Like students everywhere, our students are actively texting, posting to blogs, remixing, and uploading photos and videos – sometimes without the realization that once things are posted on the Internet, they can become archived permanently and are searchable by recruiters, future employers and anyone else out there with a computer.

For the past three years, we have been facilitating district-wide Internet Safety workshops for teachers, administrators, and parents. After demonstrating how to “Google yourself,”* we frequently have participants pull us aside or contact us afterwords because they’ve discovered their child has posted either inappropriate information or way too much personal information on the Internet. They want to know how they can help their child remove detrimental material from MySpace, Facebook, and other social networks.

As alarming as it may be to find that your child’s digital footprint has taken a negative turn, there are, fortunately, options for undoing or lessening the damage:

• Start by contacting the website that is hosting whatever it is you would like removed. The content could be either by or about your child. Unfortunately, even if your child understands the potential impact of placing personal information on the Web, his or her friends may not. Either way most webmasters will comply with your request (it helps to request politely;-)

• If you would prefer to pay a third party do the searches for you, businesses such as Reputation Defender will “scour the Internet for all references to your child or teen – by name, photography, screen name, or social network profiles – and package it to you in an easy-to-understand report.” Typically, fees run from$10 – $15 per month, depending on your plan. Note: the EGUSD does not endorse any search vendors.

• Encourage your child to become involved with school, community, and national or even international organizations that he/she has an interest in – and that, in turn, will provide positive press – resulting in positive Google search returns. For example, a Google search on Cosumnes Oaks sophomore and independent filmmaker Tori Winslow will bring up (besides a number of Google twins) links that showcase her passion, talent, and commitment to producing documentaries to educate the public and promote an awareness of issues ranging from humane treatment of giraffes in captivity to common health concerns . The Sacramento Educational Cable Consortium, for example, features an interview with Tori about the value of filmmaking. The Gluten-Free NYC website promotes Tori’s Celiac Disease documentary. And the EGUSD website references her in a feature story spotlighting the winning entries for the district’s first annual Internet Safety Video Contest. Tori’s accomplishments are documented and searchable, which can be a good thing – especially if the audience includes a college recruiter or a prospective employer.

If you have questions about or suggestions for helping our students create and maintain positive digital footprints, please post a comment.

*To google yourself, go to Google at http://www.google.com/. Type in your full name, but in quotes – like this “John Doe.” Then click Google search.

Image copied (under Creative Commons Fair Use attribution) from http://www.flickr.com/photos/ildalina/2068892886/

We’re living in a digital age with technology everywhere. People use the Internet for school work, research, banking, entertainment and even shopping. Most likely, everyone you know uses the Internet for one purpose or another. Because of the increasingly wide use of the Internet, 2Webwatchers wants to promote an awareness with students that online activity leaves a digital footprint. A digital footprint is the amount of content, whether it be words, photographs, audio, or video, that can be traced back to an individual. Students and their parents need to be aware that all photos and videos uploaded to sites like flickr and YouTube and all posts written on friend’s MySpace and Facebook web pages become part of their digital footprint.

So why care about your digital footprint? Digital footprints can have a long-term impact that many students do not consider. Besides providing information to potential predators or identity thieves, students may unknowingly provide a negative image to potential college recruiters or employers, who will definitely “Google” their future applicants.

Q: What can you do as a parent to help your child understand the importance of their digital footprint?

A: Create an open dialog with your child about the danger of providing too much online information. Set aside the time necessary to do regular Google searches of yourself and your child.

Q: What can I do if my Google search turns up negative or slanderous information about my child?

A: Take a screen shot* of the web page that houses the negative or slanderous information. Save the file and then search for contact information from the website. Work with the company (e.g., MySpace, Facebook, YouTube) to remove the material.

*A screen shot can be taken on a PC by pressing the “PrtScn” (Print Screen) key on your keyboard. This places an image of the computer’s screen on your computer’s clipboard. You can also use Alt+PrtScn together to capture the active window. The next step is to launch your favorite image editor or use the Microsoft Paint program that comes with Windows by pressing Start > Programs > Accessories and then Paint. Once you are in Paint (or your equivalent), go to the Edit menu and choose Paste. You should now have an image of your computer screen within your image editing program. Next, go to the File menu and choose Save As. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the image and then type a file name for the image.

On a Mac, you would use Apple (Command) Key +Shift+3 – This keyboard combination captures the whole screen to a file that is saved to the desktop as ‘picture #’. This option lets you capture the whole screen. Instead of using the keyboard shortcuts above, screenshots can also be taken by using the Grab application included with Mac OS X. It is located in your Applications folder > Utilities > Grab.

Want more background information on digital footprints? Check out the research from Pew Internet and American Life Project – Digital Footprints.

We welcome comments, questions and resources for promoting the safe and ethical use of the Internet.