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Webcams, cell phone cameras being put to troubling use, experts say. People are taking pictures, lots of them, and then uploading them as permanent displays in the Internet collection.

Police tried to stop the spread of pornographic video and photos of two U.S. high school girls, images that were transmitted by cell phone to dozens of the girls' classmates and then to the wider world.

[April 8, 2008] Jolita Berry remembers all too well what happened last Friday. She had just finished having words with a female student, when things turned violent. Video taken by another student on a cell phone and posted on MySpace, clearly shows what happened next. In the video you can see a teenage student beating Jolita on the floor of her art class at Reginald F. Lewis High School

People used to say a child's suicide ripples through a community. These days, it rides an electronic wave. Teenagers relay the news with cell phone calls, text messaging and Internet social networks, complicating the efforts of teachers, counselors and parents trying to manage grief after a young person's death. To our readers This series stems from our continuing examination of what led 19-year-old Robert Hawkins to become a mass killer last December at Omaha's Von Maur store. Today's stories describe how Internet postings, cell phones and text messages allow teens to spread their angst rapidly under the radar of adult oversight. Three-part series The World-Herald investigation into Robert Hawkins' murder spree and suicide last December leads to the discovery of a teen suicide cluster in Sarpy County. Sunday: Connections between suicidal teens cross community and school district lines. Today: Technology spreads teenage grief and angst quickly, with no parental oversight. Tuesday: A widely used but controversial suicide screening program is urged for use in Nebraska schools. Cyberspace is fertile ground for suicide contagion. It provides a forum for prolonged and excessive grieving in a highly charged, emotional atmosphere - precisely the kind of atmosphere psychologists warn to avoid after a death. It is also unmonitored by all but the most vigilant parents.

Take a look at the seven YouTube videos below, all taken by student cell phone cameras in classrooms. Do we want students bringing to public attention these types of classroom incidents? Should students be punished or applauded for filming and posting these?

Cox Communications commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey among U.S. teens ages 13-18. Key objectives of this study were to: *Examine teen's online and cell phone behavior, specifically regarding: * Sending sexually suggestive text messages ore emails * Bullying others online or by text message *Understand the relationship between teens and their parents regarding parental controls for the Internet *Uncover how and why teens go online on their cell phone
Download the complete 60-page report.

This Web Wise Kids cell phone safety program for middle school children is titled It's Your Call. Based on true stories, it is an interactive game that allows users to play out difficult situations in the safety of cyberspace before they live them out in real life. The game offers teens guidance about responsible cell phone behaviors and how to use these devices to enhance their personal safety. Players become a live action character in an interactive movie and are presented with a series of difficult decisions in a slice-of-life context. The teens must make tough decisions and view the consequences of their actions in the video.

A group of high school students said recently that cyberbullying is on the rise in their schools, just as it is nationally. Cyberbullying is loosely defined as using computers or cell phones to harass or bully another. It can happen by cell phone text messages, on social networking sites and even on online games that allow chatting. "It's growing and it's going to continue to grow," said Rich Horner, the police superintendent for North Franklin Township in Washington County, on the southwest side of Washington. "A lot of this stuff is kids being kids. There's always been bullying. Now, they have more avenues to do it. It's enough of a problem that the state attorney general's office created a video about cyberbullying and will launch it in May, said Diana Woodside, assistant director of education and outreach.

A teenage girl from Illinois survived a brutal attack by her peers that was captured on cell phone video by a male student who did nothing to intervene. Mercedes Michaels was beaten, burned and had most of her hair cut off during the attack.

The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication (I.R.O.C.2) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating society about safety, self responsibility, and self accountability as well as the devastating and life altering consequences that can occur when failing to apply our concept of "Digital Responsibility 2.1C" while using the internet, cell phones and other digital technologies.

Produced in Canada, this new interactive program targets middle school students. Designed for school usage, it explores the social and ethical challenges of the cell phone era. In some locations, it is used as part of the DARE program. The story is set in the fictitious BRAINCELLS HIGH, which is in turmoil. After students begin carrying cell phones, a group of older boys start to steal phones from the younger students. Eddie is the leader of the gang and he forces a younger computer geek named Oliver to hack into the school computer and "adjust" his grades. The venture creates an uneasy bond between the two teenagers. Oliver uses his cell phone to commit the crime for Eddie and Eddie eases Oliver into the inner circle of teens at the high school. Finally, Oliver has to make a decision. Will he go to the police? The story is told through quizzes, animations, activities and games.

Rumors had been flying at Freedom High School in South Riding, Virginia that students were distributing nude pictures of each other on their cell phones. It's a phenomenon, known as "sexting," that's become increasingly worrisome to educators across the country, and Ting-Yi Oei, a 60-year-old assistant principal at the school, was tasked with checking it out. The investigation was inconclusive, but led to a stunning aftermath: Oei himself was charged with possession of child pornography and related crimes

Discussing proper interaction and safety with digital devices is important.

Responsible use of electronic devices is going to become increasingly important because today cell phone is a distraction --- tomorrow it will be in car movies or gps devices. It is the behavior that is the problem and proper focus on real life has to be something we emphasize as we discuss the proper relationship of humans with "gadgets."

What to do with all those cell phones, PDAs, and iPods tucked away in students' backpacks? Forward-thinking administrators have found a 'smart' solution: Load them with educational content and welcome them into instruction.

A ban on cell phones in the nation's largest school system was upheld Tuesday by a state appeals court.

A new cell-phone service that promises to give free answers to virtually any question within minutes has some academics worried that it will be yet another device to help students cheat.

Engineers at the University of Michigan have developed software aimed at turning cell phones into educational tools for K-12 students.

At issue: Should teens who send racy cell-phone pictures be branded as sex offenders?

A conversation on integrating cell phones into classroom learning.

Ideas for using mobile technology in the classroom.