Back when Debbie Heimowitz was a middle schooler in Castro Valley, if you wanted to cut somebody down you talked behind her back. Now you post your putdowns on the Internet. Heimowitz, a 26-year-old grad student at Stanford, has made a film about this online cruelty.
Thanks to a pilot program called the Aspirnaut Initiative, the bus has been outfitted with an Internet router and the children have been given either video iPods or laptops. The machines have been loaded with educational videos such as National Geographic Society's Wild Chronicles to teach concepts such as the relationship between predator and prey.
Watching a preschooler surf the Net may strike terror in a parent's heart. If you turn away for a minute, will he stay on the educational site that you have found for him? And how about your personal files — are they safe or will untrained little hands click into a disaster?
The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) has developed a set of materials that promote a systemic approach for information and media literacy within our schools. We seek to help states develop a common vision and implementation strategies that prepare students to make safe, responsible, and smart use of technology and media both in and out of school in the 21st Century.
In a survey conducted by SETDA in December 2006, 38 states and DC responded to questions regarding their approach to media literacy. The survey showed that much effort is being put toward developing standards and policies that keep our students safe online, provide them with technology skills, as well as utilize communication and information in the most productive ways. A snapshot of survey results is presented in this report
A new survey from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) and Cable in the Classroom reveals that states are making progress when it comes to teaching students about media and information literacy--but two out of five states surveyed still don't have standards in place for doing this. To help states and school systems teach important media-literacy skills, SETDA has issued a new toolkit containing resources and advice.
The opposition of the American Library Association to H.R. 5319, the Deleting Online Predators Act (DOPA) apparently made little impression on those in the House of Representatives, as they voted 410-15 yesterday to endorse the bill. "This unnecessary and overly broad legislation will hinder students' ability to engage in distance learning and block library computer users from accessing a wide array of essential Internet applications including instant messaging, email, wikis and blogs," said ALA president Leslie Burger.
How do you know what your child is actually doing online? If you aren’t omniscient, you don’t. But you can.
Why kids go online
What parents can do
Tips especially for young kids
General tips for all kids
Useful Web Sites
information about CIPA from the SLD (administers of e-rate funds)
RSS for user "uma: internet safety"
Back when Debbie Heimowitz was a middle schooler in Castro Valley, if you wanted to cut somebody down you talked behind her back. Now you post your putdowns on the Internet. Heimowitz, a 26-year-old grad student at Stanford, has made a film about this online cruelty.
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