LESSON: Trillion Dollar Footprint (est. Time 45 min.)
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is a digital footprint, and what does yours convey?
Students learn that they have a digital footprint and that the information that makes up this digital footprint can be searched; copied and passed on; seen by a large, invisible audience, and can be persistent. Students then learn that they can take some control over their digital footprint based on what they post online.
Students watch the Privacy Student Intro Video – The Digital Footprint to learn how information online can easily get out of one’s control. They then examine the blog posts, photos, and profiles of two fictional host applicants for a TV show called “Trillion Dollar Footprint” and decide which would make a more honest host who works well with others. A key message of the lesson is that although online information provides an incomplete picture of a person, it can still affect how others view that person.