← ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

Your footprint and your reputation

What people think of you based on what they find about you online. Even an old post that seemed funny at the time can shape it years later.

Part of: ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6 — Digital Footprints — Module 17

Understanding Your footprint and your reputation in ACARA Digital Technologies Years 5–6

What it does: The old post stays in your footprint, so it can still affect your reputation years later. Reputation is about the opinions people form when they find things about you online, not just how popular you are. Something that seemed funny at the time can look very different to other people, years later. Thinking first helps make sure today's post will not cause problems for you later. Removing old posts and asking for help can improve how others see you, even though copies may still exist. Posts you are proud of show others a positive picture of who you are.

Common mistakes: The post is public, so others can see it. The test should be IF public THEN. Checking for FALSE would hide the post, which is the opposite of what really happens online. The arrow points the wrong way. In pseudocode a value goes into the variable, so it should be oldPost ← 'silly photo'.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 174–225) and word search (Modules 137–225).

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Learning
Duo
Your reputation online is...
What people think of you based on what they find about you onlineThe number of followers you have
Matches
old_post = "funny joke" delete_post() reputation = safe_forever
↓
Deleting a post does not guarantee it is gone. Others may have seen or copied it, so it can still shape your reputation.
Applying
Meanings
Term
reputation
Meaning
What people think of you based on what they find about you online. Even an old post that seemed funny at the time can shape it years later.
Practice
SET reputation TO what others find about me
Testing
Gaps
← whatPeopleFind(footprint)
Check Answer
Spots
2public ← TRUE
3IF public = FALSE THEN

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Quick Questions

1. Your reputation online is...
A. The number of followers you have
B. What people think of you based on what they find about you online ✓
Reputation is about the opinions people form when they find things about you online, not just how popular you are.
2. Which is true about a post you made when you were 9?
A. Someone could still find it years later and judge you by it ✓
B. It disappears on its own once you grow up
Old posts can stay online for a long time, so they can shape what people think of you later.
3. A post seemed funny to you and your friends at the time. What might happen later?
A. It will always seem funny to everyone who sees it
B. A coach or future employer might see it and think differently of you ✓
Something that seemed funny at the time can look very different to other people, years later.
4. Who might see your footprint and form an opinion of you?
A. Teachers, coaches, new friends and future employers ✓
B. Only the friends you posted it for
Others can find your footprint, not just the people you meant to share it with.
5. Which is a good way to protect your reputation?
A. Think about how others would see a post before you share it ✓
B. Post first and worry about it later
Thinking first helps make sure today's post will not cause problems for you later.

Match the Pairs

reputation → What people think of you based on what they find about you online
how others see me → People may judge you by what they find online, not by what you meant when you posted it
A post that seemed funny at the time can still shape what people think of you years later → post_2024 = "funny joke" reputation in 2030 = still affected
Before posting, picture someone you respect finding it in the future → if future_me_would_cringe: do_not_post()
old_post = "funny joke" delete_post() reputation = safe_forever → Deleting a post does not guarantee it is gone. Others may have seen or copied it, so it can still shape your reputation.
if post_is_funny_now: post_it() → This only checks if the post is funny today. It ignores how people may see it years later.

Key Term

reputation
What people think of you based on what they find about you online. Even an old post that seemed funny at the time can shape it years later.

Fill in the Blanks

1. reputation ← whatPeopleFind(footprint)
Hint: Type the variable name for what people think of you based on what they find online.
2. IF oldPost = "unkind" THEN reputation ← "damaged" END IF
Hint: Type the keyword that comes after the condition and starts the actions to run.
3. results ← searchOnline("Sam Lee") DISPLAY results
Hint: Type the keyword that shows what others would see about you.
4. oldPost ← "funny joke" yearsLater ← 3 IF yearsLater > 0 THEN DISPLAY oldPost
Hint: Type the comparison operator that checks that time has passed, so the old post can still be found.
5. IF postIsKind THEN reputation ← "good" ELSE reputation ← "harmed"
Hint: Type the keyword for the other path when the first condition is not true.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A post ← 'funny joke'
B public ← TRUE
C IF public = FALSE THEN
D SHOW post TO others
Line C — The post is public, so others can see it. The test should be IF public THEN. Checking for FALSE would hide the post, which is the opposite of what really happens online.
Question 2
A oldPost → 'silly photo'
B others ← ['coach','boss']
C FOR each person IN others
D person SEES oldPost
Line A — The arrow points the wrong way. In pseudocode a value goes into the variable, so it should be oldPost ← 'silly photo'.
Question 3
A reputation ← 'good'
B post ← kind comment
C ADD post TO footprint
D DISPLAY footprint
Line B — Text must be in quotes. Without them, kind and comment look like variable names. It should be post ← 'kind comment'.
Question 4
A oldPost ← 'rude joke'
B footprint ← [oldPost]
C viewer ← 'future boss'
D IF oldPost is rude
E reputation ← 'worse'
Line D — An IF line needs the word THEN. It should be IF oldPost is rude THEN, so the next line runs when the old post is rude.
Question 5
A post ← 'funny at the time'
B yearsLater ← -5
C IF yearsLater > 0 THEN
D post still in footprint
Line B — Years later cannot be a negative number. It should be yearsLater ← 5, so that the old post is still in the footprint in the future.

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