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Learning how to safely use e-commerce websites is important, but also, people need to be aware to protect their credit card numbers and identities as can be seen in this horrific case study. When websites are not safe about their use of credit card numbers, it can have horrible impacts such as this man losing his $250,000 a year job and becoming estranged from his family, when they thought he bought child pornography.

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.

The Berkman Center for Internet & Society, originally established as a research center at Harvard Law School, has been elevated to a University-wide, interfaculty initiative: the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. This transition enhances the University's capacity for interdisciplinary exploration of issues involving information technology.

"Marketing in higher education is really at a crossroads," said Nora Ganim Barnes, director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. "Those that don't engage and manage social media are going to be left behind."

Web proxies are almost as old as the Internet itself as a means to route Web traffic through an anonymous domain name or circumvent content-filters, and they've long been the territory of corporate networks and the tech savvy seeking privacy. Nowadays, an increasing number of teenagers are setting up proxies on home PCs to sidestep school filtering traps, in addition to using free proxies set up on the Web, according to technologists at schools and at content-filtering technology providers.

"Exactly 15 years ago the directors at the lab where the web was first developed signed a document which said the technology could be used by anyone free of charge." - very interesting look at the future of the web

A new law aimed at deterring the proliferation of cyberbullying at public schools goes into effect Jan. 1, bolstering educators' ability to tackle the problem head-on.The law gives school administrators the leverage to suspend or expel students for bullying other students by means of an electronic device such as a mobile phone or on an Internet social networking site like MySpace or Facebook; the law, however, only applies to bullying that occurs during school hours or during a school-related activity.

The crackdown on schoolyard bullying in recent years has increased awareness of problems at our public schools involving degrading comments, intimidation and violence. But the problem is still out there and, thanks to the Internet and cell phones, has taken on a whole new dimension. Some of our children are now taunted and harassed not just at school, but electronically with inappropriate text messages, e-mails and Web site postings.

Kids can be mean.\n\nIt's a fact of life we've all experienced. Gone are the days, however, when avoiding a bully meant ducking out of the back door at school. Thanks to personal computers, cellphones and instant messaging, it's now easier than ever for children to attack each other, often anonymously.

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

An academic research team -- joining people from the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Research Center for Information Law at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland -- is hosting and working on the core of this wiki, which illustrates the beginning stages of a larger research project on Digital Natives. The site offers a wealth of information in 10 topic areas:
Digital Identity, digital safety, digital privacy, digital creativity, digital opportunities, digital information overload, digital information quality, digital piracy and digital education.

How a student spends their Two Million Minutes - in class, at home studying, playing sports, working, sleeping, socializing or just goofing off -- will affect their economic prospects for the rest of their lives. How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student's choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country's economic future?
This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China, India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future. As we follow two students - a boy and a girl - from each of these countries, we compose a global snapshot of education, from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

\n\nThe complete DVD is available for order on this web site. The web site also offers a preview version.

Legal Implications for Searching Student Cell Phones. Although this article is written against Michigan law, it does help clarify some of the concepts for what is permissable. Note that searching a student's cell phone or wireless device without parent permission may violate state wiretapping laws.

Confiscating and looking at information on cell phones by school officials is still not clear. This is a very interesting case study for those working with digital citizenship issues at their school.

Fascinating article explaining Michigan take on searching and confiscating cell phones.

Phoebe Prince was tormented by bullies at school and online. Here's what we can learn from her suicide. When working to prevent the new mix of bullying and cyberbulling, schools can look at the lessons learned from an earlier effort to stop the traditional, in-person kind of kid cruelty.

It's hard enough to make sure the data you send and receive is safe when you're at home or at work. But traveling brings a whole new set of hazards: from publicly accessible computers to unprotected wireless networks to crowded and pickpocket-plagued airports.

A bullying/cyberbullying bill (similar to the one that passed in California in 2009) became legislation in Massachusetts this week. It requires training of teachers and students, reporting and investigation into cyberbullying incidents by school administrators if the bullying incidents that take place on campus, at school-sponsored events or bullying that affects the school environment.

Kids should receive online safety education at home, at school, and from the vendors that provide internet products and services.

So far this year, at least 15 states have introduced or are considering bills or resolutions aimed at "sexting." The legislation generally aims to educate young people about the risks of sexting, deter them from the practice, and apply appropriate penalties to those who do engage in sexting. While some states are just encouraging programs to educate teens about the dangers of sexting, others are attempting to de-criminalize the act.

The 7th in the series of guides looking at common security threats on the internet and what to do to protect against them, this time looking at Viruses, Worms and Trojans.

A spat on Facebook over a recent killing might have led to a fight at Knightdale High School last week. Dominique Royster's Facebook page erupted into expletives and insults after Royster called for the release of Mariah Wisdom from jail. After her Facebook posting and the angry response, Royster received death threats on her cell phone. She was kept out of school for several days until emotions cooled, and her parents had a chance to talk to school administrators about the situation. A member of the school staff who deals with disciplinary problems was assigned to shadow her as she went through the day March 26, her first day back at school after the killing. Four students were cited with misdemeanor assault and released to their parents in connection with the attack.