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This past week, President Bush signed into law a bill that will establish a new national research center for studying digital technology and learning. The center aspires be to edtech what the National Institutes of Health have been for medical research.

"The Case of Internet Piracy" was developed by judges and professors to teach students about the law and the courtroom experience.

Federal and local authorities arrested seven men for possession of child pornography today as part of an ongoing multi-agency investigation spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the FBI that has resulted so far in the filing of charges against 55 defendants who allegedly used peer-to-peer networks to exchange sexually graphic images of children.

Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act - A federal law has been proposed that defines cyberbullying and specifies penalties (in the form of fines and up to two years imprisonment) for violators. The bill is formally called the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (HR 6123), and was introduced jointly by Representatives from Missouri and California. It anmends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties on anyone who transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior.

Social networking Web sites and other technologies enable schoolyard bullies to pack a bigger punch. Advice and concerns from Nancy Willard and other experts in the field.

Make your students and staff aware of the potential infringements. Most teachers and students use music in their video and then publish or use in it in a public setting while thinking they've done nothing wrong. But, their lack of knowledge about the laws does not make them immune. \n

Interesting article about CC

The Creative Commons Foundation launched a much-needed database of case studies today, highlighting CC licensed content from around the world. Creative Commons licenses are built on top of international copyright law but let content producers offer their work with more refined permissioning for re-use than the de facto "it's mine don't touch it" sentiment of standard copyright.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed a bill Monday outlawing cyberbullying, just miles from where a 13-year-old girl committed suicide nearly two years ago after being harassed on the Internet.\n\nThe bill updates state laws against harassment by removing the requirement that the communication be written or over the telephone. Supporters say the bill now covers harassment from computers, text messages and other electronic devices.

What kids don't realize is that trading nude photos by cell phone (another form of cyberbullying) comes under the laws of child pornography. If prosecuted to the full extent of the law, they could end up in juvenile hall and/or have to register as a sex offender for the rest of their lives! We cover this whole issue with cell phones (and other issues) on our web site at: http://www.ctap4.org/cybersafety/ArticlesCellPhonePolicies.htm

Cyberethics curriculum from the eMINTS project. These sites highlight the debate about downloading music from the Internet for free. Watch videos of musicians expressing their thoughts on the issue. There is also information about copyright law and explanations about why these types of downloads are considered illegal and unethical. The sites are helpful for teachers who want students to debate the issue. There are links to eThemes Resources on Internet safety and computer basics.

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.

From the Business Software Alliance (BSA.) Computers make it easy to make copies of computer software, pictures, words, movies and songs. But copyright laws make it illegal to copy the creative work without the owner's permission. Making copies of a work protected by copyright is just like stealing. The B4UCopy educational curriculum program, available for free download, has a goal of raising awareness of copyright laws and reinforce responsible behavior online.

A comprehensive online resource for people concerned with the growing problem of internet plagiarism. There are a number of helpful handouts in downloadable form on topics such as copyright laws, citing sources, how to properly paraphrase, and guidelines for students and educators.

I am sure that Vermonters don't like the idea of teens sending sexy pictures from one phone to another. Nor do Ohio and Utah parents want their kids using cell phone minutes to bare their bodies with their buddies. Nevertheless, their state legislatures are among the first trying to sensibly ratchet down the penalties for sexting. They are backing away from laws that currently treat a teenager with a cell phone the same way they treat a child pornographer. They know there's a difference between truly dreadful judgment and a felony.

Parents, school districts, and law-enforcement officials have been grappling with what to do with teenagers who take sexually explicit photos of themselves with their cell phone cameras and send them to friends. Now, a handful of state legislatures are moving to get rid of one option: child pornography charges that result in lifetime listings on states' internet sex-offender registries.

Research on how perceptions of copyright law affect media literacy educators, by Temple University's Media Education Lab in collaboration with the Center for Social Media, American University. Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

This site provides a detailed account of states that have begun taking legal action against cyberbullying. Many states are just in the process of introducing legislation. For updated information on new laws and legislation, you can go to your local senate website and search cyberbullying. Most legislation includes "cyberbullying", though the focus of the campaign was "bullying" in general. Many states require the local district to enact a policy. For specific rules and regulations, you should contact your local PTA.

Text messages are forcing us to rethink the way we deal with the difficult issues that arise when teenagers get involved with sex; The Times addressed this touchy issue in its June 1 editorial, "Keeping an eye on 'sexting.' " Some in law enforcement have taken extreme measures against teens who send sexually explicit words and images using cellphones and Internet sites. Their solution? Treat these kids just like adults who traffic in pornographic pictures of children.

As the prevalence of sexting cases continue to come to light, many states are grappling to determine an appropriate punishment for this frightening new trend. With no federal law on the books, kids committing the same act in different states are finding themselves facing drastically different, sometimes life-altering, punishments.

Discussion of the issue of how to judge Sexting - Felony or Flirting?

Here in Australia a wonderful new App came out by the South Australian Law Society called the 'Naked Truth'. It explains using a teens medium the ramifications of sexting with some recent legal cases as examples http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-03/app-aimed-at-teaching-youth-sa-sex-laws/5787012.

The overview of teachers' unique legal issues covered provocative topics such as how "search and seizure" laws apply to students, emerging threats with cyber-bullying and cyber-stalking -- such as aggressive texting, sexual harassment and hazing -- religious and personal expression, school violence and advice for teachers to sanitize their own personal Web pages.