! HOW TO

PROTECT YOUR ONLINE

REPUTATION

TUESDAY 11/12 1:00

How to Protect Your Online Reputation

Topic: Student Safety & Technology

Grade Level: High School

Facilitators: School Counselor(s) and/or Guidance Department

Approximate Time: 1 hour

1 From The Professional School Counselor and Student Safety and the Use of Technology, 2012; available online at: (http://www.schoolcounselor.org/asca/media/asca/PositionStatements/PS_Technology.pdf)

Background

Today, most of our society relies on technology as a means of communication through

email, social media, and as a research tool. If used correctly, technology is very helpful,

however, if used incorrectly or inappropriately, it can be harmful and dangerous. As counselors,

we need to be certain that our students understand the positive and negative effects of using

technology. Most are not aware of privacy issues, legal implications, and how their daily

Internet use could possibly harm their reputations. To be successful in their education and

careers, students should learn how to appropriately utilize the Internet and other forms of

technology as well as how to protect themselves. Some risks that students are exposed to

include: online addictions, invasion of privacy and disclosure of personal information,

inappropriate online communications, easy access to inappropriate media, cheating and copyright

infringement, cyber bullying/harassment, and sexual predators1. This program is designed to

educate high school students on invasion of privacy, disclosure of personal information, and

inappropriate online communications.

Materials:

• Pens

• Computer

• Projector/Screen

• PowerPoint Presentation (Appendix A)

• Evaluation Survey (Appendix B)

Designed for:

• All high school students to be seated in the auditorium

• 1 hour

Description:

Introduction: (9 minutes)

• Slides #1 – 5

• Slide #2 – Have students take a couple minutes to brainstorm answers to these questions

Main Content: (28 minutes)

• Slides #6 – 18

• Slide #17 – Have students take a couple minutes to discuss these questions with a partner.

Then have a discussion as a whole group regarding their findings and opinions.

Closing: (12 minutes)

• Slides #19 – 24

• Slides #20 and 21– Have students take a moment to answer these questions on their own.

Evaluation:

• Hand out survey and pens to students

• Give 5 – 10 minutes to complete the surveys

• Collect surveys

• Determine the effectiveness of the program based on how many 1’s and 2’s were circled

on the survey.

How to Protect Your Online Reputation

November 12, 2013

Brainstorm: Would you want your counselor or administration to

see what is currently on your social media pages and phone? Why or why not?

If you delete a post, is it truly deleted?

Oops! Can you retract an email or text message you sent?

How many of your friends know your passwords?

It’s supposed to be PRIVATE! You can change your privacy settings on social media

sites, but they are constantly being updated and changed CHECK PRIVACY SETTINGS WEEKLY!

Even if you block your content to the public, the makers of the site and law enforcement can gain access to your information THIS INCLUDES ANYTHING YOU HAVE DELETED!

Privacy? When you post on the internet, it is stored in your

“account” as well as on a server somewhere in the cloud

Even when you delete a post or picture, it is still backed up on the website

You have no control over whether or not that information is deleted

Your Online Presence & Reputation

You leave a digital footprint and a personal impression every time you send or update the following:

E-mails

Social Media Profile

Videos

You can also be recognized on the following:

School Website

Newspaper Articles

Other Websites

Passwords Passwords are used to keep your information

protected from others

Never use the same password for every site

Do not use predicable passwords

Do not give out your passwords, even cell phone passcodes, to ANYONE even if it is your best friend or significant other

They can post things on your behalf and you have no way to prove that it was not you

Scenario Erica and Jen know each other’s passwords. They get into a huge argument one day about Erica’s boyfriend. Jen signs on to Erica’s Facebook pretending to be her and posts a status trash talking Erica’s boyfriend and implying that he was using drugs. There was no way to prove that this was not Erica who posted it and now he is facing discipline at home, in school, and facing possible legal charges.

If you give out your password, even to your significant other or friend, you are giving that person permission to post on your behalf. YOU are responsible for the content posted under your name.

Facebook You can only delete what YOU post, not what your

friends or anyone else may post about YOU

Facebook has an archive of everything that is currently on your account and can be downloaded at any time

It takes up to one month for an account to be deleted

All of your information remains backed up for 90 days

Pictures of you and messages you sent are NOT deleted

Twitter You can only delete what YOU Tweet, not what your

friends or anyone else may Tweet about YOU

Twitter has an archive that allows you to see all of your information and Tweets starting with your first Tweet

When you deactivate your account, your information is NOT immediately deleted

From the Twitter Website:

Note: Deleted Tweets sometimes hang out in Twitter search, they will clear with time.

Social Media & Law Enforcement

Every site has a “Law Enforcement Division” Policy They respond to legal requests and prevent harm by

allowing access, preserving, and sharing your information

Police can get a search warrant or subpoena in order to gain access to any part of your account at any time This includes all social media sites, text messages,

pictures, and e-mails.

Search Engines Google caches (saves) information from the internet

on a daily basis

Cached websites are used in case the actual website goes down or has a server error

These cached websites are older versions of the site, which means content that was deleted may still be visible

How are you seen to the public? Search for yourself!

Use everything that can be used to identify you Full name, e-mail address, phone number, screen name,

nickname, etc.

If you can see it, so can everyone else

You cannot remove information from a search, but you can have it removed (as much as possible) from the specific website

Schools Teachers, Counselors, Nurses, and Administrators are

only a few of the different types of Mandated Reporters in Massachusetts Mandated Reporters are required by law to report

anything that may be illegal or suspect abuse

What is posted online can result in discipline at school

How would you feel if your counselor or administrator showed you a print out of your social media profile today?

Colleges & The Work Force Colleges and employers use social media and search

engines as a way to determine your character Would you want these individuals to see what is

currently on your social media page?

Although you can be protected by free speech (not hate speech), you may not get hired or accepted based on character issues

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” –John Wooden

E-mail E-mails are used as a means of communication

You need to be aware of who your audience is and how you want to be perceived A friend vs. an employer A teacher vs. a relative

Once you have sent an email, there is no guarantee it can be retracted

E-mails can be subpoenaed by police

EMAIL #1 FROM JOHN TO HIS TEACHER:

I need help on problem #3…I dont understand what u were talking about in class 2day…can u teach us again 2morrow so i know what to do.

EMAIL #2 FROM JOHN TO HIS TEACHER:

Hello Mr. Doe,

I am having trouble understanding #3 on our homework. Would you be able to stay after school with me tomorrow to help me with what you taught in class today?

Thank you,

John

Discuss with a partner:

Which e-mail would be the better one to send?

Why?

If you received the first email, what would your impressions be of the student?

If you received the second email, what would your impressions be of the student?

Cell Phones ALWAYS HAVE A PASSCODE – It protects you! DO NOT TELL ANYONE YOUR PASSCODE

If someone takes your phone, they can carry on full conversations through text messaging and then delete it without your knowledge

Once you send a text or picture message, it CANNOT be undone

You have no idea who is actually reading the texts on the other end

Once someone has access to a smartphone, they have access to social media and e-mail as well

Your Online Reputation Reputation: The views that are generally held about somebody or

something The generally accepted estimation of somebody or

something as having particular qualities or attributes

Decide what you want your reputation to be and take precautions to protect it

THINK: Who are you? You can get very comfortable behind a computer

screen or on a cell phone

Always reread something before you send it

Ask yourself if you would say those exact words if you were face to face with that person

Would you like to receive a message like the one you are about to send?

THINK: Before you post… How many people will see this?

Who am I sending it to?

What will this person think?

What am I posting for everyone to see?

Why am I posting this?

Can I trust the people who see this?

Will I look back in 1 day, 2 weeks, 3 months, or 4 years from now and regret it?

Protect Yourself

Check social media privacy settings weekly

Never use the same password for every site

Do not give out your passwords

Think before you text, send an e-mail, or post online

Always assume that everything you post is available to anyone to see

With Privilege Comes

Responsibility

Protect Your Online Reputation!

Resources www.facebook.com/help

support.twitter.com

www.youtube.com : Policy & Safety

www.google.com : Privacy & Terms

www.doe.mass.edu

How To Protect Your Online Reputation Evaluation

1 – I did not know this before today. 2 – I knew this, but learned more about it today. 3 – I already knew all of this. Circle the appropriate number regarding your knowledge of the following statements.

1. Site makers and law enforcement can gain access to all of my accounts, posts, and texts even if I deleted them. 1 2 3

2. You have no control over if your information truly is deleted. 1 2 3

3. When you delete your Facebook account, pictures of you and messages you sent are not deleted. 1 2 3

4. Twitter and Facebook have archives of everything posted on your pages from the first day you joined. 1 2 3

5. Search engines make cached pages in case a website goes down. 1 2 3

6. The cached pages may include content you previously deleted. 1 2 3

7. What is posted online can result in discipline in and out of school. 1 2 3

8. Colleges and employers use search engines and social media to learn more about your character and it could have a negative effect. 1 2 3

9. I can determine what an appropriate e-mail should look like based on the audience. 1 2 3

10. Giving out passwords can be harmful and/or hurtful. 1 2 3

11. I know what an online reputation is. 1 2 3

12. I know how to protect my online reputation. 1 2 3

School Counseling Outreach Project Evaluation

Erin Gibeau

There are a lot of new issues that arise with technology use on a daily basis. For my project on

Student Safety & Technology, I focused on student’s privacy and their knowledge of what truly

is deleted online, as well as what assumptions may be made about them based on online

communications and searches. I learned a lot myself completing this project due to the research

component necessary to make sure I had the correct facts. I believe that my PowerPoint is

informational, easily understandable, and effective. I understand that some students may already

know some of the information out there, but not all students know every fact that is imperative

for their safety and well being. The survey that I created will be a useful tool to quickly assess

how much information the students learned during the presentation. Students will have to rate

key statements from the PowerPoint on scale of 1 to 3 (1 – I did not know this information, 2 – I

knew some of this, but learned more today, and 3 – I knew all of this before). As you analyze

the results, the more 1’s and 2’s you see, the more informational the presentation was for that

specific audience.