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"So, like every other one of the world's 1.28 billion monthly active Facebook users, you blindly agreed to Facebook's Terms and Conditions without reading the fine print. You entrusted your photo albums, private messages and relationships to a website without reading its policies. And you do the same with every other site ... sound about right? In your defense, Carnegie Mellon researchers determined that it would take the average American 76 work days to read all the privacy policies they agreed to each year. So you're not avoiding the reading out of laziness; it's literally an act of job preservation. So here are the Cliffs Notes of what you agreed to when you and Facebook entered into this contract. Which, by the way, began as soon as you signed up:"

The idea for this page is to build a 'best of the web' reading / watching list for school leadership regarding using social media for school advancement. Rather than talk about how great social media is we're using social media to build this reading list.

"The most time-consuming part of evaluating web tools for educational use has got to be looking at the Terms of Service (also know as Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions). They can go on for pages, and are so often wrapped up in so much legalese that even if you manage to read to the end, there is no guarantee you will be any wiser. And yet we can't just ignore them; it is our duty as educators and as digital citizens to protect rights and understand responsibilities online."

You're inundated with new contracts, Terms of Service, privacy policies, and disclaimers for every new service you use, but reading them all is next to impossible for a normal human being. To help solve this problem, we've looked at the language of most Terms of Service agreements to come up with the main words and sections everyone should pay attention to.

An answer to the question, "In the 21st century, what does a school librarian do?" I found this very interesting to read but overwhelming too. The school librarian is expected to be able to do so much, however I feel if we take one or two aspects at a time and slowly developed these, our confidence and interest to pursue others increases.  I am going to give this article to my colleagues to read and reflect upon at my next TL meeting.  I look forward to hearing their responses.

"I'm pretty sure that we're all aware of computer hackers. The real shocker comes with just how easy it is for hackers to steal your information. Today's infographic lets us regular folk know just how easy it is for our information to be tracked and potentially stolen. I have personally been guilty of being too trusting of public routers.  Since I don't have internet at home, I'll spend HOURS surfing the net, and getting personal things done at Mcdonalds, where the internet is free for the public to use. But not after reading today's infographic! It's crazy to realize that this entire time someone could have been cyber stalking my information! I'm going to have to beef up my antivirus and keep my internet time to a minimum. Seriously, for your personal and financial safety, read today's infographic and be protect your computer. The facts in today's infographic are too scary to ignore!"

How much do teens understand what they've agreed to give up when they start an account with social media sites?

Over the past couple of years, I've been trying to collect every good piece of writing and advice about verifying social media content and other types of information that flow across networks. This form of verification involves some new tools and techniques, and requires a basic understanding of the way networks operate and how people use them. It also requires many of the so-called old school values and techniques that have been around for a while: being skeptical, asking questions, tracking down high quality sources, exercising restraint, collaborating and communicating with team members. Post also contains a great Slideshare.

"This is a study well worth reading and thinking about because it focusses on teaching and learning. It demonstrates clearly that the use of social networking can be used successfully in the processes of learning. Designing for Learning: Online Social Networks as a Classroom Environment provides a model for schools to consider as a starting point for using social networking in pedagogy. "

A read through most online privacy policies is enough to make your stomach acid curdle. And social media companies have more access to personal data than most. Some collect information you expressly give them, like your credit card and telephone numbers. Others gather data based on how and where you use their services. This might include anything from device and browser information to location intel. And some of it gets really specific - think about your last search query or ad click. It's probably all "fair" game. Depending on the type gathered, social networks use data to enhance location services and target advertising (now you know why that sunglasses website you visited three months ago follows you all over the web). A few social sites even share certain information with marketers and/or third-party partners - in that case, you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with those other companies' policies as they apply to you and your information.

"This is a great list from Deb Ng, founder and former owner of the Freelance Writing Jobs. I thought hard about what she'd written to see if I could add anything, enhance or disagree. You have to teach internet safety. It's not part of the human genome. Nothing. It's a great list, as good as any I've seen since social media exploded on the education landscape. Read and take note:"

"There are days I just hate technology. Just when I think I'm ahead of my kids, up pops another ridiculously stupid app like Yik Yak. The latest app to make news, Yik Yak allows users to comment anonymously-because you know, who needs to take responsibility for their words, right? I've read a couple of blogs about it, too-great takes from Portrait of an Adoption,  Baby Sideburns and Tween Us. And then there's the schools, at least locally, trying to get the app disabled. Good luck with that. Because here's the thing. The app developers only care about one thing-and it's not your kid."

"Wickr is a free app that provides: ·military-grade encryption of text, picture, audio and video messages ·sender-based control over who can read messages, where and for how long ·best available privacy, anonymity and secure file shredding features ·security that is simple to use"

mmm ... apparently this app has been around for some time - 2 years at least. Spoke to my son who works in the IT industry and he is very sceptical about it - since email is sent to a server, then deconstructed and sent as packets and then reconstructed on a server and then sent to a user - when does the message self-destruct? If it is only at the end point then the digital footprint is still there. Military grade encryption - what does this mean? There is no such thing as a free lunch on the Internet - I would be careful about what I send and certainly not trust something that is touted as "free" - there is always a cost! :) BC

Read about Common Sense Signature Schools and Educators Program: Digital Citizenship Certification 2013-2014

"Today, we acknowledge that the digital citizen is a global citizen. There has been, like the U.S. Constitution drafters recognized, a need for a definition of checks and balances that will govern this "new" world-wide technology. While it certainly is not a governing set of laws or even enforceable, digital citizenship nevertheless defines the model behavior of today's Global Digital Natives. So how do we make the definition clear for all? What are a few of the Global Digital Citizenship myths that we can get nipped in the bud? Read on …"

A 'MUST READ' blog post from @vanschaijik

"Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks."

"We all know that the delineation between public and private was eroded by Facebook a long time ago. Over. Done. But now Facebook's sheer scale is pushing it in a new direction, one that encroaches on your authenticity. Facebook is no longer a social network. They stopped being one long before the movie. Facebook is really a huge broadcast platform. Everything that happens between its walls is one degree away from being public, one massive auditorium filled with everyone you've ever met, most of whom you haven't seen or spoken to in years. Last week a bunch of massive sites across the web, including TechCrunch, adopted Facebook commenting. The integration of the formatting and fonts is so strong that when you're reading comments you actually feel like you are on Facebook, not a tech focused vertical site. This latest push by Facebook to tie people to one identity across the interwebs is very troublesome."

"Now, Erin Olson, an English teacher in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, is among a small but growing cadre of educators trying to exploit Twitter-like technology to enhance classroom discussion. Last Friday, as some of her 11th graders read aloud from a poem called "To the Lady," which ponders why bystanders do not intervene to stop injustice, others kept up a running commentary on their laptops. "