Designing the Classroom Curriculum Designing the Classroom Curriculum | Page 155

Lynch, Smith, Howarth
these questions are addressed on the Cybersmart website and are essential content of the modern teachers’
tool-kit.
As the development of the internet (especially the WWW social sites) takes place, the term ‘Digital
Footprint’, becomes more important. Exactly what is a digital footprint? It is the information that exists on
the web about an individual. As the social communication sites on the internet grow and develop, the amount
of personal information shared on the pages we create on site such as Facebook, Twitter or blogs increases.
Information within a digital footprint often grows without conscious knowledge. A straight forward simple
definition of a digital footprint is given by Wikipedia;
There are two main classifications for digital footprints: passive and active. A passive digital footprint
is created when data is collected without the owner knowing, whereas active digital footprints are
created when personal data is released deliberately by a user for the purpose of sharing information
about oneself by means of websites or social media. (Digital Footprint, 2016)
A digital footprint can contain a wealth of information yo