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The freedom of self employment is a perk of being an IA, but there are also challenges. This post gives tips for staying focused while self-employed.

BD-Russia bilateral cooperation focused on Energy sector: Envoy

A blog that is focused on giving information regarding online safety and civility. Many good resources on this blog.

In June 2008, the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE) released an update to their technology standards for teachers. The revised National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers mark a significant overhaul of the group's original teacher technology standards, which ISTE introduced in 2000. The new ISTE teacher standards begin with the assumption that every teacher recognizes the importance of technology and how it can transform teaching and learning. The revised framework focuses on what teachers should know to help students become productive digital learners and citizens. "NETS for Teachers, Second Edition" includes five categories, each with its own set of performance indicators:
1.Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments
3.Model digital-age work and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership.

Most of us following the news know that cyber-bullying is on the rise, and that it has even led to at least one child suicide. Up to now, though, response has focused on strategies to help the victims. What if you discover that you're living with a cyber-bully?

Researchers gathering in Boston for the American Psychological Association convention detailed a series of studies suggesting that video games can be powerful learning tools - from increasing the problem solving potential of younger students to improving the suturing skills of laparoscopic surgeons.

Electronic Media and Youth Violence: A CDC Issue Brief for Educators and Caregivers focuses on the phenomena of electronic aggression. This document was developed for educators and caregivers. It summarizes what is known about young people and electronic aggression and discusses the implications of these findings for school staff, educational policy makers, and caregivers. You can download the full report at this site.

A recent survey by Consumer Policy Solutions has found that online safety and privacy rank highest among concerns of adults online. The consulting firm which focuses on consumer interests and the marketplace, earlier this month released results of a survey that showed 56% of respondents don't think they have enough, or any, privacy online.

While reports and stories in the media focusing on Internet predators have become all too frequent, the closer-to-home threat to our children may really be cyberbullying, also known as electronic or online bullying. A recent survey of 395 students (11 to 19 years old) found that 28% of students have been cyberbullied, and more than 1 in 7 admitted to acting as the bully."Cyberbullying could be the biggest online threat facing teens today," says James Leasure, co-founder of Pandora Corp. "Of course Internet predators do still exist, but statistically, kids have a much greater chance of being involved in some way with electronic bullying." Most cases of cyberbullying go undocumented because, fortunately, many kids are able to shrug off the 'unkind words' and look the other way. But there are some cases that make national headlines when they turn into tragedies, such as the Megan Meier case in 2006. Larger cases like this have prompted several states to adopt legislation that makes online bullying illegal.

NETS for Teachers 2008
Unveiled June 30 at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, ISTE's revised National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for Teachers mark a significant overhaul of the group's original teacher technology standards, which ISTE introduced in 2000. The revised framework focuses on what teachers should know to help students become productive digital learners and digital citizens.

UC Berkeley study administered by the Institute for the Study of Social Change and funded by the MacArthur Foundation. The complete findings on three years of ethnographic work [22 different case studies of youth engagement with new media] will be published in Summer 2008. The project has three general objectives. The first objective is to describe kids as active innovators using digital media, rather than as passive consumers of popular culture or academic knowledge. The second objective is to think about the implications of kids innovative cultures for schools and higher education, and engage in a dialogue with educational planners. The third objective is to advise software designers about how to use kids innovative approaches to knowledge and learning in building better software. The research focuses on learning and cultural production outside of schools: in homes, neighborhoods, after school, and in recreational settings.

The NECC Program features a broad spectrum of content focused on the standards, curriculum, best practices, and essential conditions for creating a 21st-Century learning environment for students.

Phenomenal global collaboration project involving students from 15 countries. Teaching assignment is replicated across continents. Last year's project, Rock n Sol, was featured in the California K-12 Technology Showcase. This year's project, "Are You Game" focuses on digital storytelling. Students collaborate to compose music, make movies, podcasts, and experiments and met in face to face video-conferences. Using Garage Band, kids annually create a collaborative song that has been touched in every continent in the world. Each week, each group contributes 30 seconds with a specific musical instrument. Even blind students are involved in the project.

The third PSA in a series created by Pearson Foundation and the Consortium for School Networking, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of integrating technology into teaching practice around the world. Students discuss the ways in which they use technology at school, at home, or in their everyday lives.

A resource for all wireless users on the dangers of texting while driving. Take the pledge not to text and drive. To honor those taking the pledge, AT&T will contribute to non-profit organizations focused on youth safety.

During today's SXSW keynote, social media research Danah Boyd, who works for Microsoft Research New England and is a fellow at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, talked about online privacy. Specifically, she focused on how users can navigate issues around online privacy and how developers can help them to do so.

Who owns what you compose? Who controls what happens with the words, images, music, sounds, videos that you create? What rights do you have to use other people's compositions? This unit plan focuses on helping students find answers to these questions. Students explore a range of resources on fair use and copyright then design their own audio public service announcements (PSAs), to be broadcast over the school's public address system

In this lesson, students research different types of identity-theft fraud and ways to avoid falling victim to various scams. They then create focused public service announcements in different media, targeted to individuals most susceptible to consumer fraud.

One of eight interactive case studies for kids (GR 4-8) from Cable In the Classroom: Power to Learn.
Understanding the fair use exemption to copyright law is critical for students who routinely mine the Internet for digital media for class projects, research papers, and other educational purposes. This unit focuses on copyright and fair use. Case studies are explored. Students are asked to develop an essay question. The graphics are Nickelodeon style. For the entire series, check out: http://powertolearn.com/internet_smarts/interactive_case_studies/index.shtml

Flames of Moral Panic: You may have noticed that the media has fully embraced "sexting" [a term invented by the media] as the latest horror story about teens and technology. First it was about how the internet is teeming with predators a la "To Catch A Predator," with the most dramatic stories focusing on girls who met these predators in real life [read the real deal here: Online "Predators" And Their Victims]. Next it was about cyberbullying, highlighting the most extreme cases that ended in young people having to switch schools or even more tragically committing suicide. The latest is "sexting," where teens are naively sending and receiving sexually explicit photos or video of themselves to friends via cell phone, again, with the most dramatic cases highlighted.