a "Control Form" for the Chromebooks... keeping track of which students have issues, if we give the student a loaner, and if the device is sent out for insurance or warranty repair. I can definitely vouch for the phrase "learn from experience" because I am learning every day what we should have done. :) For example, I learned the hard way that if you deprovision a device when you send it out for repairs that you should re-enroll it and add the correct Wi-Fi access information before giving the device back to the student. Yep, my first three devices repaired and returned to students came back to me during the same class period. There was no WiFi...OOPS!!

Putting more technology in the hands of my students has definitely been a learning experience! I am sure that by this time next year, I will be an "old pro" at handling Chromebooks. 

Reaching out to your staff

How do you reach out to your campus staff as an Ed Tech Coach? 

This past school year, I read numerous blogs, emails, and tweets, gathering information and developing a Tech Tidbits Smore every week to share technology tools with my teachers. In the beginning, I had fairly good results; however, as the year progressed, the number of people reading the Tech Tidbits dwindled. How do you keep your staff active? Do you use Badging or Gamification? I have teachers that want me to focus on only one topic per Tech Tidbit and others that enjoy the variety that I currently offer. How do you meet the diverse needs of your teachers? Technology support is top priority this year because this is the first year that my students will have their own Chromebook!!! 

Do you have a PD system that works for you? Is your training online, in person, or a mix of both? Do you make your videos, so they are personalized or do you find ready-made videos to share? My plan is to offer online videos with a Google Form questionnaire to fill out afterwards. I want to be able to send an automatic response whether they pass or fail the questions. I will also have face-to-face sessions. Now, I guess the biggest question is "where do I start"... I feel like I need a "How-to" to make a "How-to". 

Here is to a productive new school year!!! Good luck with all of your endeavors. :)