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Hi all, This email will strive to address a very serious situation. A report came out from the FCC several weeks ago entitled Broadband Adoption and Use. You can download the report here: <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-296442A1.pdf> In this report, it is revealed that 24% of people with broadband and 46% of those without "strongly agree that the Internet is too dangerous for children." Anyone who has even done a survey can pick up on the fact that the possible answer choices for this question were: strongly disagree, disagree, agree, and strongly agree. So in addition to these numbers there is also an unreported percentage of people who "agree" the Internet is too dangerous for children. This excessive degree of fear associated with the Internet is going to significantly interfere with the objectives of schools in establishing 21st century learning environments. Trying to prepare students for their future and teach them Internet safety without web 2.0 technologies in schools is like trying to teach a child to swim without a swimming pool. But we can't get web 2.0 into schools if this many people think this is too dangerous. Some examples of concerns. I did a webinar for educators in Wisconsin this weekend (happy to do these BTW) and a teacher asked what to do about student names online. She said her students want to post their work online with their names because they are proud of their work. Student names and pictures appear in newspapers all of the time - and no one raises concerns that some predator is going to come and grab them. But for the school to do this would likely raise concerns in the community. Another teacher I know had set up a private Ning environment for her students. One parent became irate and went to the school board accusing the teacher of placing her daughter at risk of online predation. End of innovative project - killed by fear of online predators - when there were no risks whatsoever to these students. (Statistically, this daughter faces significantly higher risks of sexual abuse at home, at school, at church, on a team - and should also never go to a family reunion or out on a date or to a party.) What is exceptionally concerning to those of us who are active in developing effective strategies to address the very real risks to young people online is that we know the research. We also know that much of what people think they know, especially about online sexual predators - because of the messages from law enforcement and media - is INACCURATE!!! Lest anyone accuse me of trying to downplay the risks, please let me provide some background. I have a prior professional background in working with at risk youth. I have been focusing on youth risk online since 1995. I first published online materials addressing cyberbullying in 2005, self-published a book, Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats, to address these concerns in 2006, which was republished by Research Press in 2007. I also wrote a book for parents, CyberSafe Kids CyberSavvy Teens, which was also published in 2007 by Jossey Bass. I have just released a 2 hour video presentation, entitled Cyber Savvy Teachers, with a 29 page comprehensive handout, for teachers on effective strategies to teach Internet safety. And I released a 2 hour video presentation, with a 30 page comprehensive outline, including a template for how to effectively investigate and respond, entitled Cyberbullying, Cyberthreats & Sexting. This presentation is for principals and safe school personnel. This week I am narrating a 3 hour presentation for school and community mental health personnel and health educators entitled Youth Risk Online - this with a whopping 38 page handout. All of these handouts are in outline format - and contain sufficient material to fill a full book. But with a video presentation, educators can obtain Continuing Education Units and the cost is pretty darned minimal. So I thought this approach would be more helpful for you. I do not downplay the very real risks. But I insist that our understanding of these risks is grounded in research - and the manner in which we seek to address the risks is grounded in what we know about effective risk prevention! We have to function with scientific integrity. We have a very significant challenge before us. I am trying to help. I wrote a report that is now on my site <http://csriu.org> that outlines the information that is being provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, US DOJ Internet Crimes Against Children, and many of the state attorneys general - and compares these statements with the actual research - from the highly esteemed Crimes Against Children Research Center. I really hate to go public with a report indicating that the information on state AG web sites is inaccurate - but it is. And unless and until we can get them to change this, we will not be able to safely establish web 2.0 learning environments. Period. A problem we have to deal with. (Spent this weekend digging a fox hole.) I do try to "soften" this charge against the AGs with the following footnote: "In some respects, this is understandable. Trying to fully understand these complex issues is like the proverbial blind wisemen trying to describe an elephant. Law enforcement, unfortunately, has been designated the responsibility of standing at the “backside.” So it is not surprising that their perception of this elephant has been shaped by the excrement they regularly see. But even the analysis of their own data reveals that they are not clearly describing the excrement." We have to make sure that the AGs see the entire elephant. So what I am going to ask all of you on these lists to do is to download my report, read it, and make sure that you are fully aware of what the research evidence is - and what messages are inaccurate. It is only 6 pages. There is also a 4 page document on my site, Cyber Savvy Schools, that outlines what I think we need to be doing to get past the fear - establish 21st century schools, provide universal digital media safety, citizenship and literacy education, and establish targeted risk prevention and intervention programs for those young people who are at higher risk. As you will see on my site, I am also working on some resource materials related to effective management of web 2.0 technologies. Because of this significant degree of fear we have to make sure that we are proceeding in a manner that will seek to minimize risk. Please forward this email to your administrators, especially any at a district and state level who are working specifically on the educational technology issues. This is an issues that educational leaders must understand so that they can provide the leadership to get past this difficult point. I am happy to respond to questions - publicly or privately. Nancy -- Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D. Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use http://csriu.org nwillard@csriu.org --- Edtech Archives, posting guidelines and other information are at: http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb Please include your name, email address, and school or professional affiliation in each posting. To unsubscribe send the following command to: LISTSERV@H-NET.MSU.EDU SIGNOFF EDTECH
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