Building Presence on the Web: Library Instruction on Digital Footprints and Webpage Building

Digital Footprint

Sharell Walker, Library

With the desire to create a more exciting and impactful library instruction session, the library has included various digital literacy lessons in the instruction sessions at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. Two of the most popular lessons have become “Your Digital Footprint” and “Website Design.” The lessons can apply in various course formats, from one-shot instruction sessions to course-long projects. Student reviews of the course are favorable, and there are future plans for expansions and continued assessment.

Digital Footprints

This session starts with an introductory conversation on internet privacy and social media. Students often fail to realize the different levels of the internet and what type of information those levels give, including information freely available on the surface web, the information behind paywalls on the dark web, and illegal activity on the deep web. This introduction also includes informing students about the ramifications of oversharing on social media and how information on social media can be collected from their profiles and used. Students are often surprised that employers have the legal right to look up a job applicant’s social media content and that it can impact their employment. According to a study by CareerBuilder (2018), seventy percent of employers say that they screen potential employees on social media and that what they find impacts hiring decisions. Fifty-one percent of employers found content on social media that caused them to pass on an otherwise good candidate. Most common reasons to pass included provocative or inappropriate photos or information (46 percent), bad-mouthing a previous company or fellow employees (36 percent), and poor communication skills (32 percent). A survey from Kaplan found that 40 percent of college admissions officers visited applicants’ social media pages when making decisions. From here, students learn how to find what kind of digital footprint they leave behind for potential employers or college admissions. 

An active digital footprint includes data that is intentionally submitted online. It includes websites visited, emails sent, and information given to online services. Digital footprint tracking has become a pinnacle of understanding digital literacy in the author’s library instruction. 

The activity starts with students checking their digital footprint. Finding a digital footprint can be done in a few easy steps: 

  • Google Yourself: Firstname Lastname, Lastname Firstname, usernames; make sure also to check Google Images
  • Try one or two other search engines (Bing, Yahoo)
  • Try free people searches or white page searches like USA People Search or Zabasearch.
  • Search your name as a hashtag on search engines and social media
  • Repeat for family members of your choice

Digital footprint sessions can take on multiple parts depending on the time allotted to your instruction sessions. Students are often surprised about the amount of information they find about themselves online. During this time, students are also told to consider the privacy settings of their social media accounts.

The second part of the digital footprint instruction is to have students think about how they can use their digital footprint to their advantage. For example, a more extended course project could include having students build their footprint by creating positive associations with their names on the internet. Positive associations include creating a LinkedIn page or a website showcasing their skills. By doing this, students are taking control of the information available on the internet and potentially showing a positive side of themselves to future employers who will look them up.

Basic Webpage Building

The website building assignment was piloted with a BUS 150- Business Communications course, in which students built websites for imaginary group businesses. The instruction showed students how to create their own websites using a free platform. Students were initially encouraged to use WordPress for its affordability, versatility, and ability to have multiple administrators on one website. If a student was already familiar with another free website building platform, they could bring the platform to the professor and librarian for acceptance before continuing to build their website. After the first semester, the librarian and professor added WIX as students felt it had more creative options than WordPress. In addition, WIX allows the user to change the site’s interface by clicking and dragging directly from the homepage rather than adding certain items only from a dashboard. Future free platforms will be considered, such as Squarespace and Weebly.

The librarian’s role is to teach website building basics using WordPress or WIX platforms. The instruction session took students through the website’s initial setup phase and taught them the site’s essential functions. Afterward, the teams had time to begin building the page themselves. The librarian offered brief suggestions and resources on making the most out of the website design and tips for increased usability. In addition, the librarian showed students where to find free-use images, especially as some students indicated the desire to create websites for businesses they wished to pursue in the future. Teams were encouraged to sign up for future group appointments with the librarian if needed on how to fine-tune their website and add more exciting features, including social media profiles and other widgets based on site availability. The librarian took time to speak with each team to ensure they created the page and added all team members as administrators as a bare minimum requirement before the end of the lesson. Finally, each group made their own company, developed a theme, and designed their business communication methods. The LibGuide also provided more in-depth resources for editing and using the site dashboard.

Student Reviews

Student reviews for the instruction have proved favorable. After each session, the course professor sent a review survey to the students. The library offered no incentives for the completion of the review. Respondents were various in age, with 47.3 percent between the ages of 18-21, 37.5 percent between the ages of 22-35, and 15.2 percent older than 35. The review gathered general reactions to the sessions, whether the information was new and if it was helpful. Over two academic semesters, the academic year 2021-2022, sixteen sessions were conducted that included one of the digital literacy lessons mentioned above. In total, 112 students responded to the survey: (Figures 1 and 2)

  • 64-69 percent of the students already knew about social media privacy in some way, but only 22-28 percent of students knew about website building and digital footprints. (Figure 3)
  • 3 percent of students reported learning something new in their session. (Figure 4)
  • 8 percent of students indicated the information would impact their schoolwork. (Figure 5)
  • 1 percent said it was valuable to their future. (Figure 6)
  • 2 percent said it would help them get a job in the future. (Figure 7)
  • 8 percent said it would impact their personal life. (Figure 8)

Other interesting figures include:

  • Of the 15.2 percent of respondents who identified as over 35, 93.75 percent said they learned something new and that it would have an impact or be valuable to them.
  • Of the 37.5 percent of respondents between 22-35, 92.8 percent indicated they learned something new and that it would be valuable to them.
  • Of the 47.3 percent of respondents between 18-22, 86.7 percent said they learned something new and that it would impact or be valuable.
  • Only two respondents indicated learning no new knowledge and no impact or value in the session. 

Select additional comments include:

  • “[The session] was really inspiring and gave me a lot of helpful tips.”
  • “I would like to learn more about digital footprints and website building.”
  • “I learned how to build a strong website for my future career.”
  • “It was a great learning experience with [instructor redacted], thank you”
  • “I learned very good points that I can relate to school and personal life”
  • “The information given at my session was very informative and even in the simplest way could have gotten us in trouble that we were unaware of.” 

Insights

The first insight gleaned from the reviews is that the students learned something new from the session, which was the goal. The age range had less than a 10 percent impact on whether the students learned something new. This small number shows that assuming younger students come into the session with superior digital literacy is incorrect. While younger students may have had more opportunities to interact with technology, their digital literacy knowledge cannot be assumed. In addition, students are grateful for the valuable information for academic and personal purposes. The college experience should equip students with skills beyond just a passing grade; sessions like these may help librarians give students transferable critical skills. The task is now for the students to put that knowledge to use. 

Future Plans

Future plans include expanding the lessons and evaluating how sessions like these can impact the students long term. For example, the digital footprint session could include more in-depth issues on social media privacy, how to protect personal data, and internet anonymity. Depending on funding availability, the web design could try other free tools or paid sites, HTML or JavaScript instruction, and copyright instruction. The sessions can be expanded individually into a series of workshops or an entire course on the personal internet presence.

Post-semester or graduation assessments can garner if students retain the information on a long-term scale. Librarians can also partner with the institution’s career services to measure any impact on future employment for students who took one of the sessions. 

Conclusion

Librarians should always be willing to introduce new and innovative methods of digital literacy into their instruction. By using new and creative lesson plans, librarians can teach students digital literacy skills that will prove valuable in academic, personal, and professional settings. Teaching students about their presence on the web gives them a greater understanding of how the internet works and ensures they understand the ramifications of their internet use. It also enables them to take charge of how future employers or universities see them by taking their web presence into their own hands. 

References

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