Ad4dcss/Digital Citizenship

Digital sticks and stones can't break bones-but they can hurt even more. What can educators do to curb bullying in cyberspace? Talk about it," says Cathy Smith. "Define it and discuss expectations and consequences. Don't ignore it or take it lightly." To get kids talking about cyberbullying, Smith meets her students where they live: online. The article cites classroom strategies, including use of some of the information we've collected on this site: NetSmartz videos and Ad Council PSA's

One of the best wikis on the digiteen project, this wiki covering digital law is marvelous and was put together by 9 students from my classroom here in the US, Qatar, and Austria. This is an excellent wiki on Digital Law and has made my wiki hall of fame for this year! Wow!

Amazing wiki put together by an international team of 9th graders on digital law.

Prompted by outrage over a Missouri teen's suicide after an internet hoax, United States Rep. Kenny Hulshof on May 22 introduced a bill that would impose federal criminal penalties for cyber bullying. "The Megan Meier Act would give prosecutors the tools to protect kids from the most egregious of online predatory attacks," Hulshof said in a statement. Hulshof's bill would allow federal prosecutors to go after online messages meant "to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause emotional distress" to others. Those convicted under the measure would face a fine or up to two years in jail.

Educators are closely watching a $1 billion copyright infringement lawsuit challenging YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off its popular video-sharing web site-a lawsuit that could have important implications for the future of Web 2.0 applications, observers say.

Is it copyright protected? Find out with this handy tool from librarycopyright.net and Michael Brewer, Office for Information Technology Policy/ Copyright Advisory Committee member and desiger of the tool.

The new mobile phone phenomenon, dubbed "sexting", led to 32 Victorian [Australia] teenagers being charged with child pornography offenses last year.

Child predators offering game points in exchange for nude images through Internet-connected video games have prompted a warning for parents. "Kids are playing games, and they are being asked to take photos of themselves naked in order to get game points," state attorney Cybercrime Detective Lt. David Maurer said. "There is not only the chatting version of the games but also a webcam involved."

Make your students and staff aware of the potential infringements. Most teachers and students use music in their video and then publish or use in it in a public setting while thinking they've done nothing wrong. But, their lack of knowledge about the laws does not make them immune. \n

HB 669 prohibits the bullying or harassment, including cyber bullying, of any public K-12 student or employee. It requires the Department of Education to adopt a model policy to prohibit bullying and harassment and directs all school districts to adopt a similar policy. School districts are directed to work with students, parents, teachers, administrators, and local law enforcement on developing this policy. School districts will be required to report all instances of bullying or harassment and to notify the parents of the bully and the parents of the victim.

Schoolyard bullies are a long-standing problem but now, in the age of the Internet, they are increasingly using electronic devices to torment their victims. Because cyberbullying has become so prevalent, several states, including New York, have proposed legislation to control cyberbullying.

AB 307 charges districts to "educate pupils and teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of information technology in the classroom, Internet safety, avoiding plagiarism, the concept, purpose, and significance of a copyright so that pupils can distinguish between lawful and unlawful online downloading, and the implications of illegal peer-to-peer network file sharing."

This bill shows up as additional items in the planning criteria found in the EETT grant applicationCalifornia Education Code Section 51871.5, -- legislation, monitoring student internet use, ethical use of educational technology in the classroom, information literacy, aspects of information literacy/Internet safety, cyber-bullying, research studies and reports.

Lawmakers in California are considering a bill to punish bullies that harass fellow student via digital means, such as test messages or social networks like MySpace.

Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act - A federal law has been proposed that defines cyberbullying and specifies penalties (in the form of fines and up to two years imprisonment) for violators. The bill is formally called the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act (HR 6123), and was introduced jointly by Representatives from Missouri and California. It anmends the federal criminal code to impose criminal penalties on anyone who transmits in interstate or foreign commerce a communication intended to coerce, intimidate, harass, or cause substantial emotional distress to another person, using electronic means to support severe, repeated, and hostile behavior.

Amends the Harassing and Obscene Communications Act. Creates the Cyberbullying Law. Provides that the offense of harassment through electronic communications also includes the use of electronic communication for making a harassing statement for the purpose of alarming, tormenting, or terrorizing a specific person on at least 2 separate occasions; or creating and maintaining an Internet website or webpage, which is accessible to one or more third parties for a period of at least 24 hours, and which contains harassing statements made for the purpose of alarming, tormenting, or terrorizing a specific person. Establishes penalties. Effective immediately. The new law takes effect January 1st and provides that the Internet safety curriculums in schools will begin with the 2009-2010 school year. The bill allows the age-appropriate unit of instruction to be incorporated into the current courses of study regularly taught in the districts' schools.

"The Case of Internet Piracy" was developed by judges and professors to teach students about the law and the courtroom experience.

Ohio State Bar Association questions and answers on cyberbullying in the schools.

Plagiarism, we all hate it, but how can we teach students to avoid it and how can we detect it? Just as the Internet makes plagiarism easy, the Internet also makes detecting plagiarism and prevent plagiarism easy. What follows are ten resources for detecting plagiarism and teaching students to avoid plagiarism.

Katherine Evans said she was frustrated with her English teacher for ignoring her pleas for help with assignments and a brusque reproach when she missed class to attend a school blood drive. So Ms. Evans, who was then a high school senior and honor student, logged onto the networking site Facebook and wrote a rant against the teacher, Sarah Phelps.

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

Educational video which teaches fair use and copyright laws using Disney Characters.