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This week, the Hoover Board of Education is holding a technology training seminar to help teachers get up to speed for the new school year. On the agenda - a powerful and somewhat controversial website called "Second Life".

With nearly 13 million online users, the rapidly expanding virtual world Second Life is a risk for children, who could be sexually exploited, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) said Monday."This Second Life is a new scare, unchartered territory," Wilks said at a news conference Monday with Kirk at the Mt. Prospect Police Department. "It hits home." Kirk said he knew of no cases in which children were targeted by sexual predators on Second Life, but he said he considers the virtual world an emerging danger.

From the EduCause Learning Initiative: Seven Things You Should Know About Second Life.

With fewer lockers around to be stuffed into, many adults are under the impression that their days of being bullied are well behind them. Unfortunately for the meek, bullying is still going strong in the virtual world of 'Second Life.'

Bernajean Porter works with educators everywhere to teach digital storytelling. She joined Tim Wilson in the NECC podcasting studio to talk about ISTE's new digital storytelling project and the newest digital storytelling frontier, Second Life.

Anne Collier's collective thoughts on attending her first NECC and her immersive experience in Second Life for education.

Global Kids became the first nonprofit to develop a dedicated space for conducting programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Within Teen Second Life, the organization has established Global Kids Island, which hosts interactive, experiential programs for teens from around the world.

New to Second Life? Learn te skills you need in minutes with these video tutorials.

This is an overview of some of ways Second Life can be used, and in some cases, has been used for educational purposes. See Further Resources at the bottom of this page for links to more examples and other resources.

Internet site Second Life blurs line between real and virtual life.

Online program that has second life presence and many other things for promoting global awareness.

Global kids is doing many amazing things in both second life and in blogs.

Your digital dossier is made up of all the digital tracks you leave behind - from your photos on Flickr, to the Facebook messages you send, to all the data your credit card company collects about your transactions. On a daily basis, digital natives are consistently leaving information about themselves in secure or non-secure databases. You probably do this without a second thought in you day-to-day life - but have you ever considered the amount of information being collected about you, or the extent to which this information spreads?\nIn this video, created by Kanupriya Tewari, we explore this issue from the perspective of a child born today - Andy - and the timeline of all the digital files he accumulates in a life span.

It only takes a minute to change your life. In this collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation, the PAUSE campaign recognizes that in a minute, everything can change. Impulsive behaviors are part of being young. Through the campaign, Fox Networks Group and Kaiser hope to encourage young people to "pause" - even if just for sixty seconds -- when confronted with a difficult or risky decision, consider the best option, and reach out to get more information and help if they need it. In that minute, they have the choice to make a good or bad call. As PAUSE indicates, "it only takes a minute to change your life." For a young person, that kind of power can be intimidating, yet also very empowering. Site includes PSA's targeting youth and informational resources.

Sony Creative Software Contest- Winner, School Video Category [Cyberbullyiing Public Service Announcement ]

Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary. Background info from Marvin Jiminez, Director. I decided to enter the contest for two reasons. First, being one of the poorest school districts in the city, I felt our students would greatly appreciate the software prizes to use in sharing their stories in a visual manner. Second, this project would be my directorial debut. I really enjoyed directing this project and seeing it come to life from an idea to film. The students who volunteered as talent really did an exceptional job and were very fun to direct. The project itself took approx. 20 pre-production hours, 6 production hours, and 8 post-production hours. The title I decided to use is "Words Sometimes Really Do Hurt".

Environments such as SECOND LIFE can both stimulate and educate, experts agree. Online gaming can help students develop many of the skills they'll be required to use upon leaving school, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity.

In 2006, following extensive research into the educational potential of virtual worlds, Global Kids became the first nonprofit to develop a dedicated space for conducting programming in the virtual world of Teen Second Life (TSL). Within TSL, the organization has established Global Kids Island, which hosts interactive, experiential programs for teens from around the world. Specifically, Global Kids is conducting intensive leadership programming for youth, bringing youth from its New York-based programs into the space, and streaming the audio and video of major events into the world.

Twitter, the microblogging service has been the tech darling of late - racking up new users at a dizzying pace. But there simply aren't enough new users to make up for defecting ones claims one blogger. FaceBook and MySpace, the two social networking giants had double the retention rates Twitter has now. And, as fans are quick to point out in fields of comments around the Web, Facebook offers so many more ways to interact than Twitter.

Cyberbullying: Using Virtual Scenarios to Educate and Raise Awareness [Research Paper: Discussion] Vivian Wright, The University of Alabama with Joy Burnham, Chris Inman and Heather Ogorchock Monday, 6/29/2009, 8:30am-9:30am WWCC 159, Table: 1 This session will teach educators how to use student feedback and reactions to scenarios created in Second Life to educate and raise awareness on cyberbullying prevention techniques.

New book for teens and tweens. Part graphic novel, part practical life skills, REAL FRIENDS VS. THE OTHER KIND by Annie Fox is here to help. The second book in the Middle School Confidential™ series, it follows a tight-knit group of fictional seventh graders--Jen, Jack, Michelle, Chris, Mateo, and Abby--as they work to strengthen friendships while navigating tough social situations.

If you are anything like me who has one of those jobs that require travel, you're in this business - first and foremost - to make money and secure your financial future; everything after that comes in second. Traveling around the country is great, helping others in times of need is fantastic, even being able to attend this conference and write it off as a taxable expense is a beneficial experience. All of these wonderful perks are nothing more than that: perks.