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Given the newness of these types of technologies, it is only in the last few years that educators have started to notice them and explore their effects on student behavior and performance. While there is supporting evidence to suggest that these technologies have a large influence on the social development of adolescents, an even more pertinent issue for classroom teachers is what effects these technologies have on the academic development of young people. In this article, I examine how students' use of text messaging technology, specifically IM, affects their writing skills. How does IM use affect students' interest in traditional writing (as learned in school)? In what ways does IM usage affect students' writing ability? How does "IM-speak" change students' views of what is considered "proper" language? How can classroom teachers build on student use of this increasingly popular technology? In this paper I provide a discussion of the current issues and current teacher practices surrounding instant messaging as it relates to student writing.

In this digital age, bullying is no longer relegated to the schoolyard. Bullies can now attack in the place kids should feel the safest -- their homes. Instead of physically harming or verbally attacking their victims, cyberbullies use the Internet, cell phones and other technology to hurt, threaten and embarrass others. Because it is done online, the effect of cyberbullying is more far-reaching and enduring than bullying that occurs at school. Cyberbullies can victimize their targets in a variety of ways, including the following: Creating websites that make fun of or criticize another person Sending mean or threatening emails, instant messages or text messages Pretending to be someone else to trick their victim into revealing personal information Lying about their victim online Breaking into their victim's email or instant messages Posting unflattering or offensive pictures online, without permission Using websites to rate their peers In most instances, the victims of cyberbullying know their attackers. They are often classmates, friends or online acquaintances. One study showed that only 23 percent of victims were bullied by someone they didn't know.

Anna Cocke graduated from CUNY with a Master of Arts in Journalism, specializing in health and medicine reporting. She has helped produce segments for the Association of Health Care Journalists on health care reform and reported on diabetes in the South Bronx. She has been writing professionally for more than seven years. Photo Credit computer image by blaine stiger from Fotolia.com The Internet has become an integral part of many people's work and personal lives. The number of people online daily has nearly doubled over the past decade, according to research conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. While internet addiction as a specific disorder was being debated for inclusion in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as of 2010, treatment centers already exist throughout the U.S. and abroad, including China, Taiwan and Korea. Physical Effects Internet overuse can lead to sedentary lifestyles, weight gain and a decline in physical fitness. Other symptoms can include carpal tunnel syndrome, dry eyes, migraine headaches, a decline in personal hygiene and back aches, according to Maressa Hecht, founder of Computer Addiction Services and a member of the Harvard Medical School. if(typeof disable_adsense_2 === "undefined") { ad_order_2 = (typeof ad_order_2 === "undefined") ? "2" : ad_order_2; ad_client = "ca-livestrong_html"; num_ads = "1"; type = "text"; channels = "art_sub_top_Addiction_Recovery,article_top_diseases,article_top"; class_name = "adsense_afc"; print_google_ad(ad_order_2, num_ads, type, channels, ad_client , class_name ); } Sponsored LinksHow to Stay Asleep Obey this one weird trick to stay asleep all night long. Learn more. www.PeakLife.com/TrySomnapure Depression Depression has also been linked to Internet overuse by researchers at the Institute of Psychological Sciences in Leeds, UK. Researchers found that study participants who exhibited signs of Internet overuse engaged disproportionately than the normal population in sites devoted to pornography, gaming, social networking and chat rooms. They theorized that Internet addicts' use of these sites as replacements for real-life socializing was resulting in depression. However, there is debate as to whether depression results from, or is a cause, or internet overuse. A study published in the "Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine" found depression, as well as ADHD and social phobia, to increase the chances of excessive Internet use in adolescents. Sleep Disturbances Evidence also suggests that internet overuse can contribute to sleep disturbances. Studies of Chinese and American children, published in the "Journal of Sleep" and the "Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics," found that computer use among adolescents was associated with later bed times, later waking times, less restful sleep and an overall decrease in sleep. The use of computers before bedtime has also raised concerns among sleep experts, including Phyllis Zee, a neuroscience professor at Northwestern University, that the light from screens is affecting circadian rhythms and possibly contributing to insomnia.

Studies show the average teenager texts about 3,000 times a month

Neuro-imaging studies have shown that those kids who are texting have that area of the brain light up the same as an addict using heroin," said brain specialist Dr. Michael Seyffert.

A few tips shared during the presentation: Give kids a code of conduct. Remind them not to post/IM/text anything they wouldn’t say to that person’s face; Discuss cyber-bullying with kids and ask if they know anyone who has been bullied; Talk about the importance of privacy and how to protect it; and discuss their online identity and possible risky behavior. “Raise good digital citizens!” a slide stated.

The average kid sponges in 2.5 hours of music each day, almost five hours of TV and movies, three hours of Internet and video games, and just 38 minutes of old-fashioned reading

And that doesn't even include the hour and a half spent text messaging each day, and the half hour kids talk on the cell phone.

But what about homework?

But some language combinations work much better than others and even when the translation’s good, it’s never perfect. “Google Translate is good at helping you get what is called a gestation or essentially the essence of what the other person is communicating,” says Goolgle’s Michael Galvez. I’m skeptical that “gestations” will be enough. Much of what we read on the web is written beautifully or full of nuance and software will never be able to translate that. So some translation projects, like a new website called Meedan.net, are still using good ol’ humans. “The idea is a Wikipedia-style approach to translation,” says Meedan founder Ed Bice. Meedan uses a mix of human and machine translation to present articles, blog posts, and comments about the Middle East in hopes of bridging the gap between the Arabic and English-speaking worlds. The comments following an article like this one show how the presentation of the translated text will also be an important issue to tackle. Google Translate essentially wipes out the foreign language, showing you web pages only in your language. Meedan instead has the English and Arabic side-by-side. This layout is a valuable addition to the translations themselves when it allows you to see comments bouncing back and forth between languages.

Video games can be very addicting; in fact, some people accuse developers of making the games addictive on purpose. The following are 10 cases of video game addiction that get more and more extreme. 10 Skipping School I’ve skipped school before, but this kid takes the cake for the most elaborate excuse. A 15-year-old from Perth, Australia, skipped school to play online games for over 16 hours a day, over a full three weeks. How did he do this? Every morning he put on his school uniform until his mother went to work. As soon as she left, he would change out of it and started playing. His mother would return home after he was supposed to have come home from school. To cover for himself at school, he had informed the school he was having surgery. His parents finally caught on to his ruse when the school contacted them to check up on him. 9 Teen Burns Classmate How many of us have gotten into a schoolyard scuffle? We’ve all been there, but a boy in Beijing took it to the next level. Apparently having lost himself in the game, World of Warcraft, he “became” a fire mage in his mind, and set his classmate on fire. For those who don’t play World of Warcraft, I’m sure it’s fairly easy to deduce what a fire mage does by putting two and two together. 8 Fifty-Hour Starcraft Session I’ve pulled all-nighters before while playing games, but a man in South Korea almost pulled off three all-nighters…in a row. After a 50-hour Starcraft session, the South Korean man collapsed and died from heart failure. It was presumed that his death was caused by exhaustion, because he had only stopped to use the washroom and for short periods of sleep. There have been other cases in China where people have been playing anywhere from 3 to 15 days. However I chose to include this one because it received attention from a major news agency. 7 Suicide over a Game On December 27, 2004, Xioyi left a suicide note saying he wanted “to join the heroes of the game he worshiped.” The thirteen-year-old then jumped off a tall building after playing World of Warcraft for 36 hours straight. His parents are now suing the Chinese distributors of the game for $12,500. 6 Girl Dies Because of Neglect A three-year-old South Korean girl died of neglect when her parents spent more time raising a virtual girl than her. The game they had been playing was Prius Online, a game similar to Second Life where players work virtual jobs and well… live a second, virtual, life. The couple had left for a 12-hour gaming session at an internet café, leaving their daughter unattended. Upon returning home, they found her dead. googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1350520431768-2');

I am frequent computer user. Of course it’s interesting to know how danger for my health computer can be. Working with computer for whole day is not rare nowadays. If it’s an aspect of our work or if we use computers just for fun, there are certain risks involved with prolonged computer use. 1. Eye Disease It’s the first what occur to us, when we talk about computer harm (right?). Prolonged computer use could be linked to glaucoma, especially among those who are short-sighted. Our eyes are very badly affected by how long you stare at that bright screen. We stop blinking and start staring which makes our eyes strain and dry out. Make sure you look away from the screen and close them for a few seconds every few minutes. We can find many information about eyes health, as Snuz made. And it’s very important not to forget about our eyes while working on computer. 2. Bad Posture Bad posture is enemy number one. Check your posture now! You should be able to reach the keyboard and mouse whilst bending your elbows at 90 degrees, with your shoulders relaxed. If you are stretching, this could cause problems. Your back should be straight and the top of the monitor should be just below eye level. If your monitor is to the left or right of your keyboard you are putting strain on your neck. Long periods of time at the computer while blogging, working or reading often leads to pain in the lumbar region of the back. Neck and shoulder problems also result from poor seating and the poor organization of equipment on the desk (stretching for the telephone or files etc). 3. Hurting Hands Your hand and wrist ache after working at the computer all day, and they sometimes start feeling numb. Research in recent years has found that things like typing and sewing rarely cause carpal tunnel. Wear splints while you work to keep your wrists from bending too high or low, and use a keyboard tray or adjust your chair so the keyboard and mouse are below your elbows and your wrists are level. It is really important to give your fingers, wrists and hands a break from resting on the keyboard all day. A tennis ball is a great way to do this. Every time you need to think you should grab the ball and give it a few quick squeezes. This will do wonders for your joints and muscles. 4. Computer Stress Injuries Many people suffer from structural problems related to the physical stress of sitting incorrectly, or for too long in front of their computers. So there are chances you’ve experienced a fair amount of computer stress, from minor frustrations here and there to a virtual visit to computer hell. High levels of stress can kill you, don’t make mistakes! Highly stressful workers have a higher risk of developing heart diseases and even cancer. So make sure that you can manage your stress. Start making something to reduce it, don’t wait till computer stress will be the main problem in your life. Taking frequent breaks is an important step in preventing repetitive computer stress injuries. Thus, it shows up that there are several problems that occur with prolonged computer use. It is also clear, however, that if certain rules of using computer are observed the risk of any of these problems can be minimized and computer users affected with computer related disorders can avoid or treat them. I consider that persons should have active lifestyle and an ergonomic computer work station, thereby even hardly computer working can’t affect their health. What do you think?

Effects of Moderate Use A moderate amount of computer use and game playing doesn't seem to affect social development. The social behavior of moderate computer users and nonusers was roughly the same in terms of sociability and relationships with friends and family. However, heavy computer users tended to believe they had less control over their lives than their classmates, a possible indication of inadequate socialization. Increased Hostility and Aggression After the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, researchers and educators paid more attention to violent video games such as Doom, the daily game of choice for one of the two teenage killers. Many studies show that violent TV shows increase aggression and hostility in both children and adults. It appears the same is true of computer games. The key variable appears to be a preference for violent games, rather than the amount of time a child plays such games. Even playing Mortal Kombat for a short time increases a child's hostility and aggression. Violent computer games also desensitize children, who show less empathy and willingness to help others, according to research cited in "The Future of Children." Brain Drain In a small study of 18 Chinese university students, published in the "PLos ONE" journal and reported on Mail Online, kids who played games on their computers at least eight hours a day, six days per week showed alarming amounts of atrophy in parts of their brain, as measured by MRI scans. The scans also found abnormalities in the white matter of the brain, which coordinate communication between different areas of the mind. On Mail Online, Dr. Aric Sigman of the Royal Society of Medicine called the July 2011 report a "wake-up call." Experts fear that in addition to cognitive damage, heavy Internet use might reduce the inhibitions and decision-making ability of children, leading to damaged relationships with family members, peers and authority figures.