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Most agencies manage sensitive citizen data: addresses, Social Security numbers, financial records and medical information. You name it, some state or local office has it, and probably electronically. The problem? Many theorize that the Millennials' penchant for online openness could unintentionally expose private information, leaving it ripe for the picking. Millennials bring innovative ideas about technology's use, but for that same reason, do they also pose new security risks?

Anti-virus vendor Symantec released a study in March 2008 assessing this issue. Symantec commissioned Applied Research-West to execute the study, and 600 participants were surveyed from different verticals, including government. Survey participants included 200 IT decision-makers, 200 Millennial workers and 200 non-Millennial workers born before 1980. The data revealed that Millennials are more likely than workers of other ages to use Web 2.0 applications on company time and equipment. Some interesting figures include: 69 percent of surveyed Millennials will use whatever application, device or technology they want at work, regardless of office IT policies; and only 45 percent of Millennials stick to company-issued devices or software, compared to 70 percent of non-Millennials.

How might young people be workplace assets? Could all that time typing or texting make them speedy typists, able to whip up memos at the drop of a hat? Does familiarity with new and emerging technologies have its benefit? You bet, according to Dustin Lanier, director of the Texas Council on Competitive Government. The council brings state leaders together to shape policy for government departments, including IT. "I think they've built an approach to work that involves a lot of multitasking," Lanier said of the Millennials. "Something will be loading on one screen, you alt-tab to another application and pull up an e-mail, the first process loads, you flip back, start a new process, flip to a forum and pull up a topic. It's frenetic but normal to that group." Lanier doesn't think Millennials present more of an IT threat than their older co-workers. After all, young people don't have a monopoly on being distracted in the office. "I can't tell you how many times I've walked by people's desks of all ages and seen Minesweeper up," he said. He thinks employers should embrace some Web 2.0 applications. Otherwise, Millennials might be discouraged from sticking around. According to Lanier, this younger work force comprises many people who think of themselves as free agents. Government should accommodate some of their habits in order to prevent them from quitting.

A school must have a written bullying policy that includes consequences for violations, identify school personnel to notify with complaints and the policy must be posted in every classroom and be reviewed by students, according to a press release issued by Williams' office.

And while school violence had declined 4 percent during the past several years, bullying in schools has risen 5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The new legislation applies to any threats or intimidation in a school setting, including on school grounds, on a school bus or at any school-sponsored event. Also, the measure covers threats sent via e-mail or over the Internet, called cyber bullying. According to the state Department of Education, every school day 160,000 students miss school because they are afraid of being bullied.

In a report to be released today, the Family Online Safety Institute, a Washington nonprofit organization, is urging the new administration to appoint a national safety officer to serve under the chief technology officer, a position Obama has promised to create. The group is also asking for $100 million a year to fund education and research, an annual White House summit on safety issues, as well as the creation of a national council to coordinate efforts among federal agencies and advocacy and industry groups.

About half of those teens, however, said they were not familiar with these laws, and only 11 percent of them clearly understood the current rules for downloading images, literature, music, movies and software. Teens who were familiar with downloading rules credited their parents, TV or stories in magazines and newspapers, and Web sites — more so than their schools — as resources for information about illegal downloading.

Microsoft has enlisted Topics Education, a developer of custom curricula, to help launch the pilot of a broad-based curriculum for middle school and high school educators titled “Intellectual Property Rights Education.”

A lack of familiarity with the rules and guidelines for downloading from the Internet contributes to teen opinions that punishment is unnecessary.

This project is open to all FOURTH to SIXTH GRADE STUDENTS Worldwide between the months of April to June, 2008

The main purpose of this project is provide a way for teachers to collaborate with other teachers all over the world about the book (and soon to be released) "PRINCE CASPIAN".

SHARETHIS.addEntry({ "title": "Changes at MySpace Signal a Move Away From Social Networking", "url": "http://www.thewrap.com/article/2736", "published": "1240950792" }, { "button": true })ShareThis yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Changes at MySpace Signal a Move Away From Social Networking"; yahooBuzzArticleSummary = "Sign of the times: One senior executive for comedy at MySpace has 1,403 friends on Facebook."; yahooBuzzArticleCategory = "entertainment"; yahooBuzzArticleType = "text"; thewrapcom49:http://www.thewrap.com/article/27363 votesBuzz up! Slideshow Depeche Mode's Traffic-Stopping Concert Depeche Mode celebrated the release of its 12th studio album, "Sounds of the Universe," with a free concert on Hollywood Boulevard Thursday evening -- which literally stopped traffic. The performance, which also appeared on ABC's "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" later in the evening, drew a reported crowd of over 10,000. (Photographs by Jonathan Alcorn) Keywords Facebook news corp MySpace Chris Van Natta

On Wednesday, April 29, 2009 the Ontario Public School Boards’ Association (OPSBA) released a Discussion Paper entitled: What If? Technology in the 21st Century Classroom. As school trustees we want to engage the province in a meaningful focused discussion about classrooms of the 21st century. We want to be part of developing a provincial vision and strategies that will make all our classrooms connected and relevant. “Today’s students are leaders in the use of technology and we know they want their learning experiences in school to reflect this,” said Colleen Schenk, president of OPSBA. “Students want to take the technology they use in their daily lives and integrate it with how they learn. They want their learning clearly connected to the world beyond the school.” The Discussion Paper asks the question: “How can schools continue to be connected and relevant in the world of the 21st century?” It explores the relationship between the use of technology and the scope for increasing the quality of teaching and learning.

This week, Sonia Livingstone's latest book, Children and the Internet: Great Expectations and Challenging Realities, is being released by Polity. As with the earlier study, it combines quantitative and qualitative perspectives to give us a compelling picture of how the internet is impacting childhood and family life in the United Kingdom