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When it comes to watching over their tech-obsessed teenagers, parents are learning the dangers of too much information. Having the ability to monitor and knowing how to is important. But sometimes the threat of intervention [Don' t give me reason to...] is better than actual intervention.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and the Children's Health Education Center have partnered to create Bullyfree Basics, a program for elementary school students that transforms lessons on the dangers of spreading rumors and insulting classmates into animated, interactive games.

John Walsh, children's advocate and host of America's Most Wanted, will discuss what parents and guardians can do to help protect and educate their children about the potential dangers of online predators and offer tips for safer surfing. Live Webcast. Wednesday, July 23, 2008 1:00 PM Eastern

MISSING, from Web Wise Kids, is designed to SHOW rather than TELL children about online safety. It's a fun and positive way to teach children how to avoid danger on the Internet. The interactive software adventure tells the story of Zack, a kid in Vancouver, Canada who forms an online friendship with Fantasma. This guy is so cool - he has an online magazine about beach life in California and he sends Zack great stuff, like graphic arts and software. Little does Zack know that he is a predator. After Zach agrees to go to San Diego to be with Fantasma, players work with a detective to find and rescue Zack and arrest Fantasma. Available both as a home edition and a school edition. [Windows and Mac OSX versions available]. Note: Local middle school science teachers have successfully worked this program into their science curriculum since solving the game involves researching and collecting clues.

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.

New safety rules from Telestra aim to give parents a tool in the fight against cyber bullying, with many struggling to understand what they can do to protect their children.Families should learn how to report cyberbullying and to work on building trust about discussing online problems. The article gives five suggestions for how adults can become an internet parent:
Familiarize yourself - talk with your child about their use of the internet.
Explore - websites and technologies yourself.
Restrict inappropriate content and consider parental controls such as filtering.
Talk to your child and encourage open communication
Know - be aware of the potential dangers and know where to report potentially illegal or inappropriate behaviour online.

Cyberbullying, online predators, and other Internet-related dangers make headlines almost daily. Fear of what lies beyond that glowing screen at which our kids so love to stare dominates the current perception of what the Internet has become. In this climate of perceived threat, schools do what we all do with that of which we are afraid. We avoid the threat and try to forget it's out there.

This 10th grade student has written an exceptional post-project reflection. I hope you'll take time to read it. Here is an excerpt:\n\n"There is no doubt that this technology is dangerous. It is apparent that few people, not adults, not teenagers, truly understand how collaboration, conduct, and manners affect the internet. This project has to teach others that as well. It is necessary to know how to handle yourself on the internet. That's why Horizon Project is so important. We have to educate tomorrow's leaders how to use new technology without abusing it. The highlight of this project is the education we are giving every single person who has been a part of the Horizon Project."

An excellent post about how doing global collaborative projects can educate students on the safety they need. This is from a 10th grader.

The Cecil County Public Schools in Cecil County MD have produced this somber PSA (available in Quicktime or Windows Media Player versions) warning students of the dangers of posting too much personal information online.

Research suggests that it'snot giving out personal information that puts kid at risk. It's not having a blog or a personal website that does that either. What puts kids in danger is being willing to talk about sex online with\nstrangers or having a pattern of multiple risky activities on the web\nlike going to sex sites and chat rooms, meeting lots of people there,\nkind of behaving in what we call like an internet daredevil."

The folks at Dateline created this mock MYSPACE page to illustrate how information can become too much information. Roll your mouse over each part of the profile, to see why the information is potentially dangerous. This model could be used to open a great dialogue with students on cybersafety and privacy practices.

This article offers seven things all adults need to know about social networking sites like MySpace.
1. Social networking is enormously popular with young adults.
2. Friends are probably just that.
3. Blocking sites at school won't keep kids away from MySpace.
4.Some degree of danger does exist for MySpace users.
5. The MySpace organization is working toward a safer online
6. Teachers might want to check to see if they have had a MySpace account created for them.
7.MySpace and social networking have value.

David Pogue write in The New York Times, "As my own children approach middle school, my own fears align with the documentary's findings in another way: that cyber-bullying is a far more realistic threat. "

New Hampshire's effort to educate the public on the dangers of the Internet--and helping parents Connect with Their Kids! about Internet safety.

Chatroulette, a Web site that connects videochatters with a limitless number of "random strangers" from around the globe, is an Internet sensation -- but it poses unique dangers for minors and new challenges for law enforcement.

MTV's campaign to educate teens about the dangers of SEXTING. Sending or forwarding nude, sexually suggestive, or explicit pics on your cell or online. For some people, it's no big deal. But real problems can emerge when the parties involved are under 18, when people get pressured into sexting, and when sexts go viral.

The digital native-digital immigrant metaphor has been used to make a distinction between those with technology skills and those without. Metaphors such as this one are useful when having initial conversations about an emerging phenomenon, but over time, they become inaccurate and dangerous. Thus, this paper proposes a new metaphor, the digital melting pot, which supports the idea of integrating rather than segregating the natives and the immigrants.

My Mobile Watchdog is a parenting tool that gives you the information necessary to effectively talk with your children about safety threats and potential dangers.

The first study of drivers texting inside their vehicles shows that the risk sharply exceeds previous estimates based on laboratory research - and far surpasses the dangers of other driving distractions.

Currently four missions are available for students with the following themes: email/spam, chatroom safety/privacy, cyberbullying awareness, web dangers. Download and print the hint sheets for each series.