Moving at the Speed of Creativity

Category: isafety

  • ACLU Sues Missouri School District for Overblocking Internet Websites

    Cross-posted from Balanced Filtering in Schools. eSchoolNews’ August 17, 2011 article, “ACLU sues Missouri school district over internet filtering,” provides details about a new lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the Camdenton R-III School District in central Missouri. The lawsuit is part of the ACLU’s “Don’t Filter Me” campaign. Camdenton Schools are…

  • Evaluating AllGirlArcade.com for my 11 Year Old Daughter

    “Dad, I just learned about this great website for playing games and meeting friends! Can I join it?” My eleven year old daughter asked me this question a couple of weeks ago about the website Spark City, which is part of the larger website AllGirlsArcade.com. I told her I would check it out and decide…

  • Smart Networks #wildtech

    These are the presentation slides I’ll be using in Monday’s presentation, “Smart Networks,” at the the 14th Annual August Institute, “Technology Runs Through It” conference at the University of Montana in Missoula. The official conference “blurb” for this session is: Strategies to support a web-based learning environment such as filtering, infrastructure, bandwidth and safety issues.…

  • Configuring FREE Home Content Filtering with OpenDNS

    Following today’s fortuitous find of an Apple Airport Extreme Router for $40 at a local pawn shop, I needed to configure it for home content filtering as well as videoconferencing. After resetting the router to factory defaults, I turned it on (after power cycling my cable modem) and configured it to create a wireless network…

  • Socioclean Can Help Clean Up Your Digital Footprint

    Socioclean is a web application (currently free) which will scan all your Facebook tagged photos and public status/wall posts for anything which might be inappropiate and therefore damaging to your professional digital footprint. I was quite surprised my Facebook page initially earned a “C” on the site, but I got my grade changed to an…

  • Photo Geotagging Poses Privacy Risks, But Is NOT a Reason for Panic

    The 4 minute video segment, “Smartphone pictures pose privacy risks” by NBC news in November 2010 highlights the risks posed by photo geotagging and social networking sites. Unfortunately, like some other mainstream media press reports on social media, the implications of the segment are irresponsibly portrayed in an extreme, out-of-balance matter. The reporters imply posting…

  • Beware of Inappropriate Ads on Free Classroom Websites

    While numerous websites are available today which can be used to share educational content with students, parents and others, it is VERY important to be aware of advertising and the specific types of advertising which websites utilize. This post provides a case in point. I’ve experimented with the free webservice Wirenode.com to create a “mobile…

  • “Reply All” Bridgestone Super Bowl Ad Highlights Important Social Media Issues #msmeca11

    Did you watch the Super Bowl on television last night and see the Bridgestone “Reply All” commercial? David Zax’ article on February 3rd for FastCompany, “Super Bowl Ad Stories: How a Real “Reply-All” Faux Pas Yielded Comedy Gold” tipped me off this would be one to watch. The video is about an oh-so-easy to do…

  • Is it right to decide to make your children famous?

    Will Richardson shared numerous thought provoking ideas as well as article and book recommendations in his presentation in Amarillo today, “Learning in a Networked World: For Our Students and For Ourselves.” One of the standouts which I read after his presentation, waiting here in the Amarillo airport for my flight home, is Steven Johnson’s May…

  • First XtraNormal Video: MySpace Suicide Prevention

    I’m presenting a morning session with Karen Montgomery on Monday in Amarillo, Texas, on “Social Media Guidelines for Schools” for the “Teaching the 21st Century Student” conference. We are going to use several stories and case studies in the presentation to encourage discussion about the issues social media raises for educators as well as students.…