CyberShield Kids • Module 5
Digital Footprints
This module teaches elementary students that online actions can leave traces. Students will learn how to think before sharing, protect private information, respect other people’s privacy, and ask trusted adults for help.
Module Lessons
What students will complete
Module 5 helps students understand that online choices can matter later. The goal is not to scare students, but to teach them thoughtful, safe, and respectful sharing habits.
What Is a Digital Footprint?
Learn that online actions can leave traces, like posts, messages, searches, comments, photos, and account activity.
Think Before You Share
Learn how to pause before sharing personal details, photos, messages, locations, or information about others.
Photos, Posts, and Screenshots
Learn why photos, posts, screenshots, and private messages should be handled carefully and respectfully.
Cleaning Up and Asking for Help
Learn what students can do if they posted something by mistake or need help with an online situation.
Module Review
Review digital footprints, thoughtful sharing, photos, screenshots, posts, privacy, and trusted adult help.
Big Ideas
What students should remember
Online actions can leave traces
Posts, comments, photos, messages, searches, and account activity can sometimes be saved, copied, or remembered.
Sharing should be thoughtful
Students should pause before sharing anything about themselves or others, especially private information.
Other people have privacy too
Students should not post photos, screenshots, private messages, or personal details about someone without permission.
Trusted adults can help
If a student shares something by mistake or feels worried about an online post, a trusted adult can help them choose next steps.
Safety Reminder
Practice should not use real private information.
Students should not use real names, addresses, phone numbers, school names, passwords, locations, private messages, or real screenshots in practice activities.
Trusted adult rule
If a student shares something by mistake or feels worried about an online post, message, photo, or screenshot, they should ask a parent, guardian, teacher, counselor, or school technology staff member for help.
Digital Footprint Habits
Safe sharing habits students can practice
These habits help students slow down and think before posting, sharing, commenting, or sending information online.
Practice Preview
Safer and unsafe digital footprint choices
These examples are fake and safe for learning. Students should practice with made-up situations, not real private information or real screenshots.
Safer choice
A student wants to post a photo with a friend and asks for permission first.
Unsafe choice
A student shares a screenshot of a private message to make fun of someone.
Safer choice
A student notices they posted something private by mistake and asks a parent or teacher for help.
Module Safety Rules
Rules for this module
Next Build Step
Next, build Lesson 5.1.
After this module page works, the next route should be /kids/digital-footprints/what-is-a-digital-footprint. That page will become the first individual lesson in Kids Module 5.
Continue Learning
Ready for Module 6?
After finishing Digital Footprints, students can continue to Cyber Safety Review to review the biggest safety habits from the full Kids Track and practice safe choices with fake classroom scenarios.