If you haven't yet heard students chatter about the blog they have for homework or the major wiki project they have to finish, then you may not have long to wait. Social media is slowly gaining a dedicated following in classrooms across the United States.

Teachers looking to employ the Internet for more than just research are finding ready ways to utilize the social media tools their students are already using. The possibilities are intriguing:

• Blogs/Vlogs can be used for response questions or shared essays.
  
• Message boards/forums can host class debates and online study groups.
  
• Podcasts allow students to create their own news shows.
  
• Social bookmarking is a valuable tool for students to share research.
  
• Social networking lets students connect with other youth from around the world. How about trying an international debate?
• Video/Photo-sharing sites can be used for student-created virtual field trips.
  
• Wikis make excellent student-written study guides.

This hands-on approach to learning encourages students to make their time on the Internet a learning experience, one that provides a link from the classroom to the home, and from the present to the future. However, it can be challenging for educators to access the Internet applications they need in order to incorporate the above tools into their lessons; school districts' Internet filters often block these kinds of websites.

Extensive filtering may hinder students from discovering the educational potential inherent in social media. Students can use tools like wikis and vlogs to practice necessary skills such as writing, speaking, researching, and networking.

Check that the online tools you choose are acceptable for school-use, and work with your school's IT professionals to review filtering policies. Once accepted in the classroom, social media may start a wave of 21^st century learners using the Internet in responsible and meaningful ways.

NetSmartz Workshop's dedication to community outreach has led us to work with diverse people and organizations in a variety of venues. Even Clicky has been busy making appearances at the games of Major League Baseball teams, the Texas Rangers and New York Mets, to encourage fans to be safer on- and offline.

Getting kids to think about safety everyday is the drive behind Club UYN^®, the new www.NetSmartzKids.org fan club. Club members will be the first to access new videos, games, and activities. They will also have the chance to see their fan mail and art featured on Club UYN. However, the most important component to Club UYN is adult participation; parents and guardians are encouraged to help their children complete the monthly hands-on activities.

The NetSmartz Back-2-School kit offers another way for adults to help kids think about Internet and real-world safety. New videos Way 2 Go! and Beat the Tricks! are central to this innovative resource along with corresponding activity cards for children in the Primary and Intermediate grade levels, safety pledges, teachable recipes, and other fun child-friendly activities. It is our hope that the Kit's resources will help educators and parents fully integrate safety into children's daily routines, making for a safer school year overall.

These new materials are only as valuable as you choose to make them. Resources such as the Back-2-School kit and Club UYN are meant to supplement the hard work that you are all ready putting in. At the beginning of October we will release the updated Internet Safety presentations in order to put the most current resources in your hands. I invite you to check NetSmartz.org for more materials, and encourage you to keep reading the newsletter for highlights.

Herbert C. Jones, Vice President

External Affairs

The increasing usage of technology means more for teachers to do, from helping students master new web technologies to helping them understand how to use these technologies safely. Many schools have required the addition of  Internet safety lessons to their curricula, making it easy to feel overwhelmed. NetSmartz staff has asked educators for tips about using Internet safety resources so that we can share them with you…

We have a weekly computer class built into our schedule, so it is very easy to talk about the safe and unsafe ways a computer can be used.  I have the poster of the NetSmartz characters hanging over our classroom computers as an additional reminder.

On Open House evening, I show the “Tracking Teresa” vignette to the parents and give them information about the NetSmartz site as well. 

-- Anne Marie Spohn, Language Arts/Social Studies Teacher, Spring-Ford Area School District, PA

The Tracking Teresa vignette continues to be one of our most popular pieces. Parents are always shocked to see how easily information can spread over the Internet, and this presents an excellent opportunity to introduce resources such as the Back-2-School kit’s Teachable Recipes.  

Throughout the school year, our library staff visits classrooms to present information on a myriad of topics that enhance the existing school curriculum. This year we have added Cyber Safety and Civility to the classes we teach. We plan to use the age appropriate videos and discussion activities available from the NetSmartz web site. Not only will it teach students to make smart choices on the internet, it will also promote civil behavior among our teens. 

-- Katie George, Teen Program Coordinator, Howard County Library, MD

In Bellevue Schools during a parent orientation night, middle school parents and students listen to an Internet safety and cyberbullying presentation in the auditorium.  This presentation utilizes NetSmartz’s Real-Life Stories videos including, “Cyberbullying: You Can’t Take it Back” and “Cyberbullying: Broken Friendship.”  The parents are given an action step following the presentation to visit the NetSmartz site and watch and discuss the videos with their children.  A handout of Internet Safety resources is provided with the NetSmartz site at the top of the list. 

-- Andy Mann, Educational Technology Consultant, Calhoun Intermediate School District, MI

As behaviors like cyberbullying have become more prevalent, educators have seen the need for more discussions about online ethics and behaviors. Real-Life Stories, such as Cyberbullying: Broken Friendship, and NSTeens.org animated short Terrible tEXt are accompanied by activity cards to aid educators in facilitating conversations about cyberbullying.    

I give my students a brief overview, using NetSmartz clips, of the “do’s and don’ts” of proper internet safety. Each time they have a project requiring internet use I remind them of certain rules and show another NetSmartz clip. 

-- Jan E. Klein, Instructor, English I, Island Coast High School, FL

Educators who have used NetSmartz to create or bolster curricula about safety have found the flexibility of the program to be one of its most useful components. As Ms. Klein states, it is easy to use various NetSmartz clips as either the central pieces of Internet safety lessons, or to help students grasp the correct way to use the Internet for school assignments. Each of the educators quoted above had a unique way of making NetSmartz resources work for them. You can visit NetSmartz.org to download our resources for free or get more information about available materials. 

Parents and guardians often worry about keeping younger children safer, while mistakenly thinking older children are prepared to "take care of themselves." Tweens and teens are desperate to establish their own identities, so communicating with them may be more difficult. If you don't know who your children's friends are or where they like to hang out, then you may not have a good starting point to begin a search if something happens to them or they go missing. As this school year begins, start thinking about the on- and offline safety of your tweens and teens.

The Internet adds a whole new dimension to tweens' and teens' worlds, and knowing where they are while using the computer isn't enough. Knowing who your children are communicating with, what they're doing online, or the plans they may have made to meet someone in the "real world" are all part of staying connected.

Tweens and teens access the Internet in many places besides their home, such as schools, libraries, and friends' homes. Many check their e-mail, social networking sites, and IM right from their cell phones. So, how can you connect with your older children when they're constantly "connected" to their online worlds? Communicate!

If you participate in your children's activities and actively listen to them, chances are they'll come to you if they have a problem, or feel concerned or frightened. The sad reality is that if you don't pay attention to your children, someone else will—whether it's on- or offline. Try these conversation starters with your children to help you stay connected

• What's your favorite thing to do online?
  
• What is personal information? Why should you keep it private?
  
• What features do you use on your cell phone? Can you show me how to use them?
  
• What would you do if anyone online asked to meet you face-to-face?
  
• Besides me, who are two other trusted adults you can talk to if you're ever faced with a scary or uncomfortable situation online?

The Exploited Children's Help Organization (ECHO) of Kentucky is committed to protecting children, and has done an amazing job of spreading awareness about the importance of Internet safety education. Over the past two years, ECHO has given NetSmartz presentations to over 4,000 students in the Jefferson County School District. Because of their efforts to educate their community, many students will be safer when surfing the Internet.

Would you like to be featured in the next issue of NetSmartz News? E-mail information about your Internet safety activities, subject line "NetSmartz News/EEE," to newsletter@netsmartz.org.