"As I lamented in my last post, many of the fabulous Web tools out there are restricted to users 13 and over. This limits what Elementary/Primary schools students can access online to create content to collaborate. To save others at school some time, then, I have compiled a list of popular/well known Web tools that can and can't be used by children under 13 - 1), so we are legally covered in what we are allowing our students to use and 2), so they know what is available. Please note that generally the sites that allow for under 13s still ask for parental permission ( even Edmodo if you haven't read the Terms of Use) so a solid school user agreement is needed to use these tools. Some of the sites are not US based so are not bound by COPPA and CIPA regulations. It still requires schools to carefully check out what can be viewed on these sites to ensure they are appropriate to access."
"I've been support educators to integrate technology since 2008. I've been fortunate to do this at school, region, state and online situations. In that time I have seen those I now consider friends go through a bit of a continuum in 'online content integration'. It believe it goes something like this."
"Why social media in school?
It's a good question and one many schools are asking. Whether is because of the free-flowing nature of the content and material or the potential for distraction sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube many others are being blocked by institutions. It is my belief however that by blocking these sites and not embracing what they have to offer we are only creating and arms race with our students and missing out on using these tools to connected with and provide new learning opportunities for our students."
