I hope the news – of President Obama honoring 2010 Teacher of the Year Sarah Brown Wessling at the White House – strengthens support for the amazing tech educators I know and love. "In reciting Wessling's qualifications for the award," the Boston Globe reports, "Obama said her students 'don't just write five-paragraph essays, but they write songs, public service announcements, film, storyboards, … [Read more...] about Teacher of the Year teaches with Facebook
Global Kids
A great teen-adult conversation to join
I've just joined the Focus on Digital Media community and hope you will too. This three-week-long online conversation starts April 13 (but you can register now here) and is the "first-ever among parents, educators, and teens about ethical questions in digital life ... questions like, "Should parents and teacher ‘friend’ their kids on Facebook?" It's a joint project of New York-based Global Kids, a … [Read more...] about A great teen-adult conversation to join
Pennsylvania case study: Social-networking risk in context
This is interesting in light of criticism by state attorneys general of the peer-reviewed research in the Internet Safety Technical Task Force report this month: a just-released study from the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use (CSRIU). The attorneys general have said the research is outdated (it's actually not, but see the Wall Street Journal) and not enough about predators in … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania case study: Social-networking risk in context
Real competition for Teen Second Life?
There are some great virtual worlds out there for kids' entertainment, but nothing quite holds a candle to Teen Second Life for its collective-creativity tools. Until Lego Universe arrives on the scene, says Barry Joseph, director of Global Kids' Online Leadership Program, in his blog. In the organization's blog he refers to it as "a bright light in the distance," he wrote in the organization's … [Read more...] about Real competition for Teen Second Life?
Virtual Worlds field trip
One of the most interesting comments made at the second-annual Virtual Worlds Conference I attended in L.A. this week was from Jon Landau, producer of Titanic and of a project-in-progress called Avatar. Landau said, "I grew up being taught to worry about 'big brother'; with the Internet we have to worry about little brother." I don't think anybody else heard that quite as acutely as an advocate of … [Read more...] about Virtual Worlds field trip