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"Referred to variously as technopanic, predator panic, cyberbullying panic, etc., a lot of fear and anxiety has developed around the intersection of youth and the Internet." " He defined juvenoia as "the exaggerated fear of the influence of social change [including the Internet] on youth." This week, the first of a two-part series on Dr. Finkelhor's talk: why the fear is unsupported by the evidence and (next week) why all the fear.

These are the 10 movies that will be playing in the secondary library during the week of the Global Issues Network (GIN) Singapore conference in November.

Ten Surprising Truths about Video Games and Learning What we'd assumed about the importance of brain functions - following rules and logic and calculating - are no longer relevant. There's been a revolution in the learning sciences and the new theories say that human beings learn from experiences - that our brains can store every experience we've had, and that's what informs our learning process. Following that logic, he says, the best kind of learning comes as a result of well-designed experiences. Gee, who spoke at the Learning and the Brain Conference last week, used this theory to launch into research-validated reasons why video games are good for learning. Here are 10 truths, according to Gee."

Throughout my nine years in the classroom, I've been eager to test out possibilities for improving teaching and learning through technology use. It's a messy process. Back in February 2010, I broadcast my eagerness to use cell phones in the classroom inEducation Week. Then I changed my stance, arguing in May 2012 that too much social media and gimmicky technology application in the classroom could lead teachers to neglect teaching students substantial skills. Since then, I've tested out Edmodo and continued to explore. After years of experimentation and reflection, here's my current take on smart-and not-so-smart-ways to use technology in the classroom:

Through the ©reativity on Film project, The Film Foundation hopes to create a respect and understanding among young people for the need to protect and preserve our cultural heritage, and enhance their appreciation of art and creation. The Film Foundation uses filmmaking as a point of departure to communicate to young people the important skills they will need to succeed in today's society-such as imagination, collaboration, communication, leadership, and responsibility. The key component of this project is the "Making Movies: A Guide for Young Filmmakers" production manual. Created with the assistance and expertise of 25 professional film artists and educators, this step-by-step production manual includes tips from experts, hands-on exercises, and an 8-week filming schedule-thereby explaining the filmmaking process from story concept to completed film.

For five weeks in January-February, participants and ESOL experts can engage in collaborative, online discussion or hands-on virtual workshops of professional and scholarly benefit. These sessions will bring together participants for a longer period of time than is permitted by land-based professional development conventions and will allow a fuller development of ideas than is otherwise possible.   Sessions are free and open to anyone around the globe. Bring your colleagues!  

"What if you arrived at a holiday party with over 50 of the smartest and most accomplished people in business milling around, and each one tipped you off to the one concept they think will matter most in the New Year? This week we launch The Biggest Ideas of 2013, a collection of posts from the world's top thought leaders that's turning LinkedIn into a virtual version of that holiday party."

This past week, my first-born became legal. Not to drive, vote or drink, though; that comes later. My son turned 13 years old, making him eligible under terms of service to have his own social media account. That isn't to say he hasn't been on those sites for years, though. His social media cred is older than our daughter, who turns four in a couple months. He has had moments where he used Facebook too much, only to self-censor like a boss when he found it was cutting into his reading time. These days, his activity is largely limited to liking Doctor Who content on my geeky Pinterest board and collaborating with peers on Google (despite his original account there being deleted due to age restrictions). He has never had much interest in tweeting, but he got a video camera yesterday that may signal the beginning of a new vlog.

"Do NOT allow the iPads to live in mobile carts - when I see an iPad in a cart, I see money being burned. The carts should be where the iPads sleep when school is closed. This is where they re-charge. But there should be a school-wide routine that as soon as kids enter a room with an iPad cart, they each walk up to the cart and get their assigned iPad. They should keep that iPad on their desk until the end of the day and return it to the cart as they walk out of the classroom. iPads should be as essential to a student desk as pencils were 20 years ago. Teachers (and kids) will be much more likely to pick up and use the devices if they're right there, as opposed to having to plan to take them out and use them for "tech time" and then put them away. Think about how you use mobile tech in your everyday life - you pull your phone out of your pocket to look up information when it's relevant, rather than waiting until your "computer time" later in the week. Students should be able to do the same."

This gives you step-by-step to make a retr-cool silent film using iMovie.

Learning objective: A renewed focus on the choices we make and how they affect us, specifically about balance, responsibility and safety. Guiding Question: How are you a responsible digital citizen?

When TED launched its educational website for younger students last week, I think teachers everywhere realised they had to up their game. The 3-10 minute videos are designed to encourage curiosity and show how the world works using compelling animation and the audible explanations of a gifted teacher.  Even if you're not in high school, the videos are sometimes fascinating, sometimes kinda strange, but generally very cool. Here are some of the best videos that are designed to amaze and challenge your brain.

"In recent weeks I have playing with the exciting combination of Easy Portfolio and Coaches Eye inside of the PE classroom. This has enabled the easy recording and storing of video analysis activities. Check out the apps working in concert together below."

"Ten years after the world's nations pledged to cut deeply into the problems afflicting the world's poor by 2015, a  Millennium Development Goals Summit is being held at the United Nations today through Wednesday to assess progress. The event overlaps with a batch of related meetings in New York City, including Climate Week and the Clinton Global Initiative."

"The Story of Bottled Water, released on March 22, 2010 (World Water Day) employs the Story of Stuff style to tell the story of manufactured demand-how you get Americans to buy more than half a billion bottles of water every week when it already flows from the tap. Over five minutes, the film explores the bottled water industrys attacks on tap water and its use of seductive, environmental-themed advertising to cover up the mountains of plastic waste it produces. The film concludes with a call to take back the tap, not only by making a personal commitment to avoid bottled water, but by supporting investments in clean, available tap water for all."

"At the heart of the project is the BBC Radio 4 series A History of the World in 100 objects. 100 programmes, written and narrated by Neil MacGregor, Director of the British Museum, and focusing on 100 objects from the British Museum's collection. The programmes will travel through two million years from the earliest object in the collection to retell the history of humanity through the objects we have made. Each week will be tied to a particular theme, such as 'after the ice age' or 'the beginning of science and literature', and the programmes will broadcast in three blocks, in January, May and September. Deep zoom imagery of the British Museum objects on the site lets you see the detail up close while listening to the programme. You can also watch short videos of many of the objects and download podcasts of each programme as it is broadcast."

This post is part of a community effort to discuss literacy issues this week through "Share a Story - Shape a Future" . It's sponsored by a group of "blogging librarians, teachers, parents, illustrators, authors, and literacy passionistas," and represents "a collaborative venue to share ideas and celebrate everything reading has to offer our kids."