Social Networking archive
Collaboration in a Crucible
I’ve talked a lot on this blog about the ways various social media tools can be used for student collaboration and knowledge production, most of the time as a neutral observer. This week, though, I found myself thrown into the...
PBS Teachers Embraces Social Networking and Bookmarking Tools
Visitors to the PBS Teachers website will see something new today. It’s called PBS Teachers Connect, and it’s the first step in bringing social networking to the website....
Indictments Handed Down in the Megan Meier Case
This afternoon, a federal grand jury indicted Lori Drew, the woman at the heart of the Megan Meier tragedy. The indictment is a major turning point in the cyberbullying suicide case that shocked the nation....
Student Dodges Expulsion Over Facebook Study Group
A Canadian student learned yesterday that he won’t be expelled after all. What egregious crime did he commit on campus? He coordinated an online study group using Facebook....
MediaWiki Embraces Social Networking
MediaWiki, the wiki tool used by Wikipedia and thousands of other wiki sites around the world, just got a lot more powerful. The for-profit companion project to Wikipedia announced this week that they were releasing free tools that will allow...
Going On Your Permanent Record: Just About Everything
A New Jersey lawsuit between an HMO and a family whose daughter was denied insurance coverage for her anorexia may not sound like the kind of thing you’d read about on this here blog. But the legal tactics being used...
A Compelling Look at Online Adolescent Behavior, Warts and All
Tonight on PBS, the investigative documentary series Frontline will take a close look at the behavior of young people online. If you’re expecting yet another sensationalized news piece about the dangers of online predators, you won’t find it here. What...
More than Just Blogging: the 2007 EduBlog Awards
It’s that time of year again - the winners of the annual Edublog Awards have been announced. And despite the name having the word “blog” in it, the awards cover a whole range of educational projects, including wikis, social networks...
When a Stranger Calls
A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project examines the percentage of teens that have received unwanted contacts from strangers over the Internet. And I can’t say I’m surprised by their finding that certain behaviors - such...
So Many Facebook Apps, So Little Time
In recent months, there’s been a surge in interest regarding the social networking site Facebook. Much of the attention is due to Facebook’s decision to allow any user to create their own software applications that can run inside the social...
New NSBA Report 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....
Senate Hearing on Online Safety: More Emphasis on Educating Kids
Last week, the U.S. Senate held a committee hearing regarding children’s online safety and what steps need to be taken to prevent predatory behavior. Interestingly, much of the testimony emphasized the importance of online safety education over the use of...
Do Internet Filters Undermine the Teaching of 21st Century Citizenship?
We all know that Internet filtering policies have the best interest of students in mind. But what are we sacrificing when we don’t allow educators to override filters at their own professional discretion? It’s something I’ve asked myself over the...
Supreme Court Rules Against Student in “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” Case
In the first major Supreme Court decision on student free speech in almost a generation, the Court ruled against a student who was suspended for displaying a banner with drug-related messaging just off the school campus. What does the ruling...
New Study Analyzes Parental Practices Regarding Children’s Internet Use
A new report on parents’ attitudes towards their children’s media consumption suggests that parents are doing more than ever to promote online safety. Is that actually the case, or do we just feel like we’re doing a better job?...
How Not to Use MySpace in the Classroom
Just when you thought you could avoid yet another educational controversy breaking out on MySpace, a teacher in suburban Washington DC is finding herself in hot water for comments she wrote on her MySpace blog, and the online discussion with...
When Students Become Accidental Celebrities, What Next?
Every teacher and parent should read the article in today’s Washington Post about the California high school student who’s become an online celebrity, from MySpace to YouTube. Who she is and how she got in this predicament, however, probably isn’t...
Avast Ye Knee-Jerk Reactions, Matey!
A pre-service teacher has been denied obtaining her teaching degree because her MySpace profile featured a photo of her with an alcoholic beverage in hand, including the caption “Drunken Pirate.” Pirate or not, she’s suing the university, and generating a...
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....
Has MySpace Contributed to Generation Me?
A new study out this week suggests that today’s college students are more self-centered than ever before. The question I keep asking myself, though, is why so many people are blaming MySpace and other social media tools for this apparent...
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...
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...
Facing Up to Facebook
With all the bad press that MySpace has gotten over the last year, it’s easy to overlook how its rival social network Facebook has become a staple communications tool in higher education. The Christian Science Monitor took notice earlier this...
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...
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...
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...
BlogSafety.com: An Online Social Network About Online Social Networks
This week, noted Internet safety experts Larry Magid and Anne Collier launched BlogSafety.com. The website is intended to be an online social network about online social networks - and how to ensure that teens use them safely....
Are Online Social Networks a Fad?
In a June 14 article for C|NET News, Stephanie Olsen examines whether online social networks like MySpace are here to stay or are a passing fad. The article, which looks at the issue mostly from a business perspective, suggests the...
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....
New Federal Legislation Would Ban Online Social Networks in Schools & Libraries
Just when you thought the media circus around MySpace had peaked comes this whopper of a story: members of Congress have proposed new legislation that would require schools and libraries to block access to online social networks. As reported by...
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...
