UGN InfoManager

September '07 "Internet Safety Month"

This issue of The Frontline zeroes in on September being "Internet Safety" month in Virginia. There is news on the AG's office and all the good things they are doing, a "new" mindset for educators, privacy issues, and teachers info you can use. The Frontline also would like to invite you to check out the new online links area using the http://del.icio.us service. It's more web2.0 friendly with tags and functionality.

1. Back to School:
Reading, Writing and Internet Safety As students return to school in Virginia, there's something new in their curriculum. Virginia is the first state to require public schools to teach Internet safety.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14427020

2. iKeepSafe Honors Virginia Attorney General
Bob McDonnell With Internet Keep Safe Award for His Efforts in Keeping Children Safe Online Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell with the Internet Keep Safe Award for his efforts in keeping kids safe online. McDonnell was honored during a Connected and Protected kids' assembly on Internet safety at the Fairfax County Culmore Character Boys & Girls Club.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0301692.htm

3. The NSBA Report...
a "new" mindset on Social Networking... "The National School Boards Association has released a new report on student use of social media tools. The report contains a multitude of findings that have already started an online debate about the role of social networking in the classroom."

It's still an important teaching topic for our schools. The report brings to light that the "panic" mode has given way to the "let's work through this together" mode.
That report is attached to this email.
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now/2007/08/new_nsba_report_on_social_netw.html

4. "A Poke in the Eye of Privacy?"...
"But the main beneficiary of this erosion in users' privacy will be the company that operates Facebook, and it is disingenuous to pretend otherwise."
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,2165096,00.html

5. Social Networking in the Classroom!
Yes, if students are there, perhaps there is an angle for communication and collaboration? Fairfax County is looking at another way to reach the digital learner of the 21st century!
http://www.schoolcio.com/showArticle.php?articleID=193502102

6. "Teacher Outraged by Video Posted Online
Published Clip Raises Questions Over Internet Privacy".. "At any given moment, millions of people are watching videos online. Some of the people featured in the videos are unaware they're on the Web."

Serious questions continue to arise on the video centric culture we live and teach in... and the privacy invasion that comes with it.
http://news.aol.com/story/ar/_a/teacher-outraged-by-video-posted-online/20070826161609990001

7. Criminals 'may overwhelm the web'...
Up to a quarter of computers on the net may be used by cyber criminals in so-called botnets, said Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the internet."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6298641.stm

8. Net Safety Instruction in Virginia
(Teachers...this is what you asked for)... I was privileged to collaborate with Harrisonburg's Karen Campbell on their Net Safety Curriculum. She has posted a great set of activities developed by her ITRT for classroom teachers to use for internet safety instruction.
http://staff.harrisonburg.k12.va.us/~kkcampbell/safety/curriculum.html

9. Bring Our Schools Out of the 20th Century....
"American schools aren't exactly frozen in time, but considering the pace of change in other areas of life, our public schools tend to feel like throwbacks. Kids spend much of the day as their great-grandparents once did: sitting in rows, listening to teachers lecture, scribbling notes by hand, reading from textbooks that are out of date by the time they are printed. A yawning chasm (with an emphasis on yawning) separates the world inside the schoolhouse from the world outside."
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1568480-1,00.html

10. Net Safety Link has Changed....
Due to the continued use of google ads, I've moved from portaportal to a new Web2.0 centric links service called Delicious. You can find current up to the date links on all things internet at my Del.icio.us account. You'll also notice the added material on Fair Use and Digital Ethics. If you'd like to learn more about delicious and how it can help your work flow, visit:
http://learnerstwopointo.wikispaces.com/
and this video tutorial on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1pOsYjCvE8

My new net safety link is: http://del.icio.us/digitalsafety

Have a great Fall!
Joe

ITRT Rockingham County Schools
http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/ITRT/itrt.html

Net Safety links:
http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/netsafety/netsafety-parents.htm
http://del.icio.us/digitalsafety

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"From the Frontline" is a News Brief with current news about all things Internet Safety and Digital Ethics. Compiled by Joe Showker of Rockingham County Schools from up to the minute research and postings about internet safety issues. Feel free to share or forward this email to your contacts working with kids and internet safety. Click on the [ http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/netsafety/netsafety.htm ] RCPS link for more information about what RCPS schools are doing to help teach students, parents and teachers learn about internet safety.