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It is commonly recognized that our nation's progress depends on improving learning, thereby creating healthier communities and a stronger workforce. In today's world, that requires us to take advantage of new learning tools to ensure that our children's learning is practical and prepares them for the challenges of the 21st century. The advantages of digital media now greatly outweigh the disadvantages and require that schools update their thinking and policies to provide guidance on the use of these tools to improve student learning and achievement.

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.

Your students may be able to update their Facebook status in a heartbeat, but can they also write a thoughtful letter to the editor, voice their opinion on a call-in radio show, or access local media to advocate for community action? How well would parents or teachers in your community do at those tasks? In Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action, media literacy expert Renee Hobbs makes a strong case for deepening digital literacy -- not only for youth but for Americans of all ages. Improving our digital and media literacy will require nothing less than a national community education effort, Hobbs argues in a position paper recently published by the Aspen Institute and Knight Foundation. Sorting through the flood of information most of us encounter daily requires new knowledge and critical-thinking skills, she says.

"Social experiences require multiple players and so does safety. We all need to do our part. These resources are here for teens, parents, and teachers to learn more about how to use Google+ in a fun, smart, and safe way. We're glad you are here! "

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has launched a guide to being positive about digital engagement'' rather than being a wary Internet user. The Guide facilitates confident online engagement by citizens through identifying three principles which reflect the required values, skills and knowledge: Engage positively: exercise your rights and responsibilities as a digital citizen Know your online world: learn new skills and digital technologies Choose consciously: take charge of how you interact online.

"LETTERBOX has been looking into the effects that the digital age is having on younger minds and has generated the fascinating infographic below that's teeming with interesting details. For example, did you know that there are more than 5 million users below the age of ten on Facebook, despite the minimum age requirement being 13? Of these users, over 200,000 of them are aged six or younger. These statistics and others listed below all point to the incredible fact that the average age for a child to start regularly consuming online media is now only 8-years-old."

"The internet has allowed us to see what would have otherwise remained unseen. Everyone with access to a smartphone, a Twitter or Facebook account now has the ability to report on what is happening anywhere, at any given moment: a comet crashing, bridge cables snapping, a subway bombing. For this fact alone, I love it. But I've had an increasing personal discomfort on one front. Within the bounds of journalism, the fact that someone accused another of having done something wrong has never been enough to warrant an attack. At the very least, you are required to get the other side of the story - but this principle doesn't apply online."

A blog listing some resources to use to create your own app. Little if any coding knowledge required.

"As edu­ca­tors, it requires con­sid­er­ing what it means for our stu­dents- when they are grow­ing up in a media sat­u­rated world. Access to mobile tech­nolo­gies and the Inter­net have increased ten-fold. The Inter­net is now a two-way process rather than a broad­cast model, and the impli­ca­tions of this are huge."

"Facebook is planning to make users' addresses and mobile phone numbers available to apps that people use on the site, although it says it would require users to give explicit permission for it to happen."

"Companies have long used criminal background checks, credit reports and even searches on Google and LinkedIn to probe the previous lives of prospective employees. Now, some companies are requiring job candidates to also pass a social media background check."

Twenty years ago, good citizenship took place in the microcosm of the classroom and was simply rewarded with a certificate of merit. Today, with its millennial twist, global digital citizenship reaches far beyond the playground fence. And its stewards are enriched with a much deeper understanding of how their actions affect their own lives as well as those of their peers - at home and around the world. That's why students must take an active role in identifying and establishing ethical digital use. They need to be involved in the critical thinking and policy creation that affects ultimate change. It's called "buy-in" … and these days, our savvy students require it if they'll be expected to have a healthy relationship with technology.

"Children are inherently social creatures. Take one look at a playground and you'll see young kids interacting with one another, practicing their social skills, and learning the lay of the land. So, it's only natural that children would want to follow the popular trend of joining an online social network…right? After all, their friends are doing it. In this article, we will explore social networking websites and how children below the required age to join are able to open accounts. We will also discuss the social networking dangers and positive effects of social networks on young children and offer helpful tips for parents who wish to guide their kids towards a safe direction."

"Digital media often heighten young people's exposure to the global community and to peers with different cultural backgrounds. Such exposure increases the need for young people to recognise the social, cultural and historical influences that shape their own and others' understanding and learning. For example, they need to understand that the same actions may have different meanings in different cultures, and that many things which appear at first glance to be natural and neutral are in fact created by particular cultural and social understandings. Digital technologies, particularly online spaces, provide young people with opportunities for many new forms of interaction. Increasingly, these interactions are mediated by different modes of representation such as images and sounds. Being able to decode these multimodal texts requires an understanding of the social and cultural practices that surround their creation."

"In Digital Age, Learning Civics Means Doing Civics Traditional civic education has required students to memorize basic facts about American government, call it the what, who, and when model for civic literacy. The primary source of information has been textbooks, a source of literacy that has not always been the most accurate or inclusive. And while books (in various forms) will certainly continue to play a role in civic education emerging digital media platforms will be key in the effort to engage, invigorate, and create an informed citizenry. The rise of digital media offers a unique opportunity to add a more experiential dimension to civic education. Digital technologies can, of course, be used to teach kids basic civic facts, but they can also serve as an entry point into "doing" civics. This happened in a Minneapolis third grade class I visited earlier this year. "

"The online environment is an integral part of modern economic and social activities, and a vast resource of education, information, communication and entertainment. Further, the evolution of new technologies is diversifying the ways in which Australians connect with each other and the world. As part of the Government's comprehensive commitment to cyber-safety, the Australian Parliament established this Committee in March 2010. This report focuses on how young people can be empowered and connect to the Internet, and use new technologies with confidence, knowing that they can use them safely, ethically and with full awareness of risks and benefits. The facilitation of safer online environments requires government, industry and the broader community to work together to realise the benefits of the online environment while also protecting Australians from dangers and enabling them to use existing and emerging tools to mitigate risks.  

"As I lamented in my last post, many of the fabulous Web tools out there are restricted to users 13 and over. This limits what Elementary/Primary schools students can access online to create content to collaborate. To save others at school some time, then, I have compiled a list of popular/well known Web tools that can and can't be used by children under 13 - 1), so we are legally covered in what we are allowing our students to use and 2), so they know what is available. Please note that generally the sites that allow for under 13s still ask for parental permission ( even Edmodo if you haven't read the Terms of Use) so a solid school user agreement is needed to use these tools. Some of the sites are not US based so are not bound by COPPA and CIPA regulations. It still requires schools to carefully check out what can be viewed on these sites to ensure they are appropriate to access."

Education systems require capacity for creativity and innovation to respond to demands of new world of work

Interested to Study in Canada? Know more details on Colleges & Universities, Cost of Study, Cost of Living, Student Visa Requirements in Canada and more.

As the effects of the coronavirus sweep through the United States and across the world, many teachers and schools are making the shift to virtual learning. But even if students are comfortable with technology, learning online requires its own norms and procedures, many of which will be new to students who are used to learning in a face-to-face classroom.