1. PASCD PRESERVICE TEACHER SYMPOSIUM
NOVEMBER 21, 2010
Your Digital Stomping Ground
Presented by the Faculty Center for Teaching &
Instructional Technology at Penn State Harrisburg
Kristin Bittner
Carol McQuiggan
Shivaani Selvaraj

2. Objectives
Define social media and digital footprint
Review daily online activities
Create awareness of your digital footprint
Discuss perils and pitfalls of social media use
Take steps to present a professional image online

3. Digital Footprint Defined
“…the trail of information that one leaves online. As
individuals use the Internet, whether it be shopping or
commenting in forums, they leave behind digital
footprints which can be traced and ultimately attributed
to them. It is vital to be aware of the digital footprints
that you are leaving as they can become part of one’s
online persona.”
http://www.reputationdefender.com/glossary/digital-footprint/

4. Social Media Defined
Social media refers to online tools and services that allow
any Internet user to create and publish content.
The “social” in social media comes in as these individuals
find others with similar interests and interact with them
through online communities, sharing information and
knowledge, offering support and networking.
Popular social media services include Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, blogs, YouTube and Flickr.
http://www.vanderbilt.edu/publicaffairs/webcomm/vu-resources/social-media-handbook/what-is-social-media/

5. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html

6. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
How will you
get to school?
 Car
 Walk/bike
 Public
Transportation

7. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
Car: Your driving data has been recorded. New cars are
equipped with computer chips that act much like black boxes
on airplanes. They can record your speed, braking and seat
belt use in the moments before an accident. A GPS unit can
record the path you drive. Services like OnStar can monitor
your car in real time.
Walk/bike: image recorded by surveillance cameras
Public transportation: Image recorded by surveillance
cameras

8. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
Bonus time
 Check
personal e-
mail
 Order a book
from Amazon
 Rearrange
your desk

9. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
E-mail: Your computer may have monitoring software
installed. This allows management to track everything you do
online
Order book: Sites like Amazon track your viewing/purchasing
habits. They know what pages you have looked at and what
addresses you have shipped purchases to. Your information
is being gathered even if you don’t buy anything.
Rearrange desk: No data collected.

10. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
Edit a document
 Edit and e-mail
back
 Explain over
phone
 Write on a print-
out and walk it
over

11. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
Edit and E-mail: The document may track who has edited it,
and your computer activity may be being tracked.
Explain over phone: Phone call information could be being
logged in a phone database.
Print it out: No data collected.

12. Determining Your Digital Footprint
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html

13. Beginning Discussion
How many have a Facebook and/or MySpace account?
How many have a LinkedIn account?
How many use Twitter?
How do we use these accounts, and why?
Why do we like them (or not)?
What keeps us plugged in?

14. Use of Social Media
Do you check/update Facebook or Twitter after you go to
bed? During the night or as soon as you wake up?
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

15. Use of Social Media
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

16. Use of Social Media
Do you check/update Facebook or Twitter first thing in
the morning?
 Before you get out of bed?
 Before you turn on the TV?
 Is this how you get your morning news?
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

17. Use of Social Media
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

18. Use of Social Media
Can you be interrupted for an electronic message at any
time?
 During a meeting?
 During a meal?
 During sex?
 On the john
 I don’t like interruptions.
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

19. Use of Social Media
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/

20. Perils and Pitfalls
http://www.firedfornow.com/job-loss-and-the-economy/can-facebook-hurt-your-job-prospects/

21. Perils and Pitfalls
What are the stories you have heard?
How have these stories impacted your use?

22. Examples of Perils
http://www.chargrilled.co.uk/t-shirts/Facebook-Got-Me-Fired-t-shirt.m

23. Examples of Perils
What’s wrong with this picture?
http://www.shseyeofthestorm.com/news/university-expels-student-over-facebook-photo/
Drunken Pirate
"Teachers have to be exceedingly
careful with what they post. Files
on the Internet are archived and,
because of this, can be searched."

24. Examples of Perils
http://straightfromthea.com/2009/11/11/georgia-teacher-files-suit-after-being-fired-over-facebook-photos/

25. Examples of Perils
http://www.nea.org/home/12784.htm
The Whole World (Wide Web) is Watching
By Michael D. Simpson, NEA Office of General Counsel
 Colorado English teacher lost job after composing and posting
sexually explicit poetry on her MySpace site.
 Nashville teacher Margaret Thompson was removed from teaching
after posting “racy pictures” of herself, along with candid photos of
her students, on her MySpace profile.
 Florida middle school teacher John Bush was terminated because of
“offensive” and “unacceptable” photos and information on his
MySpace page

26. Teacher Professional Code of Conduct
“Professional practices are behaviors and attitudes that
are based on a set of values that the processional
education community believes and accepts.”
Teachers have a moral commitment to uphold these
values.
Teachers must conduct themselves in a manner which
places the highest esteem on human rights and dignity
“Individual professional conduct reflects upon the
practices, values, integrity, and reputation of the
profession.”

27. Don’ts
DO NOT reveal embarrassing details in status updates
DO NOT post photos that can damage your credibility
DO NOT be overly negative/hateful towards any issue
DO NOT assume you are protected by the First
Amendment
DO NOT think no one is watching

28. Do’s
DO use privacy settings
DO have a reasonable profile picture
DO be picky about who you friend
DO think before you post
DO keep the dialogue positive
DO learn employee rights
DO fill out your profile, join relevant groups, update
often, and BE REAL

29. Brand Yourself
Own your name
Use your name consistently
across the web
Use Keywords in your bio
Link your online presences (or
compartmentalize)
Check, and recheck, how
others see you
 Google yourself
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/mike-johansson/208539/social-media-optimization-personal-branding
Nirav Mehta - http://www.couragefactor.com/

30. Reflection
What are you going
to do differently?
(or not)
© 2010 Photos.com

31. Reflection
“Online, your rep is quantifiable, findable, and totally
unavoidable. In other words, radical transparency is a
double-edged sword, but once you know the new rules,
you can use it to control your image in ways you never
could before.”
~Clive Thompson, Wired

32. A New Adage to Consider:
“Never put anything in electronic form that you wouldn’t
want viewed by a million people, including your
colleagues, students, and supervisors – and your
mother.”
~Michael D. Simpson, NEA Office of General Counsel
http://www.nea.org/home/12784.htm

33. Thanks
To Shannon Kennan for sharing her Prezi, Is Facebook
Ubiquitous?, http://prezi.com/jbbjgbmpir3k/facebook/
To Julie Meyer for sharing her presentation, Digital
Footprint
Both were so helpful in our initial organization and location
of relevant resources in preparation for this
presentation!

34. Resources:
 Digital Footprints presentation:
http://www.pewinternet.org/Presentations/2008/Digital-Footprints.aspx
 University expels student over Facebook photo:
http://www.shseyeofthestorm.com/news/university-expels-student-over-facebook-photo/
 Reputation Defender: Online Reputation Management and Social Networking Advice for Teachers:
http://www.reputationdefender.com/how_to/online-reputation-management-and-social-networking-advic
 Your Digital Footprint:
http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/koppel/interactive/interactive.html
 Our Social Media Obsession by the Numbers:
http://mashable.com/2010/03/17/social-media-usage-stats/
 Can Facebook hurt your job prospects?
http://www.firedfornow.com/job-loss-and-the-economy/can-facebook-hurt-your-job-prospects/
 Social Media Optimization for Personal Branding
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/mike-johansson/208539/social-media-optimization-personal-branding

35. Resources:
 The Whole World (Wide Web) is Watching:
http://www.nea.org/home/12784.htm
 Present yourself professionally! http://oregonbusinessreport.com/2009/08/45-employers-use-facebook-
twitter-to-screen-job-candidates/
 Personal Brand Building:
http://blog.brand-yourself.com/personal-brand/how-to-personal-brand/personal-brand-building-on-
facebook-the-dos-and-donts/
 Five Ways Facebook Can Get You Fired:
http://www.slideshare.net/phdunay/five-ways-facebook-can-get-you-fired-1876970
 10 FB Privacy Settings:
http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-privacy-2009-02
 Playing it Safe: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-10/living/facebook.fired.social.media.etiquette_1_social-
media-worker-posts-workplace-complaints?_s=PM:LIVING
 Social Media Handbook definition of social media: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/publicaffairs/webcomm/vu-
resources/social-media-handbook/what-is-social-media/
 Defintion of Digital Footprint:
http://www.reputationdefender.com/glossary/digital-footprint/