Are teachers and parents really talking to youth about online safety? post thumbnail

Are teachers and parents really talking to youth about online safety?

As you know, we are endlessly working to have our finger on the pulse of how adults are educating youth about online technology.  The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and Educational Technology Policy, Research, and Outreach (ETPRO) recently found that less than 25% of educators feel comfortable teaching students about Internet safety issues.  You and […]

Teen Tweeting post thumbnail

Teen Tweeting

Sysomos released a report in June describing the “explosive growth” of twitter over the past several months.  We’ve certainly seen an increase in tweeting in popular culture, but are adolescents jumping on board?  Our conversations with teens suggest no.  And a recent account from one particular teen about his peers’ views of twitter also reaffirms […]

The sexting case in Virginia, and the need to identify and share best practices post thumbnail

The sexting case in Virginia, and the need to identify and share best practices

Justin and I have both blogged about the case where an assistant principal in Virginia was charged with possession of child pornography after trying to investigate a sexting case through the collection of evidence where a student emailed the evidence (a sexually-explicit picture of a minor) to his office computer.  The charges were eventually dropped, […]

Family Internet Use Contract post thumbnail

Family Internet Use Contract

This is a formal agreement to be signed by both parents and children to help facilitate an open line of communication regarding the appropriate use of the Internet. Feel free to customize for your own needs. Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2009). Internet Use Contract. Bullying beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying. […]

Video recordings of student and teacher behavior in the classroom post thumbnail

Video recordings of student and teacher behavior in the classroom

In this recent story from the West Coast, a 15-year-old high-schooler named Arielle was suspended for two days after surreptitiously capturing video on her cell phone of her chaotic algebra class.  Apparently, the situation was horrible with the teacher unable to control the students, who were participating in paper-ball fights, smoking cigarettes and marijuana, and […]

More on seizure and search of student cell phones at school… post thumbnail

More on seizure and search of student cell phones at school…

In April, Justin briefly blogged about this article from the Washington post entitled My Students. My Cellphone. My Ordeal. I’d like to follow up by saying that more educators are contacting us with questions on what to do in cases where students have cell phones with sexually-explicit pictures of other youth on them.  While the […]

Same Story, Different Day: Another Teen Suicide Associated with Bullying post thumbnail

Same Story, Different Day: Another Teen Suicide Associated with Bullying

Another story has surfaced where a teen committed suicide after experiencing bullying.  The Chicago Tribune reports that Iain Steele, a 15-year-old boy from a western suburb of Chicago, hung himself in the basement of his home.  This case, like many others, illustrates the omnipresent nature of adolescent bullying in the 21st century.  Iain was bullied […]