I regularly start conversations with people about how important digital literacy, cyber safety and understanding the nature of the web is for them to understand but I learnt a couple of good lessons myself this week.

They revolved around asking permission to use other people’s images and work and the other was about the length of time things stay on line.

I was sharing some of my learning around using iPads and numeracy at a school this week. I thought things had gone well and everyone was leaving when one of the teachers came to me as I was packing up and we got into a conversation around other resources of mine she had used and one in particular on taking good photos.

She astounded me really as I have not shared that stuff in ages and it was of the first things that I shared in any sort of public way quite a number of years ago.

Back in the days when digital cameras were new I had made a Powerpoint for my class on how to take good photos using the Rule of Thirds. I had used all my own family photos apart from a couple that I had ‘borrowed’ from the ICT facilitator of the time, Jocelyn MacKay. I don’t recall asking Jocelyn if I could use her images and I had no idea where she had got them from- I assumed from some anonymous internet source.

I hadn’t asked my family members either if I could use their photos cos I reckoned they were my family and wouldn’t mind but on reflection I should have asked them too! It was in the days before I worried about whose images I was using and whether I should ask first.

Anyway this teacher said she was surprised to be viewing a the Rule of Thirds Powerpoint I had shared and see a photo of her nephew at the age of about six. Her nephew is now twenty-five and living overseas. She was OK with it and didn’t mind but I was still embarrassed that it was there.

Everyone’s image on the internet is their own and I should always ask first before assuming it is OK to use other people’s stuff.

It is a lot harder to retrace your steps once the image has left the privacy of your camera.

I need to think more about these sorts of things and be more vigilant.