The Digital Journery (Week 1)

Reflection:

Going through this session has genuinely fascinated me, people often say that life begins and end with a breath. However, this phrase is starting to lose its weight as in the twenty-first century, because after watching the video on about Digital Dossier (click here to watch video) strictly in terms of digital context a person is born way before his/her natural birth and stays alive well after his/her death.

Living in this day and age it does not come as a surprise to anyone that we are surrounded with technology. This constant interaction with technology has made it extremely easy for people to track someone online. In fact, just a quick google search can reveal all sorts of information about a person. Although this has given us the ability to be closers with friends, family, collogues who are miles away, this ability also comes with a huge responsibility (Yes I am aware I just used a line from Spiderman), therefore, it is extremely important that we are aware of what kind of digital tracks we are leaving behind. Our Digital footprint can affect us in some of the most unexpected ways, today employers are extremely vigilant about their current and potential employees Digital Footprint, and a negative digital footprint can cost a person his/her current job or a potential job. When I was a first-year student actively looking for a Co-op placement creating a creating a positive digital footprint was the first thing I was taught. While doing some background research on this session, I found a very interesting article on how your digital footprint can affect your reputation (click here to read the article)

The potential hazards of having an unrestricted access to a digital atmosphere are just as large as its benefits. The presence of these potential pitfalls is one of the main reason why students today should be taught about the rules of netiquette (Click here for the ten rules of netiquette) and take all the necessary steps towards creating a positive digital footprint. In my opinion having a negative digital footprint is same as having an unhealthy habit, the potentially harmful effects show up in the long run. I found that The Digital Drivers License (DDL) from the textbook is a great tool to see if a person is aware of his or her responsibility in a digital environment.

Report:

After reviewing the material in this session noticed two very interesting findings. One of the aforementioned findings was regarding the Digital Drivers License (DDL) test. After taking the test, I noticed that I scored pretty high on the test. This did not come as a surprise to me as I was taught about being a good digital citizen during my Co-op workshops. However, I was curious to find out how people with no knowledge regarding Digital Citizenship will score on the test. Therefore, I performed a small experiment with my sister and a few cousins, all of them are in high school are active on all social networking platforms. I asked them to take the DDL test and I noticed all of them failed or barely passed the test. This results while not very scientific but is still a good indicator of how our generation lacks digital literacy. Going over the rules of Netiquette and the nine elements of Digital citizenship (explained in the textbook) are very similar to the basic manners and people skills we learn when we are kids. 

The second interesting fact noticed that it is not very difficult to leave a good digital footprint. The ten rules of netiquette is a resource to start off with. Of  the ten rules, the one that many users forget is Rule 1 "Remember the Human", it is the first thing we are taught as kids and is the oldest rule in the book and yet going through the online posts and comments I have noticed that people often forget this.

I found this week very enlightening and thought provoking. I look forward to next week’s session.

Kev

Photo 1: http://www.notcot.org/post/14044/We-really-are-kids-of-the-digital-age-through-and-throu/
Photo 2: http://constanzadf.blogspot.com/2015/10/what-are-consequences-of-having-bad.html
Photo 3: http://libguides.infohio.org/digitalliteracy/digitalcitizenship