Internet+Safety+Activating+Strategy

“Internet Portraits” Page 13, Teacher's Guide

Ask students how many use the Internet on a regular basis (all or nearly all hands will go up). Ask how many have favourite Web sites that they go to frequently (if you wish to, you may ask for a few examples).

Explain to students that, intentionally or not, when they go online they create online identities: every time they participate in an online activity, they project an impression of themselves to other Web users. Tell students that they will be drawing their own “Internet portraits” to reflect those online identities; emphasize that this is to help them better understand themselves—their Internet portraits are private and the portraits will not be seen by others unless they wish to share them.

Write the following instructions on the board for the Internet portrait exercise. Then go over them with your students. 1. Take a sheet of white paper. 2. Draw a square representing the physical world. 3. Then draw a circle representing the virtual world. (These can be drawn and positioned however students wish; there is no right or wrong way to do this.) 4. Within the circle representing the virtual world, draw smaller circles to represent the various interactive environments where you have an online identity. These are online venues such as e-mail accounts, instant messaging sites, chat rooms, Web sites or gaming sites where you go by your own name, post a profile, or use a nickname or avatar. 5. In each of the environments where you use your real identity, place an “X” to represent yourself. 6. In the environments where you use a nickname or avatar, put the letters “ID.” 7. Assign a number to each different “ID” that you use (e.g., ID1, ID2, ID3). However, if you use the same nickname or avatar in several environments, show this in your diagram by using the same number for each of these.

Without asking specific questions, discuss the Internet portraits with students. How many drew two or more circles? Five or more? Ten or more? How many used their real identity in one or more environments? How many used a nickname or avatar in one or more environments?

8. What do you think your Internet portrait says about you? What would people know about you from seeing some or all of your online identities?

Meeting - February 16, 2010