Internet Safety archive
Stop Cyberbullying: A Look Back at Last Week
Last week I unilaterally declared March 30 as Stop Cyberbullying Day. The response has been overwhelming. Let’s take a look at how the blogosphere mobilized to address cyberbullying....
Stop Cyberbullying Day: My Own Story
When you’re a blogger, you expect a certain amount of criticism regarding the things you publish. What you don’t expect, though, is to have your life temporarily hijacked. As part of my contribution to Stop Cyberbullying Day, I thought I’d...
March 30: Participate in Stop Cyberbullying Day
This Friday - March 30th - has been declared Stop Cyberbullying Day - by me. I’m hoping to get as many people, bloggers and nonbloggers alike, talking about cyberbullying, because it’s spinning out of control. Just ask blogger Kathy Sierra....
The Julie Amero in All of Us
Mainstream media has finally started covering the case of Julie Amero, the substitute teacher who was found guilty of child endangerment because some of her students saw adult-oriented popup ads on her computer screen. And the news coverage is causing...
More Details Emerge in the Julie Amero Case
Ever since substitute teacher Julie Amero was convicted last month of exposing her students to pornography on her classroom computer, bloggers have been debating who’s to blame, with most siding with her. Now, a published interview with a tech consultant...
Lifting the Hood on DOPA Jr.
The official text of the bill to replace the Deleting Online Predators Act has been published, and it goes beyond the scope of the original legislation, addressing child pornography, cyberbullying and children’s privacy. Let’s take a look under the hood...
The Birth of DOPA Jr.
It didn’t take long for the latest generation of the DOPA legislation to rear its head on Capitol Hill. But will the bill go anywhere this time around?...
Bloggers Back Teacher Convicted on Questionable Porn Charges
The blogosphere is rallying in support of a substitute teacher who was convicted on porn charges despite evidence suggesting she was a victim of malicious computer software and a lack of technical safeguards on the part of the school....
Teacher Faces 40-Year Prison Sentence Because of Filtering Folly?
In a case that’s receiving scant national attention, a substitute teacher has been convicted of exposing students to online pornography, which she claims appeared on the screen due to spyware. Is this merely the case of a rogue educator, or...
Are Kids More Responsible Than We Thought?
A recent study suggests that many young people who use MySpace are more responsible online than conventional wisdom might suggest. Let’s take a peak at what teens are doing - or aren’t doing - with their MySpace pages....
DOPA Dies on the Vine
The end of 2006 also marks the end of the current congressional session in the House and Senate, closing the door on the Deleting Online Predators Act. Let’s take a look at why this legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in the...
Understanding the Impact of Online Communities on Civic Engagement
This week, the USC Annenberg School published a major study on the impact of the Internet on American society. Their research suggests that the online world is becoming equally important to people as the offline world - and it’s affecting...
Every Site You Click, I’ll Be Watching You….
A software company best known for its anti-spyware products has jumped into the online child safety market with a tool to help parents monitor their kids’ Internet use....
Through the Looking Glass: Coping with COPA
Last week, a federal court in Philadelphia began hearing arguments on the legislation known as COPA. No, I’m not talking about DOPA, the Deleting Online Predators Act, or COPPA, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. I’m talking about yet another...
Is MySpace Your Space As Well?
Even though MySpace seems to be on every politician and parent’s hit-list, a growing number of educators are staking their own claim on the online social network. We already know how those politicians and parents would react, but what about...
Back to School: Five Predictions and a Waffle
It’s that time of year, kids - we’re going back to school. (Okay, I’m not going back to school, but millions of educators and students are, so there’s a good chance this applies to you.) In honor of the start...
New Study Shows Rise in Youth Exposure to Porn & Cyberbullying, Decrease in Online Solicitations
This week, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) released a new study on the prevalence of children being exposed to online porn and unwanted solicitations. The results of the study were somewhat mixed, even defying some of...
A Virtual ID Card for Kids: Will It Keep Them Safe?
One of the most common questions I get from parents and teachers alike is how do you verify that the person a child is talking to online is who they say they are? A Scottish parent wondered the same thing...
Panic! at the Capitol: The House Passes DOPA
Yesterday, the US House of Representatives unexpectedly moved forward in voting on the Deleting Online Predators Act, or DOPA. This legislation, proposed on May 9 of this year, would require all schools and libraries receiving federal Internet subsidies known as...
Students Outsmarting Filters for Sport
BoingBoing, arguably the most popular blog in the United States, just posted a link to an April news story from C|NET News on how kids are engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with schools to successfully get around Internet filters. If...
Online Predators: Much Ado About… What Exactly?
Last week on the science news website LiveScience, author Benjamin Radford offered a provocative commentary on the recent spate of news stories regarding sexual predators, including those on the Internet. He claims the media exaggerates and sensationalizes the threat of...
Online Social Networks Join the Fray Over Online Social Networks
It’s been just four days since word got out about the Digital Online Predators Act of 2006 (DOPA), the legislation that would require all schools and libraries receiving federal Internet subsidies to filter online social networks and other interactive websites....
Should Students be Allowed to Carry Cell Phones?
Wired News reports on current attempts by parents groups and policymakers to force New York City schools to allow students to carry cell phones. The schools have long banned mobile devices as a public nuisance, but critics argue that cellphones...
MySpace Is Just So Last Year
For those of you who have just started hearing a lot of press about MySpace, it turns out there’s more catching up to do, according to the Wichita Eagle newspaper: [T]he biggest social-networking spot may not stay on top for...
Welcome to learning.now -
Enjoy It While You Can
Hi everyone! Welcome to my new PBS blog, learning.now. I hope you enjoy reading it, because this may be the one and only time you’ll ever have access to it. The subtitle of this blog is “At the crossroads of...
