Integrating Online Identity Management Tools in a Complete Social Media Literacy Curriculum for Engineering and Technology Students

Abstract

The management of one’s online identity - defined as the sum of information available about a person online - is becoming very important for engineering and technology students entering a competitive job market. In an age when employers review Google search results, LinkedIn and Facebook activity, in addition to the traditional resume [1], students need to be able to craft professional online identities that represent their skills and personalities accurately while serving their career goals. However, with the abundance of social media accounts, online information, and the complexity of the social phenomenon of being exposed to multiple, often unintended, audiences at once, online identity management can become a full-time job. In fact, the marketplace has responded to this problem as new companies have emerged that offer online identity management services for an often steep fee [2]. Managing one’s online identity is an integral part of social media literacy. All students who are looking for employment may be subject to social screening on social networking sites, not only those who can afford to hire online reputation managers. It is the purpose of this research to help engineering and technology educators empower students, so they can all be able to manage their online information. Previous research has proposed integrating social media literacy into the undergraduate engineering and technology curricula, and has outlined a four-step online identity management plan for students [3]. The current paper builds upon previous work and facilitates the online identity management process by reviewing, analyzing and categorizing the wide spectrum of available online tools for identity management.