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When a school or district decides to implement education technology into the curriculum, one of its overriding goals must be to create plans and policies for all members of the learning community to have equitable access and use. Appropriate funding and professional development represent the key means of supporting equitable access and use of technology to ensure technology literacy and to support meaningful learning for all students.

The school has an anti-bullying program and a zero-tolerance policy for bullying. And even though the bullying didn't occur on school grounds, administrators stated that the district has a responsibility to get involved when an incident creates significant disruption or concern at school.

There are no policies at any of the three districts that directly addresses popular social networking Web sites, because, administrations are finding, they can't keep up with technology.

The National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) has compiled a database of statutes related to bullying, harrassment and hazing. They are sorted alphabetically by state and include information on latest updates and whether or not there is a state cyberbullying policy.

Computer scientists and policy experts say that such seemingly innocuous bits of self-revelation can increasingly be collected and reassembled by computers to help create a picture of a person's identity, sometimes down to the Social Security number.

Here are 8 tips to monitor and protect one's online reputation from the U.S. Government Information Security Blog: Search your name. Type your first and last name within quotation marks into several popular search engines to see where you are mentioned and in what context. Narrow your search and use keywords that apply only to you, such as your city, employer and industry association. Expand your search. Use similar techniques to search for your telephone numbers, home address, e-mail addresses, and personal website domain names. You should also search for your social security and credit card numbers to make sure they don't appear anywhere online. Read blogs. If any of your friends or coworkers have blogs or personal web pages on social networking sites, check them out to see if they are writing about or posting pictures of you. Sign up for alerts. Use the Google alert feature that automatically notifies you of any new mention of your name or other personal information. Limit your personal information. Tweet/chat/discuss regarding business and the emerging trends in your industry, but limit posting information on your personal life, which could be a subject of major scrutiny by recruiters and hiring managers. Also, be sure you know how organizations will use your information before you give it to them. Use privacy settings. Most social networking and photo-sharing sites allow you to determine who can access and respond to your content. If you're using a site that doesn't offer privacy settings, find another site. Choose your photos and language thoughtfully. You need to ensure that information posted online is written professionally without use of swear words and catchy phrases. Also, be very selective in posting photographs, and use your judgment to ensure that these photographs are how you want the world to see you. Take action If you find information about yourself online that is embarrassing or untrue, cont

Nolensville Elementary School Principal Beth Ferguson recently let parents know that many of their children are on social networking sites designed for teens and adults. While this is not a violation of any school policy, Ferguson was concerned enough to send letters and Internet tips to parents. Ferguson found at least 13 students from her K-5 school on Facebook, the popular networking site, and she knows there are probably more.

Fewer than 25 percent of educators feel comfortable teaching students how to protect themselves from online predators, cyberbullies and identity thieves, says a new study from the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology, Policy Research and Outreach (ET PRO).

This site provides a detailed account of states that have begun taking legal action against cyberbullying. Many states are just in the process of introducing legislation. For updated information on new laws and legislation, you can go to your local senate website and search cyberbullying. Most legislation includes "cyberbullying", though the focus of the campaign was "bullying" in general. Many states require the local district to enact a policy. For specific rules and regulations, you should contact your local PTA.

Painfully aware of this rampant trend, high school educators are very concerned about the impact sexting can have on teenage lives and are working urgently to address the problem by examining policies regarding cell phone use during school hours.

Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, a new policy paper by Renee Hobbs, Professor at the School of Communications and the College of Education at Temple University and founder of its Media Education Lab, proposes a detailed plan that positions digital and media literacy as an essential life skill and outlines steps that policymakers, educators, and community advocates can take to help Americans thrive in the digital age. You can download DIGITAL AND MEDIA LITERACY: A PLAN OF ACTION at http://bit.ly/bdVDy3

A new state law in Kentucky now requires the state Board of Education to develop disciplinary guidelines for bullying. Under the bullying law, the legal definition of harassment would be changed to include student behavior that causes physical harm, intimidation or humiliation for fellow students. The AB 91 law also says bullying can be done and cause harm to a student through the Internet, phone or by mail. It also elevates bullying to a criminal offense - a class B misdemeanor.

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.

2008 National Educational Computing Conference also touts collaboration as a key to 21st-century learning

New book on the state of internet filtering worldwide

This form is powered by Wufoo Online forms and is a 'guide' to getting parent permission at the teacher level to allow students to participate in read/write activities. It is not a 'policy'. You will need to produce a printed version to ensure that you have a signature. Ensure that you provide adequate opportunity for parents to contact you with questions or express an interest in parental education about the read/write web.

Plans to address bullying and cyberbullying behavior in Kansas School Districts are clearly laid out in this article.

What seems like an easy question - Will you be my friend? - is not necessarily so for teachers who have joined the Facebook phenomenon. The social-networking Web site, whose popularity has grown from the college crowd down to teens and up to boomers, poses a prickly question for teachers who want to connect with their tech-savvy students yet maintain professional boundaries.

What preventative steps can we take to reduce the risk of being sued?