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An experiment in using technology to help stop the spread of pandemics is about to begin in Japan, and its results could have implications for U.S. schools as well.

According to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden,2005),more than one-half of all teens have created media content,and roughly one-third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced.In many cases,these teens are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures.A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one's creations,and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices.

The Institute for Responsible Online and Cell-Phone Communication (I.R.O.C.2) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating society about safety, self responsibility, and self accountability as well as the devastating and life altering consequences that can occur when failing to apply our concept of "Digital Responsibility 2.1C" while using the internet, cell phones and other digital technologies.

National Internet Safety Month is an opportunity to increase awareness about the risks we and our families face on the Internet. It is also a perfect time to promote information and resources to help us stay safe online. Site includes tips for staying safe online.

According to Canadian digital learning consultant Dean Shareski, Craik School in Saskatchewan, Canada, recently experimented with cell phones as learning tools and discovered improved student engagement, responsibility and innovation as well as problem solving skills. The K-12 school discovered students aren't dazzled by their phones, but simply use them to share ideas, pictures, sounds and videos.

Move over, "texting thumb." A study came out this week about the rise of another physical ailment related to too much texting. Called cubital tunnel syndrome (CTS), it's basically a very unfunny funny bone: it occurs when a pencil-thick nerve gets pinched at the elbow. While it's not a new ailment-those of us over 30 call it tennis elbow-it's another reason to keep tabs on the volume of texts and Tweets your teens are tapping out. CTS is appearing more frequently in teens who keep their elbows bent while holding their cell phones or PDAs.

From the Media Education Lab. Sing along to understand copyright and learn about your rights to fair use.

New documentaries from the PBC producers of growing up online. Some digiteen teachers are using these resources.

Video Conferencing is one tool that can be used to extend and enhance the impact on\n\n * Curriculum Content and delivery\n * The Professional Development of school staff\n * The quality of leadership within schools\n\nVideo Conferencing enables learners to do things that are hard or impossible to do by other means.\n\n * Collaborate easily and regularly\n * Be in more than one place at once\n * Link directly to places and resources\n

From British Columbia. This collection of short videos, hosted by computer guru Steve Dotto, demonstrates how kids use the Internet and explains the responsibilities of being an effective parent in the Digital Age.

Five ideas to enable educators to develop and model a purposeful and professional digital footprint.\n\n1-Model responsible footprinting with your own practices in blogging, commenting, social networking, and picture posting.\n2-If you have established a professional blog, share it widely and proudly such as placing it in your email signature (if your employer will let you) and as Jeff Utecht suggests include your blog url when you comment on others blogs and in other forums. This enables others to see best practices and is a great way to get the conversation started.\n3-Google yourself (aka ego surfing). If you have something posted online that you'd be uncomfortable having a current or future student, parent, colleague, or employer find, delete it (if you can) or request that it be deleted. There are ways an aggressive internet detective can still find this information, but most won't go through the trouble and the mere fact that you deleted it shows some level of responsibility.\n4-If you do have online personal information and/or interests you wouldn't want discovered, use an unidentifiable screen name/avatar. This means you may need to update your screen name/avatar in your existing online presence.\n5-Engage in the conversation and professionally comment, reply, and present online, onsite, and at conferences.

We use this video frequently as an introduction at teacher trainings. The MacArthur Foundation is exploring how technology is changing kids and learning, committing $50 million to this initiative.

It will be most interesting to see whether the next generation of kids brought up by the Digital Generation will be any different.

When schools first established on-ramps for the information superhighway, the common wisdom was that "filters would protect children as they use the Internet." I never bought into that myth. My position has always been that the best filtering software sits under the hardware that rides on top of the shoulders.

Materials from Learning Library, Teachers' Strategy Guides & Ethics Casebook

The worrying extent of the use of technology to bully school and college staff was revealed today with the release of survey results by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) and Teacher Support Network. One in seven respondents said they had experienced cyberbullying and almost one in five said they knew of colleagues who had become victims.

If Wikipedia is to be believed, cyberbullying involves "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others." Cyberbullying has eclipsed sexual predators on the Internet as the number one concern of policymakers, parents and kids themselves

Educators find themselves with mixed opinions about the role of social media in higher education and its importance in the classroom. Some see it as the technology of tomorrow, an important piece to the puzzle of connecting with students, while others try it doubtingly in their classrooms, assuming that the traditional face-to-face contact cannot be replaced.

This latest report from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concludes that the risk of a vehicle crash can be up to 23 times higher when the driver is texting, compared to a driver who is paying full attention to the road. The report concludes that driving while texting should be banned, and that cell phone use should be banned for newly-licensed drivers.

These technology guides from the Australian government provide information about some popular online services and tools and some of the key points about children and young people's technology use

Demonizing the internet is unwise; teaching young people how to use it safely and what to do when cyber-bullied is preferable.