Digital Footprint Research Paper

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George Mason University *

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335

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Information Systems

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Mukhtarzada 1 Elias Ahmad Mukhtarzada IT-335-DL1 10 February 2022 The Dangers of Digital Footprint on Students in Educational Institutions In today’s world, the conversation surrounding digital footprint is a controversial one as it comes with several potential risk factors for users in the online space. However, before we dive further into the risk factors of leaving a digital footprint it is important for the average reader to understand what a digital footprint is. A digital footprint is the data that the internet user leaves on the internet as they use the search feature and surf to any website that will collect the user’s information. In fact, digital footprint comes in two variants that are called passive digital footprint, and active digital footprint respectively. A passive digital footprint is the information that a person leaves on the internet while having no clue of the fact that the websites they visited are storing their online information, and personalized search history into a database. As for an active digital footprint, this is when the internet user voluntarily shares their information to the world through a website on the internet. One of the many ways that an individual can actively display their digital footprint is by logging into their account on a website with their credentials to share their contact information, or by uploading a comment on social media as well as personal images. So now that we understand what a digital footprint means we will now dissect the dangers of leaving our digital footprint on the web. However, in this research paper I will focus on the dangers of digital footprint on students along with discussing ways to help them safeguard their online accounts, and I will touch on why schools have a digital footprint on their students. The purpose of primarily focusing on students in schools in relation to digital footprint

Mukhtarzada 2 is so that the teachers in schools and parents can help guide their children to utilize the web responsibly without putting their information, or lives at risk. Why is a Digital Footprint adopted in Schools? For children in an academic environment having a digital footprint is a common practice in schools. In fact, many high schools across the country have digital footprints on every one of their students by keeping data logs that carry information about their racial and ethnic backgrounds during a students’ registration, and their attendance records. David Azcona and his colleagues go into more detail by stating that high schools collect data on students at various times, and they store the student data in their database which includes information on students’ demographics, interaction with online learning tools, a students’ attendance record or library check outs, and their social activities (Azcona et al., 2019). The justification for schools having a digital footprint on students is not just for attendance, or to survey a students’ race or age, but it is also to monitor student academic progress and to judge their academic potential after high school should they enroll in college. David Azcona explains why himself by stating that schools holding on to a digital footprint that compiles every aspect of a students’ academic record will help paint a picture of what a students’ academic progress will be like as they attend university (Azcona et al., 2019). Speaking of universities, they often keep a digital footprint of students’ access to course materials in their database. This extends to the pages a student search, the time of that search, IP address, and device used to access the web page solely to monitor student behavior in a university setting (Azcona et al., 2019). These are some noteworthy examples of how educational institutions keep a digital footprint on students and why they do so.

Mukhtarzada 3 The Potential Risks of Students Leaving a Digital Footprint Online When it comes down to the information that students provide on the internet intentionally, or unintentionally the digital footprint that they may leave behind online can come with a few risk factors that students, as well as teachers, and parents should be extra cautious about. To begin with, many students in the current generation have a social media account if not multiple social media accounts. According to Songul Karabatak and Murat Karabatak, students should limit themselves from the amount of content they post on social media, and they should think about not posting any type of content that is harmful because if they do then they will damage their online profile (Karabatak & Karabatak, 2020). Students, especially at a young age, should learn to think about how to use the internet productively and responsibly, so that they don’t end up leaving their digital footprint on harmful websites. This is very important because every decision a student makes to click on websites that consists of harmful content will negatively impact their opportunities to get accepted into higher level academic institutions, or employment at certain jobs (Karabatak & Karabatak, 2020). Despite the harm that comes with students leaving a digital footprint in cyberspace, there are a few measures that could be taken to ensure safe usage of the internet among students. For example, on a platform like YouTube there is child friendly content to explore, and content that is not suitable for children. Students should be taught to not open random YouTube channels, or videos as they should be restricted to watching child friendly content that is educational and filled with entertainment (Karabatak & Karabatak, 2020). Another way to prevent students from leaving a harmful digital footprint is by ensuring their accounts have excellent security measures. Songul Karabatak and Murat Karabatak state that students should be careful not to post absurd content, they should be limited to a small number of accounts, and we need to ensure they have a safe and secure password setup

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