Weekly Report & Reflection Post #1

Hello again everyone,

In this week’s session, we began to look at digital footprints and netiquette. A digital footprint is the collection of data that is left behind by users of digital services (social media, online shopping, online web chats, and more). I have made myself a digital footprint by being active on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook; however, this week I learned that it is very important to create a positive digital footprint. This means protecting yourself from the dangers of the Internet and not exposing private information that could affect you negatively in the future.

http://sandipdagli.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/digitalfootpring.png

Here’s a video that I found that helps us get a better understanding of what a digital footprint is, and how to manage one http://youtu.be/OA6aiFeMQZ0. To ensure that you are creating a positive digital footprint, some suggestions are to not share passwords, keeping your location services on your cellphone turned off, making your social media sites are set to ‘private,’ and most importantly, think before you post. The cyberspace contains billions of users that can gain access to your information; it’s important to leave a footprint that will have a positive impact.

Next we looked at the term ‘netiquette’ (network etiquette), which are the set of rules for behaving online. This website that we were provided gives us the 10 core rules of digital etiquette http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html. The one I found to be most important was Rule 1: Remember the human. When you communicate with someone electronically, you are looking at a device and tend to be more expressive about our opinions or feelings (and they may not always be positive). We must remember that there is also another person behind that screen and engage with respect as if we were communicating with them in person. This is also another tip to remember when creating a positive digital footprint.

After taking the “Digital Driver’s Licence” exam, I gained a better understanding of what it means to be a digital citizen. The areas that I will be focusing on the next couple weeks are “Digital Law” and “Digital Commerce.” I think Digital Law is the most important area to expand our knowledge in when becoming a digital citizen because there are many rules and regulations that are overlooked when entering the digital world. These rules are crucial as they are meant to protect us and protect the people who share their information to the world. This topic covers everything from pirating software, copyrighted material, and online privacy. It is essential that we are aware of these rules because everything that is on the Internet is permanent and if we are caught violating these rules, they can have serious consequences.

Digital Commerce is also another area that I find particularly interesting because it involves the electronic buying and selling of goods. Online shopping is a trend that has been increasing within the last decade. I am always wary when it comes to online shopping because you are sharing personal credit card information online and that is something I was always taught to keep private. From this course I want to gain a better understanding on how to protect this information and making sure that the information I share is safe. As the ADED mentions, this topic is difficult to address in classrooms so I hope to gain more knowledge of this topic in the next couple of weeks.

See you all again next week!

Heidi