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School Library Monthly/Volume XXVIII, Number 2/November

Forging a Positive Cyber-Reputation: Who Are You?

by Kathy Fredrick

A number of years ago, my husband and I were disconcerted when our son's girlfriend said, "Oh, yeah, my parents googled you when they heard Chris and I were an item." It was an "aha!" moment. We realized our lives were an open book… er… web page. We were a search away from others forming an opinion about us based solely on our online presence. But, what about our students? We know they spend much of their life online, and we have rightly directed much of our concern to protecting them from unsavory characters and situations. However, here’s the flip side: what measures are we taking to help students proactively shape their online presence and the reputation that will follow them beyond their K-12 career?

Personal Responsibility Online

We know there's a need to caution students about what they share and don't share online. We warn them about online stranger danger, inappropriate content, and cyberbullying. These issues overshadow the issue of personal responsibility online. Karen Cator, Director of the Office of Educational Technology, U. S. Department of Education, gives this perspective:

Just as we have always worked with students to play well on the playground, we need to make sure they learn to behave well in an online environment. For example, it’s really important that students understand that their voice is amplified and persistent when it’s online. …The ability of people to live in a globally networked society depends on developing a sense of personal responsibility and applying it online, just like offline (Scherer 2011, 21).

So, hand-in-hand with teaching online safety, let’s explore what "web cred" each student may have as a producer of content and as an online communicator. We interact differently in our face-to-face dealings depending on the people and situation where we find ourselves. We now do the same online, from Facebook to posts to news blogs to work projects. Just as students learn how to write a business letter, standard essay, and research paper, they can be taught what makes the best impression online. This begins with netiquette, but goes on to how best to contact bloggers and web resources via email and postings. Raising consciousness about this issue provides students a way to reflect on their actions and decisions.

Guiding Questions

How do we bring this issue to students who already have an online reputation through their networks of friends and online activities? As educators, we need to pose these questions to our students: What image do you present to your friends? How does this differ from what you'd want an older relative to read, a prospective college to see, or an employer to view? Those of us working with middle and high school students will see an immediate connection with students on social networks. Those of us working with younger children can begin activities that will help them make good decisions when they reach the age where they use Facebook, or the next iteration of social networks. For all ages, the questions need to address what information to share and what to keep private; what makes a good impression and what may detract from a positive reputation.

What about the information that's already out there about us? The bad news is that nothing is ever erased on the Internet. The good news is that the Web is ever-changing. Posting and communicating new information will help to build a positive presence online. There are online "reputation management" services such as Brand-Yourself and Reputation Hawk, catering to universities and workplaces. There are also steps each individual can take to monitor his/her reputation. To make students more conscious of their choices, we can show them how to examine their presence through looking at postings and links in search results and then reflect on what they want to see about themselves online. If there are negatives out there, they may want to contact sites to have them removed. They can also balance what's come before with what they share going forward.

Steps to Take

As information professionals in schools we already play a part in teaching internet safety. Our current role in helping students use information responsibly is a natural in helping students do a reputation review. Here are some steps to take:

• Google yourself, and recommend colleagues and students do the same. Unhappy with what you see? Make contact with sites and individuals to remove links or inaccurate information.
• Model responsible online behaviors by posting your own work online:
  • Use the learning management system provided by the school or district.
  • Create a Google site or use other online site-creation tools.
  • Make your online bookmarks public and share them as part of the library site.
  • Upload your work to SlideShare, YouTube, TeacherTube, or other online options.
• Develop and provide web publishing guidelines for students. This could be a general guide agreed on within a school, or individual rubrics for projects.
• Facilitate posting of student work online. What’s in place now? Is there a recognized way for students to create online portfolios, or a suggested location for student work to be posted? If the discussions have started, invite yourself to the conversation. If not, take a leadership role in initiating discourse. Some questions to cover are:
  • How does our school community approach the use of student names, and what makes sense for creating good web cred?
  • How will information be shared with parents, students, and colleagues?
  • What training needs to be provided—and to whom?
  • What collaboration is needed to make this discussion happen in classes and projects?
• Advocate for proactive web filtering. To show how to make changes in privacy settings and to research reputation, access is needed—during school hours. Determine where you have students post work and make sure the sites are not filtered. Is YouTube problematic? The same handbook rules that address inappropriate conduct will cover ferreting out inappropriate videos.
• Talk with students formally and informally about their web cred whenever an opportunity arises.

Tools and Understanding

We want to keep kids safe online. This is a good thing. As educators we develop projects and use online tools that let students post their work for a global audience. This is a good thing. This leaves us with what social media researcher Danah Boyd calls the "conundrum of visibility." Opening student identity—reputation, if you will—to the wider world may also expose them to societal issues magnified by the immediacy of the Web. Students are living online already. Let's give them the tools and understanding to create an online presence that will showcase their inquiry and ingenuity.

Reference:

Scherer, Marge. "Transforming Education with Technology: A Conversation with Karen Cator." Educational Leadership 68, no. 5 (February 2011): 17-21.

Additional Reading:

Collier, Anne. "A Better Safety Net." School Library Journal 55, no. 11 (November 2009): 36-38.

Ferriter, William M. "Positive Digital Footprints." Educational Leadership 68, no. 7 (April 2011): 92-93.

Lindsay, Julie, and Vicki Davis. "Navigating the Digital Rapids." Learning & Leading with Technology 37, no. 6 (March-April 2010): 12-15.

Richardson, Will. "Publishers, Participants All." Educational Leadership 68, no. 5 (February 2011): 22-26.

Wees, David, and Dan Maas. "Point/Counterpoint: Should Students Use Their Real Names on the Web?" Learning & Leading with Technology 38, no. 8 (June/July 2011): 6-7.

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