What to Filter Gets Another Look-See

For school districts struggling to comply with web-filtering requirements mandated by the Children's Internet Protection Act and E-Rate, deciding what to block isn't always clear-cut. It often depends on the school culture and community. IT departments also report that districts tend to over filter rather than under filter which means that someone has to process the multiple requests to unblock things. That’s important to remember when dealing with your children’s school on sites that may or may not be blocked.

Is Your School Considering Using Facebook as a Teaching Tool?

If your school or your children’s teacher is discussing using Facebook as a teaching tool and you are anxious about safety issues, you’ll find comfort in an article called “5 best practices to consider when using Facebook with students.” While written for teachers (and you may want to forward it on to the person initiating the practice of using Facebook), there is a lot of meat here on how Facebook can be used as a positive tool.

Parental Engagement the Key to Teen Digital Safety

An interesting interview with Tim Woda, the co-founder of uknowKids.com, is a good reminder that the key to digital safety for kids is parental engagement and the importance of monitoring a child’s online presence. Woda reminds parents that the Internet is not a diary, it is a neighborhood, and monitoring how your child behaves in the outside world is, and always has been, an important part of good parenting. He says that it is not your child's role to define your role in their digital life.