ARTIFACTS

Digital Citizenship Key Vocabulary

ANONYMOUS: having a hidden identity

APP: short for “application,” a computer program that performs a specific set of functions

 BIAS: an attitude or prejudice that favors a way of feeling or acting over another

BOT: short for “robot,” a program, or sequence of computer code, that runs on the Internet; bots can be created to accomplish a specific task more quickly than a human

BUG: error in a program that keeps it from running as it should

CLICKBAIT: sensationalist headline or link to an article, blog post, or other Internet content that exists for the purpose of attracting attention, or “drawing clicks.” Once a user clicks on the headline or image, the website is often mostly ads.

CLIENT: an application that runs on a computer or workstation and relies on a server to perform some operation code (verb): to write computer instructions

COMMAND: instruction to a computer or device to perform a specific task

COMPUTER PROGRAM: list of instructions that causes a computer to behave in a certain way  

COOKIE: a small file that some websites attach to a user’s hard drive while the user is browsing that site; they can be used to track user preferences, speed loading times, and for advertising.  

CREDIBILITY: being believed or accepted as true, real, or honest

CYBERBULLYING: used to describe online harassment, which can be in the form of flames, comments made in chat rooms, the sending of the offensive or cruel e-mail, or even harassing others by posting on blogs, Web pages or social networking sites

DEVICE: machine or external component that runs independently of a computer

DIGITAL CITIZEN: a person who acts safely, responsibly, and respectfully online

DIGITAL ETIQUETTE: the conventions of being a responsible online citizen

DM: direct message, on Twitter or other social media platform. DMs allow a user to directly contact another user, without the messages being seen in a public forum

DOWNLOAD: To copy data from the main source to a device

EMOTICON: symbol used in text communications to convey emotion within an electronic message

EXPORT: a way to get information out of a computer

FAKE NEWS: false information published as being authentic

FLAMING (on the Internet): starting arguments on message  boards

FOLLOWERS: people who have subscribed to an account’s updates on social media

FORUM: online discussion group.

HANDLE: name a person goes by on social media

HARDWARE: physical parts of a computer, such as a monitor and keyboard

HIT:  retrieval of any item, like a page or a graphic, from a Web server

INPUT: a way to give information to a computer

INTERNET: a global network connecting millions of computers

ISP (Internet Service Provider): the company that gives you access to the Internet for a feeI

ITERATE: to refine your code until it works as intended

LIKES: positive reaction to a post on social media; posts with more “likes” are more likely to show up in users’ newsfeedsLINK: gateway between two

LOOP: repeating code

MALWARE: derived from the term “malicious software;” refers to any program designed to infiltrate or damage a computer or network

MEDIA LITERACY: skills required to find, evaluate, use, share, and create content online

META-SEARCH ENGINE: a search engine that sends user requests to several other search engines, and then combines the different results into a single display

MODEM: device or program that enables a computer to transmit data  

PASSWORD: secret series of numbers or letters that allows you to access a locked computer or programPERMALINK: unique web address for a single blog posting

PHISHING:  sending an email that attempts to scam the user into giving up private information to be used for identity theft

PING: An alert that notifies a blog poster of a response to their post

ROUTER:  device that forwards data packets of digital  information along networks

RSS FEED: a file containing a blog’s latest posts

SEARCH ALGORITHM: a computer program that search engines use to determine which pages show up in search results

SEARCH ENGINE: a program that searches for and finds items in an online database

SENSATIONALISM: use of shocking details or dramatic language  to cause a lot of excitement or interest

SERVER: computer or device on a network that manages network resources

SKEPTICAL: having doubt about something

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE:  provides a virtual community for people interested in a common subject or just a place to socialize with others online   

SOFTWARE: computer instructions or data; anything that can be stored electronically

THREAD: series of messages that have been posted as replies to each other in online discussions

TOUCHSCREEN: an electronic display that senses a physical touch by hands, fingers, or tools such as a stylus

TROJAN HORSE: a downloadable piece of software that seems like something fun or useful, but actually has malware lurking inside, such as a virus or spyware program; when downloaded and installed, the program installs the malware, too

TROLL (n): online commenter whose intent is to attack views expressed online; these attacks are often personal

TROLL (v): to deliberately post something offensive on the internet to provoke a reaction.

URL:  Uniform Resource Locator, or “address” for a web page.

WEBSITE: site or page located  on the World Wide Web

WEB CRAWLER: program or automated script that methodically browses the World Wide Web