A digital footprint is defined as the trail or traces that people leave behind online. Whether it’s through a social media post, a picture, or any information you may have given to an insecure website. Anyone can search your name and find your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or white pages. These are the most common sites connected to you that pop up first, depending on your privacy settings.

            Personally my digital footprint is fairly minimal unless you know exactly where and how to search for me. There are, according to, howmanyofme.com 54 people named Alicia Bauer in the US. When I search Google for Alicia Bauer, the only connection to me is my twitter account and if you know relatively where I live (City, State) you can find me on white pages. When searching Yahoo, I could not find and immediate connections to me. This is due to the fact that my Facebook and Instagram are both private accounts, making them much harder to find.

            I believe my current digital footprint could have both positive and negative effects on me as a teacher. For example a negative would be that because my twitter is not a private account anyone has access to it and can view anything I have posted at anytime. If I were to ever post anything bashing a school district or a certain principal, and I went to get a job somewhere and they saw that, it is highly unlikely I would get the job. A positive impact is that because most of my accounts are private, it is difficult to access a lot of my personal information and posts.

It is my belief that technology has become more prominent in todays society. Not just in the home, office or business but more importantly effecting our children and their education. Many children are being influenced by technology, however is this a positive or negative effect?
In my opinion technology is extremely important however technology is taking over and causing children to lack social skills and have poor communication.

The article I read discussed how studies have been conducted and results have shown that children under 2 should have little to no screen time. However, this study has not specifically been conducted using an interactive screen, such as an iPad. Several apps have been created to aid in the development of hand-eye coordination and speech development, but nothing can truly replace human or parent interaction with children.

As someone who works in childcare, I see it very often that children under age 5 have their own iPads or iPods. I believe it is great that parents are trying to enhance their child's education, but there is so much more children can access on these devices. Without the proper restrictions and limits children can become exposed to way more than they should be at a given age. Not only is expose an issue, but the lack of exposure to socialization. By giving children an iPad you are giving them a screen, which is no replacement for a person. Children are lacking the social skills needed just to carry on an everyday conversation.

So what do you think? Should a young child have their own iPad?

The app I chose to review is called 8tracks. This app is similar to Pandora, because it is an app that allows you to listen to music for free. The app is a free app; all you have to do is create an account. When you open the app you are given different themes to choose from. Once you choose a theme it will then it will take you to the next page where you choose a second theme that will further define your search for the perfect playlist.  The playlists are created by users for others to listen to.

       This app has several positive and negative features. A main positive of this app is that you get to listen to new music and great playlists that people make. Another positive is that there are endless users that create playlists, so there is always something new to listen to. A negative of the app is that you can’t hit the back button to start a song over, or to listen to it again. Another negative is that once you listen to a playlist you can’t listen to it again until a few hours later.

       Overall I give this app two thumbs-up. This app has so many different playlists it doesn’t ever get old. Also because there is such a variety of music available through different users.

Happy listening!

Hey! I’m Alicia Bauer and I recently graduated from Lancaster High School. I am now currently attending Canisius College as a resident. My major is Early Childhood/Special Education with a concentration in English. Ever since I was 3, I have wanted to be a teacher. I love working with kids and watching them learn and grow, many people have tried to persuade me away from teaching, but I don’t let them get in my way.

My family consists of my Mom, Dad, my brother Brandon, and my pet turtle. My brother is 15 (3 years younger than me). When I was 4 my dad won a game at the fair and I got to choose the prize. I could choose either a softball or a turtle, and of course I chose the turtle. I named him Watermelon because he was a red-eared slider; he lived to be 10 years old. After he died we got another red-eared slider from Petsmart, we named him Franklin. Yes, he got his name from the TV show, because it was my favorite show when I was little. Franklin is now 3 years old getting super big.