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40 literacy blogs aggregated on one pageflake. This is a great example of the building of customized PLN's to help others understand the purpose of a PLN. If you're a librarian or working with literacy -- why not set this to be your start page - even for just a few days to see what happens. Or, even better - use your favorite rss reader and construct your own Personal learning network using many of these blogs.

I love Rhondda's reflections on digital citizenship. She makes very profound, reasonable arguments as a teacher in the trenches and she has my vote 100% on what she's saying!!

Great post by Alan November

"This Texas school district has decided that the best way to help their students learn how to use online resources more responsibly is to educate parents as well. Evening technology showcases provide a launch pad."

"Never forget that the person reading your mail or posting is, indeed, a person, with feelings that can be hurt. Here are some key points to keep in mind: * It's not nice to hurt other people's feelings. Who are you trying to prove anything to? Just keep offensive comments to yourself and try to be constructive. * Never type a whole message in caps, whethere its an instant message, a reply to a post in a message board, or in an email. writing a whole message in caps means that one is yelling (unless you do not mean it that way). If you do not mean it to come across that way, make sure you tell people you are not yelling. Remember, people can not tell what mood you are in by just typing something (unless you are using a webcam and microphone of course...). So please please please do not use caps to write messages. Thanks! * Never mail or post anything you wouldn't say to your reader's face. The internet is not a place to find or pick a fight. There are people out there with the same intentions you have of just researching and just finding useful information and that is all. No need to start any trouble. Please ;] * Notify your readers when flaming. For those of you who do not know what flaming is, here is the basic definition. Flaming is when a person or group of people decide to express their negativity about a certain situation, maybe a world event or something. The reason one is told to notify people when doing this is because some people may not know you are flaming. I mean, this is the internet. It's not like you have the person sitting in front of you where you can look at their face and tell they are mad or annoyed about something. So please, let people know that the post or message you are about to post is of this kind. On a side note, flaming can also be toward people. It can be toward their beliefs, comments they may have made, ideas, etc. Please do not do this kind of flaming. Again, we are trying to eliminate unneccessary confrontations o

"Because being connected is such an integral part of teens’ lives, some youth may hesitate telling their parents about the harassment they encounter for fear that their online privileges will be taken away. The best way to combat cyber bullying or other forms of harassment is not to reign in or limit a teen’s use of technology, but to make sure adults keep the lines of communication open. In addition to keeping the computer in a public space, parents should also become more aware of what their children are doing online. They should consider the Internet as an opportunity to engage in conversation with their children about their interests, talents, and network of friends. It is important to emphasize with youth that there is a distinct connection between what happens online and in the "real world." Adults should communicate to youth that their actions have implications in a real world setting. Regarding cyber bullying in particular, adults must also relay traditional techniques of combating bullying, among them being to report incidents, keep records, and not to engage the bully. “It’s not new bullying, it’s just a vehicle,” says Nancy Mullin-Rindler, director of the Project on Teasing and Bullying at Wellesley College (Paulson, 2003). In addition, because research has shown that the majority of cyber bullies have been victims of traditional bullying, this approach—-combating the behavior versus limiting the technology—-would ultimately help in preventing both cyber and conventional bullying. Cyber bullying poses a stickier problem for schools that are finding themselves in the middle of First Amendment debates. Despite the fact that whatever happens online (no matter where the location) typically spreads to the school environment, inevitably impacting students’ learning, does a school principal have the right to punish someone for what they say outside of school parameters? Because of this legal quagmire, schools’

This site can help us learn how to get in touch with people while using other devices.

This page tells how to stay safe online.

"Here are some simple tips to help you stay safe online. If you have been harassed or stalked online, please go to What To Do If You've Been Harassed Online and follow the instructions there. We've also provided some offline safety tips." Select a gender-neutral username, email address, etcKeep your primary email address privateGet a free email accountDon't give out information simply because it is requestedBlock or ignore unwanted usersDon't allow others to draw you into conflictLurk in a new forum to learn local customsIf a place becomes stressful, leave it.When you change, really change

Virtual Worlds summary. Virtual Worlds; better term for cyberspaces "synthetic worlds". Help people learn about Virtual Worlds and how they are used.

"# What's the impact of messages related to classwork when they're part of a large stream of messages students receive from friends, family, horoscope advice, sports scores and so on? # What sort of learning happens best (or is reinforced best, perhaps) via SMS? # How can these sorts of messages be adapted to students' progress and how can they be sequenced and scaffolded over time? # How many students are able and willing to participate in these sorts of educational activities via their mobile phone? Can students afford the texting fees? Do they want to use their text-messaging allocations for this purpose? # Can we subsidize this sort of SMS traffic for student populations? # If these sorts of messages between home and school become more common, will there be a way to include parents and parents' phones in the loop? # Can these quizzes be sent to parents' phones so that they can have the opportunity to pose a question to their children? "

A very rationale and supportive article talking about the use of backchannels in the classroom to support learning.

E-Learning Journeys: Blog post answering questions about being a flat classroom

Learn about the five types of Internet addiction and take our Internet addiction test.

At this website, I found that there's a project where kids have the freedom to learn and know about technology. Before they weren't even allowed to read. Now they can be digital literate and they do not need to be slaves.

Students should be able to collaborate not only in but outside of the classroom. They should not be independent in their learning.

Stories of cyber bullying incidents which have occurred in schools, on popular social networking sites Myspace and Facebook. Learn more about cyber bullying here.

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) I find this disturbing. If the Internet was used in a more meaningful way so that teenagers had a viable online support network and learning community the Internet would be seen as a valid tool to help people when distressed. Governments and community groups should be building this support networks online and not shutting down or blocking online access.