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A majority of teenagers who go online maintain one or more profiles at social networking Web sites. Most teens restrict access to to their profiles, but "friends" who access the profiles routinely number in the hundreds. Mary Madden, a senior researcher with the Pew Internet and American Life Project, tells Robert Siegel that society will likely become more accepting of the "digital footprints" young people leave online. Good discussion points in here for a digital citizenship class.

Teachable moments. How one teacher dealt with cyberbullying in his classroom.

The cyberbullying suicide story of Ryan Halligan, as told to Middle Schoolers at a school assembly. The raw pain in this video will move you to tears and it's obvious that John Halligan's story of his son makes an impact on his youth audiences as well. For more information on how to get copies of the video, go to Safe Passage Media . I like the fact that he encourages "bystanders" to get involved.

Interactive website from Australia lets kids go into Detective Henshaws office and look around for the latest about Cyberbullying. In a non-threatening way, the website shares stories, news, tips and resources about Cyberbullying.

Cox Communications commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct a survey among U.S. teens ages 13-18. Key objectives of this study were to: *Examine teen's online and cell phone behavior, specifically regarding: * Sending sexually suggestive text messages ore emails * Bullying others online or by text message *Understand the relationship between teens and their parents regarding parental controls for the Internet *Uncover how and why teens go online on their cell phone
Download the complete 60-page report.

Spotlight magazine showcases the projects and people funded by the MacArthur Foundation's Digital Media and Learning Initiative and covers the intersections of technology and learning. We go beyond the research to show how digital media is being used in classrooms and programs around the world.

ChatRoulette is a new website that connects you face to face with Internet users around the world. When you go to the site and hit Play your webcam turns on and you're connected to another person. Most times you'll hit Next within a few seconds and be connected to someone else. Sometimes people stop to chat. Basically, instead of surfing the web, you're surfing people.

Law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, even going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that surfaced in a lawsuit.

Task force recommendations for best practices for child online safety. Divided into three categories of children's online experiences: 1. Before children go online 2. During online activities of children 3. When problems arise

How and when social network sites go about such policing of their users is up to them. Do the sites take such matters seriously? Some good (and bad features) of each are reviewed.

Bullying is a problem at every level of education. Every school has its own way to address the problem, but are these techniques effective? Do they ever make a deep impression on the students? Does the bullying ever go away? Not Likely. My school is no different from any other; we have implemented programs to combat bullying, but the bullying persists. Then, after experimenting with some new software, I got the idea to make bullying awareness important and exciting for my third-and fourth-grade students by having them create comic strips using Comic Life, one of the new programs available for Macs. With the aid of ready-made templates, word bubbles, pictures, etc. its users easily create a comic strip.

Florida State lawmakers Monday took up a bill that would, for the first time, create a separate penalty for the increasingly common, and risqué, practice among teens - sending naked or suggestive pictures of themselves via cell phone or e-mail.

Salt Lake City's Granite School District is expected to approve a new policy this month barring students and teachers from connecting on sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The policy - the first of its kind in Utah - provides an exemption for teachers' sites that are educational, not personal. Officials said there was no specific incident that spurred the new guidelines. But with the popularity of social networking sites in schools, Granite wants to eliminate any gray areas when it comes to teacher-student interaction, district spokesman Ben Horsley said. "The reality is if someone is going to interact inappropriately with a student, there's certainly lots of technology out there that can help them get around those rules and guidelines in a very nonpublic way," Horsley said. "This gives us some tools to move forward on a disciplinary track."

One of eight interactive case studies for kids (GR 4-8) from Cable In the Classroom: Power to Learn.
An understanding of the wonderful world of wireless will help the young people avoid any pitfalls that may arise from using laptops, smart phones, and PDAs. And if they are going to be using wireless technology it doesn't hurt if they understand how it works. This unit explains the importance of password protection and cybersecurity. The graphics are Nickelodeon style. A short quiz assesses understanding. For the entire series, check out: http://powertolearn.com/internet_smarts/interactive_case_studies/index.shtml

The calls began coming in Monday. A horrified guidance counselor, a teacher, and then a student lit up Boston's new antibullying tip line, telling officials about multiple Facebook pages that featured pictures of female high school students with derogatory and sexually explicit captions beneath them. Students and city and school officials say they have found at least 15 Facebook pages over the last few days that use obscene or hateful language to target female students, as well as a handful of male students, school administrators, and teachers at schools in Boston and surrounding communities. Boston officials have been scrambling to have the pages removed and have been meeting to figure out how to address the apparent cyberbullying and find the culprits. But as the offending Facebook pages come down, new ones go up. School officials and police are struggling to identify the perpetrators, who have been using fake names when they register with Facebook to create the pages. Police say they could pursue criminal charges if they determine that perpetrators have violated victims' civil rights.

The test, iCritical Thinking Certification, created by the Educational Testing Service and Certiport, reveals whether or not a person is able to combine technical skills with experiences and knowledge. Today's students need to be able to think critically and effectively solve problems while using technology going beyond simply searching for information. They also must evaluate the legitimacy of the information, put it in context, and then apply problem-solving and decision-making skills.

Story about protecting one's digital footprint in difficult economic times. You never know what a potential employer is going to dig up.

If your kids go to Web sites like Club Penguin or Webkinz or play games like World of Warcraft, then they've created alter egos called avatars. This video tells parents what they need to know about Avatars.