Google Me
Have you ever Googled yourself? I’m sure most of us have. I know I have. I am happy to say that the first page that shows up are all websites about hockey games that I have played in during my university career. I haven’t found anything that I should be worried about…yet.
I say yet because I just read a post by Rodd Lucier which discusses other people googling us and finding information that may be inappropriate or even false. In the post titled, Take Ownership of your Identity, it gives an instance where a student created a false Facebook account about a teacher. The profile was complete with a picture and biography. The student was charged with impersonating his teacher because of this.
The post describes 5 ways to ensure you are well established on the internet and have a good online reputation so that when students, teachers or parents search for you, they will find good things, not bad. One way to get this good reputation and be well known on the Internet for positive things is just what we are doing in this class. By blogging and commenting about educational topics we are making ourselves present in a positive online community.
I thought this was a really good post and it is short so I would encourage all of you to read it and hope that some of you can find something interesting as well!
Diane Hammond said,
May 16, 2008 at 1:17 am
Thanks for pointing to Rodd’s post. The issue of online presence and by extension professional conduct is looming large on the horizon for teachers’ federations. It is a critical issue they are going to have to tackle. I like Rodd’s proactive approach. What’s your feeling about “living” your personal life on the Internet? How do you feel about students and parents being able to find the social networks you belong to, the art you like, the books you read, the hobbies you engage in…?
kkrug said,
May 16, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I really enjoyed your post, Ashley! From someone who has also “googled’ themselves, I can totally understand your worry of what might be out there. I will read the article you suggested now, thanks:)
Gerald Franklin said,
May 17, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I love your post. Great job And keep up the great blooging
Gerald Franklin – Google Me
Nicole Little said,
May 18, 2008 at 3:56 am
Hi!
I took ECMP 355 last semester, and this was definately one of the biggest ideas that I took from the class. During the class, my blog came up readily when I googled myself, but since I haven’t been posting as regularly, it no longer shows up. I really don’t want to be associated with Facebook in any way, but I guess protecting my identity might be a good reason to make an account.
I started intentionally putting my name on things online that I want people to find, such as my blog, http://nicolelittle.wordpress.com . I don’t feel afraid that this is a security risk, and it helps to give me control over what people find when they search my name. Before this class, I thought the idea of putting your name on something online was absurd.
The ‘Real’ity of social networking | Tech Education Journey said,
May 18, 2008 at 9:25 pm
[...] connect to others in various locations. Unfortunately, these sites tend to be abused. I was reading Ashley’s weblog the other day and she made a similar comment about the abuse of those sites. It was concerning our [...]
April Soloway said,
May 19, 2008 at 11:57 pm
This issue can go two ways… on one hand, it is important for teachers to maintain a positive, respectable image online, but on the other hand, anyone looking up information online needs to know that their search results may not necessarily be accurate. This could especially be true if someone has a really common name. I find the concept of buying your own domain name just to protect it a bit unsettling, but in light of the facebook impersonation, I can see how teachers may need to be a little more aware of the importance of online presence. Thanks for posting this.
A Reflection: Tech Task #7 | Tech Education Journey said,
June 18, 2008 at 11:19 pm
[...] meaningful contributions to my learning and development in this class. My favourite posts include Ashley’s Google Me post, which I connected to my ‘Real’ity of Social Networking post, Tam’s The [...]