Loisath-My ICT Journey

When I first read the title Digital Footprints I thought the topic was about our use of technology and its impact on environment. Wrong of course because it is about how we can be identified by our digital presence in Web2.0. I wonder how or why “Footprints” was chosen rather than “Fingerprints” because we all know that forensic investigators dust for fingerprints to identify the suspects. Then again maybe its footprints because it is about the tracks we leave and how we can be followed on the Web. A combination of the two, being identified and followed is the important issue.

The important thing is that your identity on the web is a bit like an identikit picture. The way that people come to see you, is a construct of all the entries with your name. Your features and assets are decided by what can be “Googled” or searched for on the web. Your followers may never meet you but they develop an understanding of where you stand on issues, your philosophy, and sense of who you are by reading your blogs, bookmarks, and looking at photos and videos that you post. You can also be identified by what others put on the web about you. Photos can be tagged with your name, and there are the collections of documents that have been written by others about you.

So you can just let it develop accidentally or take charge and be proactive.!

Footprints photo by James Jordan licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Alias Fatty by Vacacion licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Who would of thought the a bookmarking network would become so powerful. Delicious to create a digital profile as Will Richardson and Michelle Martin blog about. Michelle and Will both continue to expand on these ideas. On a basic level Delicious is just a simple and effective way to organise your bookmarks but if used effectively it offers so much more.

It is searchable so it is much more useful for teachers within the school environment. Teachers can create networks with each other to share sites for professional reading and common interests. It can be used to keep track of sites that are essential for Inquiry units especially if tagged consistently.  Our school works on their Inquiry units on a two year cycle so in two years time we will be able to search on the relevant tag and have quick access to the sites we referenced previously. It is then just a matter of deleting or adding to the favourites that we had.

The networking with respected colleagues is an opportunity to follow what they are reading. Annotating carefully for yourself and colleagues when you choose a bookmark helps those who follow you decide if the bookmark is relevant or important to them.

Bookmarking your own writing and work on the web is a way to take control of your Digital Footprint or Digital image. Use a tag indicates this part of your portfolio.

Just as an addon Similicio.us will search and find bookmarks that are similar to each other.