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You're on the Web all the time: updating profiles, blogging, texting, downloading, gaming and shopping. You've heard, read or seen things about cyberbullying, sexting, scams, spam and posting stuff you shouldn't. And maybe you've learned a thing or two about how to be online and be safe and responsible while you're there. Share your story with Trend Micro. Your video could be worth $10,000!

Brilliant and meaty post from Alex Couros about what "digital citizenship" encompasses and really means for pedagogy.

Significant concerns raised about student-teacher intractions in a social media environment, including the issue that students flirt. Relatedly, anything performed online by a public school employee - including information and images posted on social networking sites - will be used to judge the character of that individual. There is also the concern that the friends of the staff member may post unflattering information or tag inappropriate images of them which will quickly be used to prompt one major question: "Is this the kind of person we trust to be responsible for our children?"

In November 2001 the National Capital Commission, the Crown corporation responsible for planning and developing Canada's National Capital Region, caused some controversy when they published a promotional brochure for the city of Ottawa that featured a digitally enhanced photo on its cover.

The classroom lessons on TeachableMoment.Org foster critical thinking on issues of the day and a positive classroom environment. Teachers are free to use these lessons in their classrooms. (Organized by the Morningside Center for Teaching Social Responsibility).

being a citizen in today's society has very different issues and challenges, presented to the next generation at increasingly younger ages. "The ability to participate in a responsible way online is part of what kids have to learn about becoming responsible members of the public."

A school's Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP, is a list of technology regulations that require students to use technology responsibly and prevent abuse of school computers. Students are often required to sign this "user contract" in order to use school network computers but unfortunately many sign without reading or understanding the information. The Smart AUP assessment tool is a fun and effective way for students to demonstrate to teachers and administrators that they have read and understand the AUP.

In this lesson, students learn about and discuss the legal aspects of cyberbullying. They review a variety of hypothetical scenarios and a case study, and they consider the seriousness of the situations, who is legally responsible, what action (if any) should be taken and by whom. Lesson plan materials for GR 9-12 are also available on the same topic.

"In this lesson, students analyze the effects of devices and protocols used to communicate and create posters highlighting their findings. They then write response papers exploring the future of these social networking methods."

In this lesson, students share observations about the nuances of spoken and written language. They then create comic strips that comment on problems that arise in electronic-based communications, and prepare a bill of rights outlining the rights and responsibilities of the online community.

Eight Smithfield State High School students who joined a cyberbullying social networking group that branded another girl a "liar" have been suspended. The Smithfield High students, all girls, were suspended for one day and the Facebook group, which had 11 members, was shut down after The Cairns Post was alerted to it before the Easter school holidays. It is understood the Facebook group was started after an argument between friends. Smithfield High acting principal Barry Courtney said the school took a tough stance against any form of bullying."Our response is students who join any cyberbullying site will be dealt with and it is a suspendable offence and parents are contacted about it straight away," he said.

A spat on Facebook over a recent killing might have led to a fight at Knightdale High School last week. Dominique Royster's Facebook page erupted into expletives and insults after Royster called for the release of Mariah Wisdom from jail. After her Facebook posting and the angry response, Royster received death threats on her cell phone. She was kept out of school for several days until emotions cooled, and her parents had a chance to talk to school administrators about the situation. A member of the school staff who deals with disciplinary problems was assigned to shadow her as she went through the day March 26, her first day back at school after the killing. Four students were cited with misdemeanor assault and released to their parents in connection with the attack.

At Google, we pursue ideas and products that often push the limits of existing technology. As a company that acts responsibly, we work hard to make sure any innovation is balanced with the appropriate level of privacy and security for our users. Our Privacy Principles help guide decisions we make at every level of our company, so we can help protect and empower our users while we fulfill our ongoing mission to organize the world's information.

Steve Balkam, FOSI: Digital Citizenship includes not just the rights of free expression (as important as that is) and the right to remain safe online but also duties and responsibilities of a full active and engaged citizen, respecting others' rights and looking out for other cyber citizens in a civil and respectful manner. Excerpts from conversation about National Broadband Plan adoption.

On listservs and blogs, education researchers and teachers are beginning to discuss how to handle this latest online application. To most educators, filtering is never a preferred option. Teachers and media specialists almost uniformly choose to use opportunities like this to teach students how to make decisions about what's appropriate on their own. "One of the responsibilities of working with students on the use of online resources is to make them aware of potential dangers so they can make informed choices," says Deb Logan, librarian and media specialist for Mount Gilead (OH) High School, by email. "A discussion of online resources like Chatroulette offers a learning opportunity. These opportunities sometimes come at unexpected times." But educators believe Chatroulette may be a bit different then other similar sites like Omegle.com and Facebook's PopJam in that video is involved-and there's no way to edit what pops up on the screen other than clicking "next" after it's already appeared. There's no lurking allowed on Chatroulette-once a user signs in, they're visible to anyone who chances upon them, and anyone, in turn, is visible to them. Needless to say, there's a bit of nudity and sexual play being reported on the site, and the swiftness of people moving from image to image doesn't allow children to protect themselves-other than signing off.

This Texas school district has decided that the best way to help their students learn how to use online resources more responsibly is to educate parents as well. Evening technology showcases provide a launch pad.

Digital Life 101 covers several lesson plan units in Digital Citizenship for Grades 6-8 to help students act responsibly in their relationships over digital media.

Rings of Responsibility for grades 4-5 challenges students to think about their online communities and relationships.

In response to new federal rules mandating organizations retain their electronic documents, districts are using outside providers to archive their in-house e-mails.

They came from pretty much every sector-nonprofits, government, wireless executives, and think tanks-to a day-long conference in Washington D.C. on how to respond to the panic du jour over kids, mobile phones, and sex