2WebWatchers had the pleasure of participating in “When Cyberbullying Spills Into School,“ a webinar hosted by edweek.org and sponsored by Talk About It Anonymous Communication Service. Presenters included two nationally-recognized experts on bullying: Nancy Willard, executive director, Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use and Barbara-Jane Paris, principal, Canyon Vista Middle School in Austin, Texas. Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions was the moderator for the event.

Much of students’ social lives outside of school these days takes place online, through social networking sites. And even though this form of bullying may happen most often after school hours, the impact from online conflicts and negative comments in cyberspace can directly affect a student’s in-school life, including the ability to learn. – edweek.org

Some of the questions addressed during the webinar included:

• Should schools be monitoring sites like Facebook to police student behavior?
• Can principals and administrators take disciplinary action against students who misbehave online?
• When does a cyberbullying situation require school intervention?
• How can school leaders create a school culture where bullying is unacceptable among students both in school and online?

The webinar has been archived and you can access it here: http://www.edweek.org/go/webinar/Cyberbullying.

You can also download the PowerPoint presentation in PDF format here: http://www.edweek.org/media/2012-02-23-cyberbullying.pdf

We are already actively incorporating many of the thoughts and ideas shared in the webinar:

• Support peer-based prevention and intervention as an important step to any implementation plan that addresses cyberbullying.
• Engage in a complete and objective investigation, exploring the roles of all parties involved.
• Review all policies and practices and update or add where needed.
• Continue to provide professional development, student education and parent and community outreach.

Tips for setting or updating your privacy settings

As social media users, it’s very important to understand the responsibilities and realities of posting to social media websites and to be aware of program updates and changes. Let’s take a look at recent changes to Facebook.

Facebook has introduced a new timeline layout, which will eventually be rolled out to all users. As always, in response to any Facebook changes, you should check your privacy settings to make sure Facebook has not changed your previously-selected privacy settings. You can check your settings by clicking on the arrow next to “Home” and selecting “Privacy Settings” from the drop down menu.

We highly recommend that you set your “How You Connect” privacy settings to “Friends Only.” We’ve noticed that the default setting will be “Everyone” for the last option: Who can see posts by others on your timeline? Make sure you select “Friends” for that option.

Setting your “Privacy Settings” to “Friends of Friends” opens up a new level of concern, possibly making more of your information public than you would like. Setting your privacy to “Public” does not provide you with any safeguards – your information is just that – PUBLIC! Note: “Cover Photos” in the new timeline format are all PUBLIC – no matter what your privacy settings are.

With the above settings, only “Friends” can see your activity on Facebook and not “Friends of Friends” or any other users. By leaving “Everyone” as your selection for friend requests and messages, you are still able to receive friend requests and messages from people you have not currently “friended.”

Common Facebook Questions
Taken from Facebook’s finding, viewing and interacting with Facebook pages website.

How are Pages different from personal profiles (timelines)?
Profiles (timelines) represent individuals and must be held under an individual name, while Pages allow an organization, business, celebrity, or band to maintain a professional presence on Facebook. You may only create Facebook Pages to represent real organizations of which you are an authorized representative. 

If I post or comment on a Facebook Page, who can see it?
Facebook Pages for businesses and brands are public spaces. When you post or comment to a public page, a story is published on your Wall and can also be published in News Feeds.

Can a Page see my information if I Like it?
Pages cannot see the profiles (timelines) of people who connect with them, only their profile picture and name. Pages also do not have access to a News Feed with information about the activity of the people who connect with them. Page administrators, however, will be able to see anything you’ve made available as “Public” on your profile (timeline) by visiting your profile (timeline). Pages can communicate with users that like their Page by sending messages. Authenticated Pages may also post status updates, which may appear in the News Feeds of users that like the Page.

What does it mean to “Like” a Page or content off of Facebook?
When you click “Like” on a Facebook Page, in an advertisement, or on content off of Facebook (any website), you are making a connection. A story about your “like” will appear on your Wall (timeline) and may also appear in your News Feed. You may be displayed on the Page you connected to, in advertisements about that Page, or in social plugins next to the content you “like.”

Facebook Pages you “like” may post updates to your News Feed or send you messages. Your connection to the Page may also be shared with Apps on the Facebook Platform. For example, if you go to EGUSD’s website and click on the “follow EGUSD on Facebook” link, you will be prompted to login to Facebook if you haven’t already. Your “Like” will then show up on your Wall (timeline).
To familiarize yourself with more Facebook terminology, click here to visit their glossary.

If you have additional questions about Facebook, please post a comment or send us an email.

Many of the parents we meet during our Internet Safety workshops share with us a common concern: They wish they had a better handle on how to make sure their children are using Facebook in ways they will not sooner or later regret. Parents want a complete guide. Their wish has been granted.  Connect Safely has posted a 35-page Parent Guide to Facebook.

Image from ConnectSafely.org

The guide features hands-on, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, as well as parenting points on safety, privacy, and reputation protection. It covers both cellphone- and computer-based use of Facebook and the site’s newest features, including Places, Groups, and the latest privacy updates.

But if you do not have time to download and read through the complete guide, authors Anne Collier and Larry Magid are also providing you with an “at a glance interactive chart” with their recommended privacy settings. A very concise, informative resource!

One of our favorite Internet safety organizations - Common Sense Media – has just updated their list of Social Networking Sites for Kids. The organization does an outstanding job of reviewing, ranking, and regularly updating their list of kid-oriented social networks.

According to Caroline Knorr, parenting editor at Common Sense Media, “The key to all of this for parents — for getting the most out of social networking and all technology – is understanding the technology, setting usage rules, setting privacy settings and, most importantly, training your kids to practice responsible online behavior.”

Here’s their latest list:

1. ScuttlePad (2010) Age 7+

Social network with training wheels is safe but limited.

2. Togetherville (2010) Age 7+

Kids’ social site connects to parents’ Facebook friends.

3. WhatsWhat.me (2011) Age7+

Tween social network with top-notch safety features.

4. Yoursphere (2009) Age 9+

Kid-only social network promises to block dangerous adults.

5. Franktown Rocks (2009) Age 10+

Music and social networking combine in safe, cool hangout.

6. GiantHello (2010) Age 10+

Facebook-lite gets a lot right, but watch out for games.

7. GirlSense (2009) Age 10+

Safe, creative community for tween fashionistas.

8. Sweety High (2010) Age 11+

Fun, closed social network for girls is strong on privacy.

9. Imbee (2011) Age 10+

Safer social networking if parents stay involved.

10. YourCause (2009) Age 13+

An easy, fun, socially networked way to fundraise.

If you have any feedback on the above sites, or know of a site that should be added to the list, please jump in and add a comment.

One of our readers suggested that we take a look at this NBCAction News YouTube video.  We felt that it was important enough to share with our readers.

Social Network stalking on Smartphones
Some people voluntarily tell the world where they are and what they’re doing by ”checking in” on social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter. Most social networking websites have made it very convenient for you to post your status and whereabouts by using your smartphone. Gowalla and Foursquare have turned “checking in” into a fun way to earn badges, titles, and other rewards. Not only do these sites keep a log of your check-ins, they also let you automatically send status updates to Facebook and Twitter.

You could be very careful not to give away your location on your Facebook or Twitter pages, but the camera on your smartphone could be supplying people with that information. Many people take photos or video and upload them to social networking websites. A few years ago you needed to be careful that the background in your photos didn’t include any personal information – street address, license plate number, street signs, easily identifiable landmarks, etc. Now most smartphones come equipped with GPS (Global Positioning System) technology, which allows many smartphones the capability of geotagging your photos when you take them. The geotag data is then uploaded along with your photo, revealing when and exactly where it was taken. Photos posted to photo sharing sites like Flickr and Picasa can also be tagged with location, but it is not an automatic function.

In August of 2010, Adam Savage, of the television show “MythBusters,” took a photo of his vehicle using his smartphone. He then posted the photo to his Twitter account including the phrase “Now it’s off to work.” Since the photo was taken by his smartphone, the image contained metadata reveling the exact geographical location the photo was taken. So by simply taking and posting a photo to Twitter, Savage revealed the exact location of his home, the vehicle he drives and the time he leaves for work.

Web Photos That Reveal Secrets – Like Where You Live – New York Times

Please pay attention to the camera settings on your smartphones. It’s too easy for your location information to become public. If you are interested in turning off  ”location services” on your cell phone, you can usually find the information in your general phone settings. Call your service provider or look online for model specific instructions if you need assistance.

One of our favorite sites for parents and teachers  is Common Sense Media.

Amid growing concern about how much information students are revealing about themselves in their personal profiles on social networking web sites and other online services, the national child advocacy group Common Sense Media is asking industry, educators, policy makers, parents, and teens to help make a stand for online privacy by demanding that companies provide an “opt-in” feature for sharing the information of all children under the age of 18.

Common Sense Media’s national campaign, called “Do Not Track Kids,” began from what the group considered to be startling statistics about online privacy.

According to the Wall Street Journal, 50 of the most popular U.S. web sites are placing intrusive tracking technology on visitors’ computers—in some cases, more than 100 tracking tools at a time. Fifty sites popular with U.S. teens and children placed more than 4,000 “cookies,” “beacons,” and other tracking technologies on their sites, the Journal reported—and that’s 30 percent more than were found on similar sites aimed at adults.

“Tracking technology scans in real time what people are doing on a web page, then instantly assesses their location, income, shopping interests, and even medical conditions,” explained Common Sense Media. “Individuals’ [personal] profiles are then bought and sold on stock-market-like exchanges that have sprung up in the past 18 months.”

The worst part, says Common Sense Media, is that children over the age of 13 have no say on whether or not their personal information is collected—or their personal profile is shared.

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In the News:

Facebook suffers from privacy breach – MSNBC

Facebook in privacy breach - WSJ

If your children are using Facebook, do they understand that everytime Facebook updates its privacy settings, they will  need to update their settings – immediately!?

Because the default for many privacy options for minors is “friends of friends,” your kids could easily lose control of what they’ve posted to their Facebook accounts.

We recommend sharing with your children Common Sense Media’s step-by-step video tutorial on how to update Facebook privacy settings.

We also recommend reading the accompanying article, which addresses what parents need to know, what your kids need to know, everything you need to know about the privacy settings, and the bottom line.  In this case the bottom line is

Your kids have to reset or review every privacy option. And we urge you to make sure they do it, pronto. And, parents, even if your kids have “friended” you, don’t be surprised to find that you can no longer see their pictures! That may be bad news for you, but the good news is that it means they’ve used the tools at their disposal.”

For the past year, we (2WebWatchers) have taken our Internet Safety workshop on the road in an effort to make it accessible to parents as well as teachers. These regional face-to-face workshops serve as an open invitation to parents to join in the conversation of best ways to help their children learn to use the Internet safely, effectively, and ethically.

As part of the presentation, we showcase how teachers are harnessing the power of Web 2.0 to take learning beyond the walls of the classroom – while teaching students the protocols to keep them safe from others, from each other, and from themselves. A concern voiced by some parents is that their elementary student may have little access to the Internet during the school day due to lack of computers in the classroom and/or limited access to computer lab time. Therefore social networking is not woven into their child’s school day. They ask for recommendations of safe social networking sites their child might use at home.

Our question to parents is “Is there a specific interest or goal for bringing your child into the world of social networking? For instance, do you wish to:

• create an online communication tool for your child, family and friends that can be accessed, expanded, archived over the years?” If the answer is “yes,” then we recommend creating a blog, using an ad-free program such as Google’s Blogger. An excellent example is All About Amy. We first learned about Amy’s blog via a post from her father. In the years to come, we suspect Amy will value being able to look back at conversations with her immediate family, relatives, friends, and all those who helped her on her journey to becoming a reflective writer. All About Amy is a great model for parents as co-pilots!

• provide your child, age 5-8, with access to a safe, international audience and a window into other cultures? If the answer is “yes,” then we recommend Panwapa – Where Kids Shape the World. This site is an excellent introduction to social networking! For a starter, the only “personal information” required to create a profile is your child’s country. Sponsored by Sesame Street, Panwapa allows children to visit other members around the world, thus learning about other cultures and languages as well as world geography. Members are walked through steps to create an avatar. With pre-scripted messages and a built in voice-over directions, Panwapa is accessible to pre-readers. The Care Giver and Teacher Guides are also helpful. A safe FREE site with educational value and no ads (other than funders’ logos). Appropriate for ages 5+

For parents who are curious about several of the better-known social networking sites for elementary students and ‘tweens, here is some background information:

• Club Penguin – Brought to you by Disney, and, although it’s possible to join and play for free, more options are available to paying members. Site is heavy on consumerism, but does offer levels of parental control. A recent parent review published to Good Housekeeping Magazine, Undercover in a Kids Online World, is an interesting insight into the “good” vs. “bad” of this site. Parents should definitely be co-pilots on this site and provide guidance and explanations about how to deal with unfriendly messages. Appropriate for ages 8+

• Webkinz – Requires purchase of a Webkinz pet in order to get “pet code” required for becoming a member. This site is all about consumerism, which could possibly teach children lessons in saving. Definitely needs a parent co-pilot to monitor unfriendly messages. Appropriate for 8+

• Imbee – “Sorry to announce that this site is down indefinitely.” Too bad because this site offered a parent-monitored introduction to blogging. Appropriate for ages 11+

For parents wondering where to go in order to find reviews of kid-friendly social network sites, we recommend Common Sense Media.

Any insights from readers would be most welcome!

Note: Webkinz image copied from http://sydemkate.com/Images/webkinz3.gif