Footprints and Divides

Currently, I am developing a presentation covering what a digital footprint is and its effects for our district. The audience is parents and giving them tools to talk with their children, as well as navigate their own online presence. A digital footprint is your story and I believe everyone needs to know the proper way to tell it. An unintentional "entry" may be something they labeled private or sent only to select friends, yet once this happens, there is no control where that content goes next. Intentional footprints are branding yourself and telling your story before others can. It is incredibly important that we understand the permanence of text, images, likes, retweets, etc. that we put out there for the world.

When searching my own name, I am actually pleasantly greeted. My district presence is first, followed by twitter and some hashtags that I still particularly believe in. My Facebook and LinkedIn profiles appear with limited public information viewable. When switched to advanced search settings, I do not appear in the news, the images appear to be ones that I have curated myself, or they show my family and educational activities. The videos are related to digital education and innovation, whether they are created by me or I am tagged. If I were an employer and searched “Shelly Veron,” I definitely feel this return of information would start a great story for myself. I would rate myself a solid 3, perhaps a 3.5. I think more can be done to update some of the images that appear and more to link me to my department in Humble ISD.

Virtual learning has brought digital efficacy, equity, and access to light more than ever. The divide is real. For students who are already starting behind, this additional pitfall can make or break their success. It is imperative that schools either ensure proper access to technology or deliver content in a way that can be accessed with any type of device.

With the notion of net neutrality also coming forth, it is important to address its benefits and impacts on the education world. In its simplest terms, net neutrality deems the internet in the same category as other necessary utilities (Marshall Data Systems, 2014). It pushes for a “free and open platform” that does not bend or wane dependent upon the type of content being delivered. This could have prioritized customers and content deliverers, greatly impeding those that could not afford the status or bandwidth, breaching the digital divide even farther. For education, the FCC ruling in 2015 was a great win. It allows new and emergent tools to still be accessible at a consistent rate with bigger, known names. Without net neutrality, information and creative resources could have been funneled only to those who could afford to push their product, article, content, or agenda through - thus adding a huge bias on what we see online, how often we see it, and how aggravating it may be to access their site or platform. Such practice at its core is stifling and a direct infringement on access for anyone seeking to grow and learn.

References:

• Long, C. (n.d.). What net neutrality means for students and educators. NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/what-net-neutrality-means-students-and-educators.

• Marshall Data Systems. (2014, May 17). An introduction to net neutrality: What it is, what it means for you, and what you can do about it. Marshall Data Systems. https://www.marshalldata.com/2014/05/an-introduction-to-net-neutrality-what-it-is-what-it-means-for-you-and-what-you-can-do-about-it/.