How to Keep Your Digital Portfolio Private: A Kid's Guide.

📚 What is a Digital Portfolio?

A digital portfolio is like a scrapbook, but it lives online! It's a collection of your work – drawings, stories, videos, or anything else you create using a computer or tablet. Think of it as your personal online showcase. It's important to protect it from unwanted eyes.

🛡️ Why is Privacy Important?

Keeping your digital portfolio private means that only people you trust can see it. This protects your work and your personal information from strangers or anyone who might try to steal or misuse it. Just like you wouldn't want a stranger looking through your personal diary, you need to control who sees your digital portfolio.

🗝️ Key Principles of Keeping Your Portfolio Private

• 🔒 Strong Passwords: Use strong passwords for your online accounts. A strong password is like a super-strong lock for your digital stuff. It should be long, use a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Don't use obvious information like your birthday or pet's name!
• 🤝 Sharing with Permission: Only share your portfolio link with people you trust, like your family and teachers. Always ask your parents or guardians before sharing anything online.
• 📡 Privacy Settings: Learn how to use the privacy settings on the platforms where your portfolio is hosted (like Google Sites, Behance, or personal websites). These settings let you control who can see your work. Choose the option that limits access to only specific people.
• 🚫 Avoid Public Forums: Don't post your portfolio link on public forums or social media if you want it to stay private. These are like shouting your password from a rooftop!
• 💾 Regular Backups: Keep a backup of your portfolio on a safe device, like a USB drive or an external hard drive. This way, if something happens to your online portfolio, you won't lose your work.
• 🕵️ Be Aware of Phishing: Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them your password or personal information. Be cautious of suspicious emails or messages. Never click on links from unknown senders or give away your password.
• 🚨 Report Suspicious Activity: If you see something suspicious happening with your portfolio, like someone accessing it without your permission, tell a trusted adult immediately.

🌐 Real-World Examples

Let's look at some examples to understand this better:

• 🧑‍🏫 Scenario 1: Sharing with Your Teacher: Your teacher asks you to create a digital portfolio for a class project. You use Google Sites and set the sharing settings to 'Specific People' and add your teacher's email address. Now, only your teacher can see your work.
• 🎨 Scenario 2: Showing Your Art to Family: You create an awesome drawing on your tablet and want to share it with your grandma. You upload it to a private folder on Google Drive and share the link with her email. She can see your drawing, but no one else can unless she shares the link.
• 🎬 Scenario 3: Protecting Your YouTube Channel: You have a YouTube channel where you upload your animations. You set the videos to 'Unlisted,' which means only people with the direct link can view them. You only share the links with your close friends.

🔐 Conclusion

Keeping your digital portfolio private is all about being smart and cautious online. By using strong passwords, understanding privacy settings, and being careful about who you share your work with, you can protect your creations and stay safe online. Remember, your digital work is valuable, and it's worth protecting!