It can be difficult for students to understand the permanency of their online behavior. A poorly thought out “post” or “tweet” could potentially follow them throughout life and prevent them from achieving their goals or dreams in the future. Students need to be taught how to weigh the potential consequences of their actions online so they will be able to make good decisions.

The following extension from our upcoming digital citizenship lesson will allow your students to see the potential consequences of decisions they make online and how to become more responsible in what they post and share.

ONLINE JOURNAL

Have students keep a record of their online activity for one week consisting of everything they do, including:

• Posts and tweets
• Comments, likes, and shares on blogs, social media posts, websites, etc.
• Private or direct messages and emails
• Google searches and website visits
• Video, voice, and text-based chats.

Tell your students that this list will only be viewed by them. At the end of the week, have them review what they have written and identify any decisions they made that they later regretted. Then ask them the following questions:

• Is there anything you did during the past week that you may not want others to see?
• How would you feel if someone was able to view your list?
• How would you feel if someone was able to view everything you do (or have done) online? Would you be comfortable with that?

Explain to students that much of their online behavior can, and potentially will, be found by other people. This includes teachers, friends, colleges, and potential employers. Inform them that their behavior could follow them around for the rest of their life, and they may have to face consequences of a poor decision they made when they were younger. Knowing this, ask students if they would have made different choices during the last week.