Module 5 Edu 790: Digital Tattoo

 I have been using the term digital tattoo instead of digital footprint for several years now and warn my students regularly to be mindful of what they post on social media and the world wide web. I also try and google myself several times a year to check and see if there is anything I should be concerned about. As someone who engaged in online dating for several years, it was important to check the internet for information about potential partners. I have not had a chance to mine data from other sites than Google, so I chose that option for my adventure for the week! 

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When searching for myself on Google, I got the most hits when searching for my first and last name in quotations as opposed to my username. There were 6 pages worth of information and articles Much of the information pertained to my role as a teacher and a Chicago Teachers Union delegate. There were several articles about my opposition to a charter high school that was being built directly across the street from the high school that I teach at. Surprisingly, there were also hits regarding my wedding website and my wedding registry.  

I also did a YouTube search of my name and a speech I gave several years ago against a charter operator popped up, I had not heard myself or seen footage of it, but it's there. The rest of the videos are apparently from a Greek musician with the same last name. From what I have researched so far about myself, I don't think any charter school in Illinois would every hire me!

The next website I checked out was InstantCheckmate and they were able to provide me with my age, the names of ALL of my immediate family, and the two cities I've lived in. Next I checked Intelius and they gave me the same results. Surprisingly, my mother was listed with her married name, not her maiden name, and my stepmother was also listed. Next I attempted PeekYou and it sent me to Been Verified. Very similar information, but you could pay extra find out more in depth information. I thought there would be more information, I was surprised that it was less than I assumed. 

I then did at Twitter search and I was mostly tagged in posts from my mother and from the Chicago Teachers Union. However, there were some tags by someone who had attended our Local School Council meeting last fall when we were voting about whether to keep school resource officers or not and the person quoted me several times and tweeted it. I had no idea that was out in the twitterverse. 

Lastly I searched my first and last name on Google and looked at the images. Here are some gems I found: 

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This was a picture the CTU tweeted out when a bunch of members got mailers to opt out of our union when the Janus decision came down. Many of us wrote on the mailing and took pictures that we were sticking with our union. 

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This is the picture that is housed on our wedding website, I had not really considered our website 'public' but I supposed anyone can search and find it easily. 

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Above is a picture from the 2019 strike and I had found another teacher with a Hamilton inspired poster and we took a picture and tweeted it out Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton. Unfortunately, he did not respond! 

Looking at all of this information is a good exercise not just for me, but also for students too. It's important that they take a good hard look at what they are posting on the internet. Not only is it a permanent record of what they think and feel, many others could be judging them for discipline, scholarship and collegiate opportunities, and job prospects. To what extent do young students have the freedom to post whatever they like? I was recently reading about a case taken up by the ACLU regarding a student who was disciplined for posting something on her Snapchat outside of school hours. It's interesting to read and process this not only as a privacy issue, but also as a free speech issue. Lastly, to what extent are we responsible towards others when documenting events online as digital bystanders. There is a great video by PBS about the Modern Bystander Effect and how social media and what we post plays a role in crime and good Samaritan laws. I think all of these issues are intertwined and open up new concerns for all stakeholders when it comes to what we share online.