Ad4dcss/Digital Citizenship

A rather frightening PSA targeting teens and the dangers of texting while driving.

Over the last few months everyone has weighed in on the question of "Why Don't Teens Tweet" - except, it would appear, teens. We recently ran a survey of 10,000+ US teens aged 13 - 17 to see if we could add anything new to the question.

When it comes to texting while driving, teens are a particular risk group considering that, according to Nielsen (PDF), "The average U.S. mobile teen now sends or receives an average of 2,899 text-messages per month" and apparently some of those texts are being sent and read from behind the wheel.

Family Internet Safety Information and articles. Includes a parent's guide to social networking sites.

My message to parents and teachers is simple: embrace the technology that kids use, recognize that whatever you may lack in technology knowledge you make up in wisdom, and remember that you, too, were once a kid. Your first reaction to kid activity that may be a bit disturbing shouldn't be to freak out and shut down access but to take a deep breath, talk with (and listen to) the kids, and do everything you can to encourage dialog.

Social networking sites are extremely popular among students, but there appear to be two competing trends for social media in school classrooms and on university campuses. Some teachers and lecturers are embracing Facebook and Twitter as new ways of communicating with students, and some universities and school boards are banning access to social networking tools entirely, citing security concerns.

How To's and Don't Do's posted By Hemanshu Nigam, Chief Security Officer, News Corporation and MySpace

Social media sites should provide simpler explanation and assistance to help school kids navigate cyber-safety issues. That is one of the initial points of advice given to the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, by representatives of the Youth Advisory Group.

Back to school presents new challenges for parents staying connected to kids and for parent peace of mind. AT&T has compiled this helpful list of tips to help parents create a safe environment for kids using technology.

District leaders want some evidence that social networking would fulfill their expectation of adding strong educational value and purpose. According to NSBA, before district leaders would buy into social networking for school use, there would need to be a strong emphasis on collaborative and planned activities, strong tools for students to express themselves, and an emphasis on bringing different kinds of students together, all with adult monitoring.