Governor Rod Blagojevich Thursday signed Senate Bill 2512 legislation to help protect children from the dangers of the Internet. SB 2512 requires school districts, beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, to incorporate an "age-appropriate Internet safety unit of instruction in the current course of study regularly taught in the district's schools," beginning in third grade.

A bill passed earlier this year makes it mandatory for Pennsylvania school districts to have a written anti-bullying policy in place beginning next year.

The California K-12 High Speed Network (K12HSN) is offering a comprehensive set of tools to support teaching and learning in California classrooms. This free suite of tools, known as edZone, was developed by the California Dept of Education and currently includes blogging, videoconference scheduling and a file sharing system where educators can upload videos, podcasts, images and documents. EdZone is an excellent tool to share lesson ideas, upload student learning objects, disseminate best practices, and more! EdZone will soon be expanded to include Instant Messaging, Moodle, Wikis, Social Networking, Moodle-an online course management system and other Web 2.0 tools to enhance today's classroom environment. Watch for these new tools in Summer 2008!

An agency devoted to educating and inspiring urban youth to become successful students and global community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences.

One of the challenges now facing educators is how to get today's technology-charged student reinvigorated in the learning process. Increasingly, teachers are introducing their students to the exciting possibilities of collaborating online. Increasingly, teachers are introducing their students to the exciting possibilities of collaborating online. Saywire is another commercial solution to the problem of providing a safe, protected environment in the schools.

Another fine presentation by Tom Barrett

Excellent demonstration of a school district using deli.cio.us for bookmarking of K-3 resources.

Whether we like it or not, Google or Wikipedia are our student's first ports of call when it comes to researching or undertaking independent study, not the school library. Diigo offers a fantastic way to tap into the way our students operate by allowing the annotation of web pages which can then be shared with your students and, by doing so, you facilitate the process of research for your students and you set them on the right track for further independent study.

Searches other search engines for pictures (Flickr, Photobucket, Google, Yahoo etc). Windows-only but the Mac version is under development. Some images have copyright info on them, but not all. Can see a lot of different images at once.

Real-time image search.

Legal Implications for Searching Student Cell Phones. Although this article is written against Michigan law, it does help clarify some of the concepts for what is permissable. Note that searching a student's cell phone or wireless device without parent permission may violate state wiretapping laws.

Very important document!! The NASSP Position Statement is the cornerstone for all of our work in cybersafety education at CTAP4. Click on "expand" to see their recommendations.

NASSP recommendations for school leaders 1. Familiarize themselves about all aspects of computer technology, including the mechanics of the Internet, blogs, social networking Web sites, and the liability issues associated with the use of these technologies 2.Form a technology team that comprises staff members, parents and students to act in an advisory capacity to the larger school community 3.Educate staff members and students on using technology within the boundaries of the law 4.Guide teachers and students on how the Internet can serve as effective educational tools 5.Formulate clear guidelines to protect students and teachers against cyber bullying and other criminal activities 6.Conduct orientation sessions for parents regarding student use of the Internet 7.Reinforce these guidelines with parents and encourage vigilance of Internet use at home, including the elimination of derogatory statements against other students or staff.

Technology has out-paced the legal system in issues related to cyberbullying in the schools. When a cyberbullying incident happens at your school, how will you handle it? What board policies will protect you? What is appropriate discipline? What kind of documentation do you need? How will you assure a safe environment for your students? Learn from national experts who have studied court decisions related to cyberbullying of students, teachers and school administrators.

The AASA website is rich with resources specifically developed to assist school system leaders.

From the Technology Information Center for Administrator Leadership /Radio TICAL audiocast: First they showed up in every driver's hand. Now, your second graders are bringing them to school. Yep, cell phones have become as ubiquitous on campus as they are on the roads, and they force us to consider new rules and policies in each context. In this episode, TICAL cadre members Bob Blackney and Kelly Calhoun share their perspectives on the kinds of things we need to consider in crafting campus cell phone policies.

New rules make eMail, instant messages subject to legal review. According to new federal rules that went into effect Dec. 1, schools, businesses, and other organizations are required to keep tabs on all eMail, instant messages (IM), and other digital communications produced by their employees.

Download this free 64-page document on developing appropriate policies and procedures to ensure safe use of the Internet. A checklist for developing acceptable use policies and practical strategies for responding to incidents are also included. Developed by the Internet Safety Group of New Zealand.

Medford School District takes Cyberbullying seriously. In a new update to their board policy, students who use text messages or e-mails to harass schoolmates could lose their driver's licenses. Apparently, this policy has also been used for chronic truancy offenses. Prior to this new update, the school board policy on cyberbullying was already one that strongly articulated zero-tolerance for bullying in cyberspace.

A Montclair school district is trying to protect its students from cyber bullies, even when they attack from home. CBS has learned how the school is cracking down and making the bullies the target.

Reauthorization of Higher Education Act forces colleges to adopt technology protection measures to guard against copyright infringement