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GoodPlay Project is exploring the impact of digital media on young people's ethical development, with a focus on identity, privacy, ownership and authorship, credibility, and participation. Based on the results of a survey of young people on these themes, Gardner is developing curricula for parents and teachers on how to teach ethics in the digital age.

youth are making important ethical decisions at a younger age than their parents did. "As a citizen, you are supposed to know the rules and not just promote self-interest.

children report that the Internet is a more credible source of information for school papers or projects than books.

"Our computer use policy is extensive. The frame is this is how you will use the computers when you are here, you can't go on these sites and do these things while you're at school, but when they get out from school and start using computers of their own to do some of these things, then it becomes a little bit more clouded," he said.

The problem NEOLA faces is a lack of law to base policies on regarding student and staff use of Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, etc. In turn, there are no policies for district administrators to follow, leaving a gray area for disciplinary issues. State legislature was passed regarding bullying, so NEOLA set policies based on that, but in terms of writing policy on technology, direction is what NEOLA is lacking.

V. Digital CitizenshipStudents understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethicalbehavior. Students:advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.

On Monday, a federal judge ruled that Evans, now a 19-year-old sophomore at the University of Florida, can sue her former principal, Peter Bayer, for suspending her, saying that her Facebook page is protected by free speech. Evans is asking that the three-day suspension in 2007 be cleared from her academic record.

Though Evans' case is far from over, it's clear that the First Amendment seems to have won precedence over the fight against cyberbullying. And many say the case is likely to shape the legal debates over free speech on the Web.

Conversations on each page quickly degenerated into some general types of questions/comments: “I hate you” comments were remarkably prevalent. I saw people calling each other names that I wouldn’t use around my closest friends. Moreover, the frequency of these comments was staggering. In a lot of ways, this site more or less encourages cyber-bullying, and does it in a public space. “You’re awesome” comments are much less disturbing, but encourage a pretty self-centered view on life. For example, I saw a few comments such as, “Why are people judging you? You’re so nice!” Not surprisingly, the students in question respond with statements about how they are good people that don’t judge other people but that other people actually judge them. Questions/comments about sex. Every question that can be asked about a person’s sexual history, preference, etc. is being discussed in public for the world to see. Like I said – I’ll never look at some kids the same way again. This site allows a space for kids to do discuss these things in an uncontrolled environment without talking about issues with parents or teachers or people who may have a little more experience and wisdom. Think MySpace encouraged risky behavior? Looking at two pages on Formspring, I saw full names, cities, and cell phone numbers posted for all the world to see. At our school, we try to teach kids what information to put out there and to be responsible citizens of the internet. Apparently our lessons aren’t sticking.