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As more and more people have access to computers and mobile phones, a new risk to youngsters has begun to emerge. Electronic aggression, in the form of threatening text messages and the spread of online rumours on social networking sites, is a growing concern.

If a young person wants to experiment with running a business, they're not just engaging in thought experiments and case studies; they're actually working with real people and real money," says Joey Seiler, editor of VirtualWorldNews.com, an industry news source that's part of Virtual Worlds Management, a company that provides trade events, media, research and online services.

This guide from Nancy Willard provides parents with insight into these concerns and guidelines to prevent your child from being victimized by or engaging in online harmful behavior. It also provides guidance on things you can do in either case

These notes were taken on the Technology Policy workshop given by Dr. Larry Anderson at NECC and cite the top issues for which a policy must be developed. Other handouts are available at the NECC site , including a case study. [Scroll down to the bottom of the page].

It is very important to review this case and learn what can happen to prevet this sort of behavior.

This horrific attack that was videoed and posted on youtube for attention brings many questions and the public spotlight again goes onto the digital world we are creating. It is making its own "rules" which really aren't any. It is time for educators to speak out or be spoken to about what to or not to do.

Responding to the Challenge of Online Social Aggression, Threats, and Distress
This book belongs in every school district! Nancy Willard is Director of the Center for Safe & Responsible Internet Use and a noted expert and speaker on the challenges and legal issues related to technology use in the schools. Her book helps school administrators analyze and intervene in cases involving cyberbullying or cyberthreats. She includes illustrative examples, recommendations for practice, and many practical resources. Available through Amazon.com

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.

As tales of online cruelty mount, districts are trying a mix of prevention and punishment, incorporating internet safety into curriculum and tightening student conduct codes.Whether a pattern or merely an unfortunate streak, what's not disputed is the direction of the general drift in cyberbullying cases: upward. Once relegated to the playgrounds and back lots, the schoolyard bully now finds prey online. While the states are responding to cyberbullying by adopting legislation that mixes prevention with punishment, for school districts the issue quickly turns from educating the community about the threat of cyberbullying to crafting a response when an incident actually occurs. Districts are realizing that integrating internet safety education into curriculum isn't enough. They must also address cyberbullying in their conduct and discipline codes.

Another case of middle school students exchanging compromising photos, showing that kids do not understand that when you share something with one or two people elecronically, you are risking putting it out there for the world to see, nor are they aware that to engage in this practice is a felony.

Twice this month, students at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda have used their fists to settle disputes that arose on Facebook. It might be the first case in the Washington region of school officials publicly linking a fight to words exchanged on Facebook. Rival MySpace, which many students regard as more juvenile, has been linked by authorities to gang posturing and fights.

Thinkquest Award Winner 2008. Digital Cooperative is a global exploration of censorship in the digital age. This winning team studied the topic from academic perspectives, analyzed five countries in in-depth case studies, conducted exclusive interviews with industry experts, and created interactive quizzes. Their goal is to raise awareness and increase understanding of this often invisible issue.

Students have always gossiped and complained about their teachers. But in cyberspace such behaviour can take on a life of its own. Cases of cyberbullying are opportunities to teach about responsibilities, consequences and healthy relationships. Employers are starting to check prospective employees' online habits: your resumé is one thing, but what kind of person are you online? We all leave digital footprints.

More cases of students charged with felonies for nude photo-sharing via cell phone, a disturbing new cyberbullying trend.

Public schools and local governments may have more stringent requirements than most businesses for email archiving and electronic discovery. Yet, with their limited budgets, schools and local governments are often the least equipped to respond.The newly revised Federal Rules of Civil Procedure define how email must be handled in federal court cases. Businesses tend to think that the FRCP focus is on interstate lawsuits. Schools and governments, however, also need to be concerned with emails relating to federally funded activities or any activity governed by federal legislation.In addition, schools and local governments have the burden of responding to (1) requests under open meeting and Freedom of Information Act laws, (2) offensive emails or those with sexual content involving students, and (3) emailed threats.

Students need to understand that NOTHING, I repeat NOTHING Is private. Great case study about how 140 characters got someone fired before they were even hired.

This month, three teenage girls, students at Greensburg Salem High School in Greensburg, Pa., were charged with disseminating child pornography. They had sent nude pictures of themselves by cellphone to their teenage boyfriends, who were charged with possessing child pornography.\n\nThe legal consequences in this case may have been unique, but the behavior is not. About 20 percent of teenagers have posted or sent nude cellphone pictures of themselves, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a nonprofit group.

The purpose of this site is to help instructors and parents better understand how the internet can facilitate plagiarism. We present strategies to prevent plagiarism, explain some of the underlying causes, and provide advice on dealing with cases of confirmed plagiarism.

UC Berkeley study administered by the Institute for the Study of Social Change and funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The complete findings on three years of ethnographic work [22 different case studies of youth engagement with new media] will be published in Summer 2008. The project has three general objectives. The first objective is to describe kids as active innovators using digital media, rather than as passive consumers of popular culture or academic knowledge. The second objective is to think about the implications of kids innovative cultures for schools and higher education, and engage in a dialogue with educational planners. The third objective is to advise software designers about how to use kids innovative approaches to knowledge and learning in building better software. The research focuses on learning and cultural production outside of schools: in homes, neighborhoods, after school, and in recreational settings.

The increasing trend of cyber-bullying has transcended the playground, according to a study cited by the Christian Science Monitor, as over a quarter of teachers and principals are the subject of mocking blog posts or doctored images. This new brand of bullying tends to be more malicious than normal schoolhouse pranks, and can undercut a teacher's ability to perform in the classroom. Opinions differ, however, on what solutions to pursue. Some school districts have come down hard, using provisions like North Carolina's cyberstalking law to charge students criminally for electronically communicated threats, racial slurs, and, in one case, spurious accusations of pedophilia.

Soaring numbers of teachers are calling helplines for advice on how to cope after being "cyberbullied" on the internet by their pupils. A survey by the Teacher Support Network found 17 per cent of teachers had suffered cyberbullying. Pupils were responsible in more than a third of cases.