Digital Footprint Lesson - KS3 PSHE ICT Computing

What does a digital footprint actually reveal? In this session students become investigators, reconstructing a fictional student’s online profile from scattered fragments of data. Working piece by piece through social media posts, location tags, playlist data, and school records, they discover how much can be inferred from what people share without realising it.

The lesson builds around a single investigative mechanic: students do the work, and the understanding follows. No lecturing about online risk, no list of rules to copy down, just meaningful discussion and discovery.

What’s included

• Piece by Piece.pptx - full editable presentation with speaker notes on every slide
• Fragment cards for printing and cutting - ready for the investigation activity
• Activity 1 - an investigation
• Activity 2 - reflection and extension activity
• Teacher notes with full timing guidance, differentiation, and curriculum mapping

Themes explored
Digital footprints, passive footprint, aggregation of data, online identity, inference, privacy, what strangers can work out from scattered online information.

Curriculum links
PSHE Association Programme of Study (KS3 - Living in the Wider World), Statutory RSHE 2020 (Online Relationships, Being Safe), Computing National Curriculum KS3, Ofsted Personal Development and SMSC.
Practical details

Suitable for Years 6-9
50-60 minutes
No computers required

This lesson is part of the Digital Footprint Series. The complete bundle - three sessions designed to run as a half-day transition day, drop-down digital literacy session, or three-lesson PSHE unit - is available here:
The Whole Picture - Digital Footprint Series