Excellent 8-minute video from the UK's Thinkuknow education program that helps children to understand what constitutes personal information. The assembly enables children to understand that they need to be just as protective of their personal information online, as they are in the real world. It also directs where to go and what to do if children are worried about any of the issues covered.
10-minute video from Web Wise Kids telling Katie's story. Note: there are other versions of this video available, but this one is the most complete because her parents are helping to tell the story. Katie is now the WWK's Spokesperson & Ambassador to Youth. She shares her powerful first hand testimony with other young teens and parents so they know that what happened to her and her family can happen to them.
In this lesson, students share opinions and information about safety issues and concerns on social networking Web sites. They then develop public service announcements designed to inform their peers and guardians.
If social networks are going to be safe places for kids, adults are going to have to be more present and it's not going to work if it is just parents watching over kids to control their online activity. Social networks have to become more open to adults who are interested in pointing kids in a positive direction and who take an interest in their development
Ten Ideas for how adults can improve social networking sites for kids.
I was recently interviewed by a local high school student named Julian for his research project about the impact of social network sites on society. I always enjoy being interviewed by teens and end up learning something in the process. Julian asked a question that I have been thinking about since we spoke: "What can adults do to improve social network sites for kids?"
At Google, we pursue ideas and products that often push the limits of existing technology. As a company that acts responsibly, we work hard to make sure any innovation is balanced with the appropriate level of privacy and security for our users. Our Privacy Principles help guide decisions we make at every level of our company, so we can help protect and empower our users while we fulfill our ongoing mission to organize the world's information.
Finally, there's something Google and Microsoft can agree on: Our electronic privacy protections are in serious need of an overhaul. They, along with Intel, AOL, AT&T, the ACLU, and a dozen other household names, have formed the Digital Due Process coalition, aimed at urging Congress to modernize the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) -- the only thing keeping Johnny Law from pawing through your digital life.
What happens if someone posts an unflattering, or worse, a scandalous or compromising picture of you on Facebook? What are your rights? That's a sensitivity that we need to start nurturing by training our kids -- and our employees -- to use online tools responsibly', says Anna O'Brian, a PHD student in digital technology. What happens when only some of us know how to use these connective technologies to improve our lives (as opposed to overwhelming ourselves even more). In other words, what happens when only a small portion of online users is actually digitally literate?
A free-to-play "alternate reality game" from the UK commissioned by Channel 4 Education that is intended to give teenage players a personal encounter with everything from identity theft to cyber stalking. Kids (age 14-16) explore websites, search for clues, receive phone calls, chat on IM, and tackle puzzles and mini-games. Through thirteen challenges, (each lasting 10-20 minutes) and a dramatic storyline, they find out who they can trust and who they can't.
Two out of three online U.S. households use social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, nearly twice as many as a year ago, according to the latest Consumer Reports State of the Net survey. But millions who use these services put themselves and their families at risk by exposing very sensitive personal information, according to the national survey of 2,000 online households conducted in January by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
Palo Alto-based Togetherville.com has launched their new site as a social web experience for kids (age 6-10). Using Facebook accounts, parents manage the youth accounts and create approved lists of friends for their kids. On Togetherville, kids can play games, watch videos, send messages and create art in a safe and ad-free environment.
Many administrators, teachers, and parents simply associate MySpace and FaceBook with the term social networking, possibly adding Twitter to the mix and generally writing off the technology as an unsafe liability. However, we all need to expand our view of what social networking can be. Kid-friendly social media also doesn't need to mean Club Penguin and Webkins.
Nolensville Elementary School Principal Beth Ferguson recently let parents know that many of their children are on social networking sites designed for teens and adults. While this is not a violation of any school policy, Ferguson was concerned enough to send letters and Internet tips to parents. Ferguson found at least 13 students from her K-5 school on Facebook, the popular networking site, and she knows there are probably more.