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Today's cellular phones (cell phones) are more than just phones, they are hightech appliances that also serve as a mini-computers. Cell phones are electronic gadgets that allow users to surf the web, conduct text chats with others, take photos, record video, download and listen to music, play games, update blogs, send instant text messages to others, keep a calendar and to-do list, and more, much more. But cell phones also carry risks and cause distractions.

FACEBOOK, MySpace, YouTube and Wikipedia are considered valuable educational tools by some who embrace the learning potential of the internet; they are also seen as a massive distraction with no academic benefit by others. Research in Nottingham and Notts suggests split opinions over the internet in the classroom. Some 1,500 interviews with teachers, parents and students nationwide showed the 'net was an integral part of children's personal lives, with 57% of 13 to 18-year-olds in Notts using blogs in their spare time and 58% in Nottingham. More than 60% of Nottingham teens use social networking sites. They are a big feature of leisure time - but now the science version of You Tube, developed by academics at The University of Nottingham, has been honoured in the US this week. The showcase of science videos shares the work of engineers and students online. However just a quarter of teachers use social networking tools in the classroom and their teaching, preferring to leave children to investigate outside school.

Just before midnight, an eMail popped into Robert Morris University professor Chris Davis' eMail box. It was from a student. When the student did not receive an immediate reply, another eMail arrived 30 minutes later. By the time Davis logged on the following morning, he had four eMails from this student. "A lot of our younger students using technology are used to that instant gratification when they reach out and ping somebody," Davis said. "But I tell students I'm not available 24 hours a day."

Diane Hillas considers herself illiterate when it comes to technology, so she was surprised to hear her 12-year-old son's PlayStation Portable game console can be used to download Internet pornography. The 51-year-old Modesto mother of three was at a cyber safety seminar at Modesto's Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation on Saturday afternoon, and said she would check every portable communication device her family owns once she got home.

What ever happened to old-fashioned "discipline?" This question has come up constantly in my conversations with parents and teachers over the course of my involvement with the Digital Natives project. When parents glance over and see not only 50 browser tabs open on the family computer, but iTunes and a computer game and AIM too-with a book report relegated to a tiny corner of the screen-they're understandably bewildered. How do kids ever get anything done? "I'm just really good at multi-tasking, Mom," a savvy student might reply. And, as long as the work gets done, it seems hard to argue with that logic.

Instead of using scare tactics and statistics that are misleading, we must paint a realistic picture and use statistics appropriately. Rather than pass legislation that puts constraints on schools, Congress needs to fund online safety education and public awareness campaigns that show the true picture. "You can't get there from here." it's not just the punch line of a driving direction joke. For educators, whose destination is the realization of educational technology's potential, that punch line sometimes seems closer to the truth than we like.

Your teenage daughter is supposed to be doing homework, but you catch her chatting online. She tells you that she's talking about the math test tomorrow. Before your eyes start rolling, listen up: teens are using social networking sites for more than just gossip, according to a new study by the National School Boards Association.

If a young person wants to experiment with running a business, they're not just engaging in thought experiments and case studies; they're actually working with real people and real money," says Joey Seiler, editor of VirtualWorldNews.com, an industry news source that's part of Virtual Worlds Management, a company that provides trade events, media, research and online services.

Analyzing and assessing sources is an essential part of all inquiry-based learning projects, but our multimedia world means that we have to teach kids not just how to assess data and arguments, but also how to discern emotional appeals made through pictures, music and video.

Computers make it easy to make copies of computer software, pictures, words, movies and songs. But copyright laws make it illegal to copy the creative work without the owner�s permission. Making copies of a work protected by copyright is just like stealing. The B4UCopy educational program, available for free download, has a goal of raising awareness of copyright laws and reinforce responsible behavior online.

The Future of Reading: Digital Versus Print.
This is the first in a series of articles that looks at how the Internet and other technological and social forces are changing the way people read.

New York City's Department of Health launched its Mindspace program last week, an attempt to reach at-risk teens by creating MySpace pages for kids battling common mental health issues.
Though many teens experience mental health issues, they are often reluctant to acknowledge them and seek help. When asked who they are most likely to talk with when they feel sad, more than 20% of teens NYC Teen said they talk to no one, one-third said they would talk to a friend only (31%), and just one-third said they would talk to an adult (32%). The Mindspace page responds to these issues with interactive features that raise awareness and combat stigma by helping teens identify with peers and prompting them to seek help.

If you're a small business owner, family member, student or just someone with a laptop who loves shopping online and is addicted to your online banking, you might think that you're not a big target for identity thieves, hackers or viruses. The truth is that no one is really safe from prying eyes when they're online, so turn to this list of 100 tips, tutorials and resources that will help you beef up your own network security.

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt signed a bill Monday outlawing cyberbullying, just miles from where a 13-year-old girl committed suicide nearly two years ago after being harassed on the Internet.\n\nThe bill updates state laws against harassment by removing the requirement that the communication be written or over the telephone. Supporters say the bill now covers harassment from computers, text messages and other electronic devices.

Student work-arounds to blocked sites just got a little easier! MySpace jumped on the iPhone bandwagon, today unveiling an application that will deliver a mobile version of the social network to Apple's hugely popular smartphone. Another reason why we need to emphasize digital citizenship rather than blocking access!

Fighting cyberbullying isn't just a technical problem. We need to educate children and young people to anticipate, recognize and deal with risks and problems as and when they arise. Children and young people will continue to give out their personal details so they need to be taught more about the management of personal information, both their own and other people's. More importantly they must be encouraged to become emotionally resilient in all areas of their daily lives.

It only takes a minute to change your life. In this collaboration with the Kaiser Family Foundation, the PAUSE campaign recognizes that in a minute, everything can change. Impulsive behaviors are part of being young. Through the campaign, Fox Networks Group and Kaiser hope to encourage young people to "pause" - even if just for sixty seconds -- when confronted with a difficult or risky decision, consider the best option, and reach out to get more information and help if they need it. In that minute, they have the choice to make a good or bad call. As PAUSE indicates, "it only takes a minute to change your life." For a young person, that kind of power can be intimidating, yet also very empowering. Site includes PSA's targeting youth and informational resources.

How tech-obsessed iKids would improve our schools. One of the strangest things in this age of young people's empowerment is how little input our students have into their own education and its future. Kids who out of school control large sums of money and have huge choices on how they spend it have almost no choices at all about how they are educated -- they are, for the most part, just herded into classrooms and told what to do and when to do it.

[April 8, 2008] Jolita Berry remembers all too well what happened last Friday. She had just finished having words with a female student, when things turned violent. Video taken by another student on a cell phone and posted on MySpace, clearly shows what happened next. In the video you can see a teenage student beating Jolita on the floor of her art class at Reginald F. Lewis High School