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If your kids go to Web sites like Club Penguin or Webkinz or play games like World of Warcraft, then they've created alter egos called avatars. This video tells parents what they need to know about Avatars.

Five ideas to enable educators to develop and model a purposeful and professional digital footprint.\n\n1-Model responsible footprinting with your own practices in blogging, commenting, social networking, and picture posting.\n2-If you have established a professional blog, share it widely and proudly such as placing it in your email signature (if your employer will let you) and as Jeff Utecht suggests include your blog url when you comment on others blogs and in other forums. This enables others to see best practices and is a great way to get the conversation started.\n3-Google yourself (aka ego surfing). If you have something posted online that you'd be uncomfortable having a current or future student, parent, colleague, or employer find, delete it (if you can) or request that it be deleted. There are ways an aggressive internet detective can still find this information, but most won't go through the trouble and the mere fact that you deleted it shows some level of responsibility.\n4-If you do have online personal information and/or interests you wouldn't want discovered, use an unidentifiable screen name/avatar. This means you may need to update your screen name/avatar in your existing online presence.\n5-Engage in the conversation and professionally comment, reply, and present online, onsite, and at conferences.

Lesson Plan for Grades 5&6. With the layering of identity through the use of nicknames and avatars, as well as a sense of anonymity, it is easy for young people to sometimes forget that real people-with real feelings-are at the heart of online conversations. In this lesson, students are provided with opportunities to explore this concept and discuss the importance of using empathy and common sense when talking to others online.

Kids create their own avatars and complete missions that educate them about cyberbullying, social media and mobile safety. Part of an Australian non-profit social initiative (Smart Online/SafeOnline) that uses kids to deliver campaigns aimed at educating their peers about cyberbullying/cybersafety issues. Registration is required and even though this is designed for use in Australia, anyone can play. A nice feature is that, as kids complete missions, they get an email summarizing what they have learned. This is the same agency that created the video, Pants Down