Anne Bubnic's List: Digital Citizenship/School_Administrator

Blogging Notes from TICAL's Web 3.0 conference

Everything that school administrators need to know about MySpace, including how to remove imposter files.

Technology has out-paced the legal system in issues related to cyberbullying in the schools. When a cyberbullying incident happens at your school, how will you handle it? What board policies will protect you? What is appropriate discipline? What kind of documentation do you need? How will you assure a safe environment for your students? Learn from national experts who have studied court decisions in this areas.

This position statement from the NASSP provides the cornerstone for our work in Cybersafety Education at CTAP4. NASSP recommends that school leaders:<br>

1. Familiarize themselves about all aspects of computer technology, including the mechanics of the Internet, blogs, social networking Web sites, and the liability issues associated with the use of these technologies<br>
2. Form a technology team that comprises staff members, parents and students to act in an advisory capacity to the larger school community<br>
3. Educate staff members and students on using technology within the boundaries of the law<br>
4. Guide teachers and students on how the Internet can serve as effective educational tools<br>
5. Formulate clear guidelines to protect students and teachers against cyber bullying and other criminal activities<br>
6. Conduct orientation sessions for parents regarding student use of the Internet<br>
7. Reinforce these guidelines with parents and encourage vigilance of Internet use at home, including the elimination of derogatory statements against other students or staff.<br>

The AASA website is rich with resources specifically developed to assist school system leaders.

Workshop materials here were designed to teach school leaders about social networking. There are both Trainer agendas and Workshop participant agendas here, so that users could easily use the materials to train others. Links to additional support materials can be found on the sidebar/Quickstart section.

The 2006 amendment to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that public entities, including school districts, be able to produce electronically stored information from staff members, such as e-mail and other digital communications, during the " discovery process" in lawsuits.

Burt Lo from CTAP6 attended the CTAP4 School Administrator workshop, MySpace, Your Campus and You(Tube). In this blog, he captures some of the take-aways from the workshop.

Note: Diigo is failing to add the final slash needed to access this site. The correct URL is: http://www.ctap4.org/cybersafety/ \n\nThe California Technology Assistance Project (CTAP Region IV) is a state-funded agency that has been a leader in cybersafety education for the California public school system since 1997. We have invested hundreds of hours into research on topics related to cybersafety education and curriculum development. We work in partnership with school districts, Safe School Planning teams and the local Educational Advocate for AT&T in the SF Bay Area. We have many great resources posted on our site for educators, parents and kids. <br /><br />

[May 2008] AASA article gives examples of school organizations that are desperately and inappropriately blocking the future and Scott McLeod pleads, "Please don't block the future." Please don't relegate your students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to second-class status in the new economy because you left it to them and their families to figure out on their own what it means to be digital, global citizens. Ask AASA and its state affiliates to provide more technology leadership-related professional development opportunities. And let us know how we can help.

It seems like you can’t go a whole week lately without hearing about some major data security breach that has made national headlines. For businesses, these data leaks are bad enough—but for schools, they can be especially costly, as network security breaches can put schools in violation of several federal laws intended to protect students’ privacy.

Simple strategies & tools to make sense of your student achievement data from Dennis Fox. The site includes downloadable workshop handouts.

At a time when computers and internet access are seen as increasingly important tools for instruction, many school leaders are struggling with how best to enforce these policies in the event that students transgress them.

<B>CoSN Receives MacArthur Grant: Exploring Policy and Leadership Barriers to Effective Use of Web 2.0 in Schools </B><br>The $450,000 grant began July 1st and over the coming year CoSN will focus on the following key objectives: <br>1.Identify findings from existing empirical research relevant to the use of new media in schools and the barriers to their adoption and scalability. <br> 2. Assess the awareness, understanding, and perspectives of U.S. educational leaders (superintendents, district curriculum and technology directors/CTOs) and policymaker's on the role, problems, and benefits of new media in schools within a participatory culture context. <br> 3. Investigate and document the organizational and policy issues that are critical obstacles for the effective deployment of new media. <br> 4. Develop a concise report of findings and construct an action plan for intervention.

Protocol developed by Lawyer/Educator Nancy Willard for school or district involvement in investigating, documenting and disciplining sexting incidents.

A guide for teachers who want to create a Facebook Account for their personal or professional lives.

Since social-media use is so multi-faceted, no single approach will apply to all situations. Some schools may opt to place an outright ban on social-media access at school as well as prohibit "friending" parents, students and other employees. Other schools may simply prohibit employees from identifying their school online. As the use of social-networking sites for educational and community communication purposes increases, schools may need to adapt to the mainstream use of such sites and recognize that a blanket prohibition simply isn't practical. Regardless, your school should take action now to safeguard against social media mishaps. All schools should have a social-networking policy. A computer-use policy that simply prohibits personal use and disclaims any expectation of privacy is not enough. While it is tempting to ban social networking altogether, this may raise enforcement problems particularly as schools take advantage of the opportunities of social media use in education.

Excellent article from the Ontario College of Teachers with many examples of challenges that school administrators have faced in dealing with cyberbullying incidents. \n\nStudents have always gossiped and complained about their teachers. But in cyberspace such behaviour can take on a life of its own. Cases of cyberbullying are opportunities to teach about responsibilities, consequences and healthy relationships. Employers are starting to check prospective employees' online habits: your resumé is one thing, but what kind of person are you online? We all leave digital footprints.

FaceBook Safety Center - a revamped help portal featuring educational information for users, with sections dedicated to parents, teens, teachers and law enforcement professionals. The educator section contains quick and helpful advice for administrators, including advice for teacher accounts and removing student profiles that are harmful in intent.