👣
Year 8 • Lesson 13

Your Digital Footprint

Your online identity — who sees it, forever

Everything you post online can outlive you. Your digital footprint is part of your reputation.

🎯 Learning Objectives

  • Describe what a digital footprint includes and who can access it
  • Evaluate scenarios using responsible sharing criteria
  • Create a "digital identity guide" for a younger student

📚 Key Vocabulary

Digital footprint
The trail of data left by everything you do online
Permanence
The idea that deleted posts may still exist in screenshots, caches and backups
Reputation
How others perceive you — increasingly shaped by your online presence
Active vs passive data
Data you choose to share (posts) vs data collected without you realising (location, clicks)

⏱️ Lesson Timing (50 mins)

🪝
Hook
5 mins

"Imagine a future employer Googles your name. What would they find?" Students jot privately. Then discuss what controls that and what doesn't.

👨‍🏫
Teach
10 mins
  • Active footprint: posts, photos, comments, likes, follows
  • Passive footprint: location data, cookies, search history, purchase patterns
  • Who has access: platforms, employers, universities, parents, police
  • Permanence: screenshots exist even after deletion
  • The 5-year rule: would you be proud of this post in 5 years?
🛠️
Create
40 mins

Part 1: Scenario cards — groups evaluate 10 online behaviours and rank them risk level 1-5 with justification. Part 2: Students design a "Digital Identity Guide" aimed at a Year 7 student starting secondary school — in PowerPoint Online, Canva or as a document. It must include: 3 do's, 3 don'ts, what a digital footprint is, and one piece of advice they wish they'd known.

Tools:
CanvaPowerPoint Online
📢
Share
5 mins

Share one genuine piece of advice. Compile into a class "Digital Survival Guide" shared document.

🔧 Tools & Resources

🤖 AI Angle

AI tools also collect your data. Be aware of what you share in prompts — don't include personal details, medical info or anything private.

📝 Evidence of Learning

Completed scenario ranking + Digital Identity Guide (exported)

📚 Homework

Search your own name. What appears? Write 3 sentences: what you found, whether it represents you well, and what you'd want to change.

⏱️ 15 mins

♿ Differentiation

Support (for students who need help)

Pre-written scenarios with hint cards

Extension (for advanced learners)

Research the "right to be forgotten" ruling in the EU. Write a paragraph arguing for or against it.