Building Your Digital Identity

As you begin to use social media to support your professional learning, it is critical that you pause and contemplate the some essentials. First, everything you share on Twitter will be public. As people start to "Follow" you on, your Tweets will appear in their feed. However, even if a person is note following you, they can search for you and read your Tweets. If you are using Twitter for professional learning, you must be mindful about what you share.

Think about your tweets as opportunities to demonstrate what you bring to the table. Give some thought to what type of digital identity you want to construct for your professional presence. For example, I do not share private information about my family or friends on Twitter or my blog, unless I have a relevant story to share that relates to my interests in educational technology, online teaching, and faculty development. My tweets and blog posts reflect me as a professional.

However, to me (Michelle), being personal is an important part of my work -- personal is not the same as private. I do share opinions and I do engage in critical conversations with other educators, which is one of the best parts about being a connected educator, but I remain mindful that each Tweet I send and each post I make is a public reflection of myself. Once it is out there, you cannot take it back. Even if you delete a Tweet or a post, there may be damage done that you aren't aware of.

I recommend taking 2-minutes to view this video about digital identity from T&LI at CSU Channel Islands Links to an external site. by Jaimie Hoffman Links to an external site..