How far should policy makers go in trying to protect kids online?

"If schools have these discussions with teachers and staff, they can prevent a multitude of problems," said one reader.

A new Missouri state law that bans teachers from privately contacting students via social media has become a lightning rod for opinion as schools and their stakeholders grapple with what’s appropriate and what’s not when communicating in the digital era.

Missouri lawmakers say that, in light of disturbing revelations from an Associated Press inquiry that revealed more than 80 teachers in the state were fired for inappropriate sexual conduct with their students, banning private contact with students via social networks such as Facebook is justified. And many parents agree.

But many others, including teachers, say you can’t stop predators by limiting students’ social media interaction—and it doesn’t make sense to punish everyone for the actions of a few.…Read More

Kids who use Facebook do worse in school

That Facebook is hugely distracting is hardly stop-the-presses kind of news, but parents might be dismayed to learn that the social-media site can hobble learning and make kids less healthy and more depressed, TIME reports. Research has found that students in middle school, high school and college who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period got lower grades…

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Missouri teachers protest social media crackdown

Many teachers are protesting the new restrictions, complaining the law will hurt their ability to keep in touch with students for classroom purposes, personal problems, or even emergencies.

As they prepare lesson plans for the fall, teachers across Missouri have an extra chore before the new school year begins: purging their Facebook friend lists to comply with a new state law that limits their contact with students on social networks.

The law was proposed after an Associated Press investigation found 87 Missouri teachers had lost their licenses between 2001 and 2005 because of sexual misconduct, some of which involved exchanging explicit online messages with students.

But many teachers are protesting the new restrictions, complaining the law will hurt their ability to keep in touch with students, whether for classroom purposes, personal problems, or even emergencies.…Read More

Teen’s social media use inspires others

Lake Zurich students use a Formspring page to share positive comments about their classmates.

Too often, we hear stories about students using online anonymity to bully their peers. But one Illinois high school student is using social media to improve campus morale.

A rising sophomore at Lake Zurich High School created a Formspring page where middle and high school students can leave anonymous compliments for each other. The site’s creator has chosen to remain anonymous herself, releasing only her grade and gender. She approves all comments before they are posted, often adding an emoticon or positive comment of her own.

Formed this past spring, “LZ Compliments” has received 3,164 postings as of press time. Students use the site to boost their classmates anonymously, posting such comments as “[student] is a babe and is cute with her braces,” or “[student] is so sincere and an awesome person.”…Read More

Facebook app tracks student cafeteria purchases

Meals Plus systems also alert cafeteria coordinators which products are selling

Schools across the nation are using a new Facebook application to streamline cafeteria processes and inform parents about the nutrition their children receive at school.

The Meals Plus cafeteria software program offers real-time analysis of a variety of information regarding meal costs, including plate costs, meals per labor hour, expense allocation costs,  sales-by-meal analysis, revenue, expenses, income, meal counts, and supplemental (a la carte) sales.

The software manages the lunchroom more like a business, generating reports on supplies and costs. It is currently in use in 2,800 cafeterias in 29 states.…Read More

Social media finds place in classroom

Among educators, Eric Sheninger is something of a social networking hero, reports USA Today. The principal of New Milford (N.J.) High School has nearly 12,300 Twitter followers (his handle: @NMHS_Principal). He and his teachers use Facebook to communicate with students and parents, and students use it to plan events. In class, teachers routinely ask kids to power up their cellphones to respond to classroom polls and quizzes. Rather than ban cellphones, Sheninger calls them “mobile learning devices.”

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Facebook and Time Warner join to stop cyber bullying

Facebook and Time Warner's initiative will feature a town hall hosted by Anderson Cooper.

A new partnership between Facebook and Time Warner aims to expand the companies’ individual efforts to prevent online bullying. The initiative, called “Stop Bullying: Speak Up,” will combine broadcast, print, online, and social media outlets to get parents, teachers, and youth speaking about cyber bullying prevention.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of the people [who] use our site,” said Andrew Noyes, manager of public policy communications at Facebook. “Online safety is a responsibility shared among parents, teachers, teens, policy makers, and services like Facebook.”

The announcement came after a recent White House Convention on Bullying Prevention. The campaign will include a town hall meeting with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, which will focus on bullying issues and teaching adults how to cope with it. It also will coincide with Facebook’s Social Media Pledge App that encourages educators, parents, and kids to make a personal commitment to help stop bullying. Also featured will be Cartoon Network’s bystander-focused bullying prevention resources and expansive coverage of bullying from Time Inc. publications.…Read More

Rhode Island act prevents cyber bullying, not social media access

Rep. Ruggiero penned the Safe Schools Act after a bullying-provoked suicide occurred in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island’s recently-approved “Safe School Act,” created in response to online bullying, seeks to standardize school responses to online bullying issues. And despite some media reports decrying the bill’s apparent ban of all social media at all times, the bill’s author clarifies that social media use is, in fact, encouraged for educational purposes.

The act defines cyber bullying as bullying through the use of technology or electronic communication, including eMail, instant messages, impersonating another person as the author of posted content, as well as a variety of other internet communications.

The Safe Schools Act is meant to provide a statewide policy of disciplinary actions in response to online bullying, including the prompt notification of parents of both the victim and the bully. The new law also protects students who anonymously report bullying.…Read More

Rhode Island’s ban on Facebook in schools too dumb to be a joke

On Thursday, the Rhode Island legislature passed HB 5941, an “anti-bullying” measure that, among its other provisions, imposes a blanket ban on the use of “social networking sites” (whatever those are, post-web 2.0) on school grounds, reports Adam Goldstein, attorney for the Student Press Law Center. Because as everyone knows, anyone who encounters another user on a website is immediately bullied into submission. Right? There’s so much wrong with this bill that it’s hard to know where to start. What is a “social networking site,” really? The bill doesn’t define it…

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Google unveils latest social networking feat

Online search leader Google Inc. is taking yet another stab at social networking, as it tries to go up against Facebook in this wildly popular and lucrative segment of the internet, the Associated Press reports. This time the project is called Google+ and it aims to make online sharing more like real life.

“We think people communicate in very rich ways,” said Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering at Google. “The online tools we have to choose from give us very rigid services.”

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ISTE conference is alive with social networking

ISTE attendees connected through social networking, as well as in person.

What better place to use social networking technologies to connect with fellow educators and school leaders than at the nation’s largest ed-tech conference? That’s what was happening at the International Society for Technology in Education conference in Philadelphia this week.

Websites, blogs, Twitter accounts, and other social networking platforms were abuzz with the latest news, reactions, and updates from the show floor and from conference breakout sessions.

The isteconnects Twitter feed organized an #edchat that explored topics such as science instruction, textbooks vs. technology in the classroom, and project-based learning.…Read More