E School News has excellent coverage of topics related to electronic safety. These are useful for either educators or parents. Any article will link you to others, some of which would be good for background but will not be posted on this site, as students should not go into them directly without parent or teacher conversation. Some examples follow.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53640
Social-networking apps can pose security risks. Experts warn users to be careful about what they post...and download
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?print&i=54295
Parents are clueless about Kids’ internet use. Findings of a research report by Symantech Corp are presented. There are links to the Norton Family Resources website and a quiz to see how much students know about the net and safety. (Norton Cyber Smackdown Challenge)
http://www.eschoolnews.org/news/pfshowStory.cfm?ArticleID=7160
Teen’s vault to fame a cautionary tale. The story of Allison Stokke, an 18 year old pole vaulter who became the poster child for the dangers of internet media sharing, when someone took a picture of her at an athletic meet.
http://eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/related-top-news/index.cfm?print&i=50868
Studies suggest cyber bullying is on the rise. Public health experts share concerns around on line harassment and student impacts.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?print&i=53986&page=4
Cyber bullying: from victim to crusader. This article presents the recent story of an on-line hoax that led to a student suicide, a trial for one parent, and the beginning of a campaign for on line safety by the victim’s mother. The article has links to earlier stories on this case as well as various cyber bullying prevention sites and the Megan Meier Foundation. The content is difficult, but certainly makes students think. Best done with adult guidance, but most kids are already aware of this case.
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/byronreview/pdfs/Executive%20summary.pdf
A pretty good British study, Children and the New Technology. It is long, but the executive summary hits the high points.
http://www.futureofchildren.org/pubs-info2825/pubs-info_show.htm?doc_id=674322
The Future of Children electronic journal from Princeton offers a Spring 2008 issue that focuses on Children and Electronic Media. Ten different articles are presented, ranging from Media and Young Children’s Learning to Online Communication and Adolescent Relationships.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/02/AR2008050203831.html
Virginia Tries to Ensure Students’ Safety in Cyberspace. This article and related ones discuss Virginia’s plans to teach online safety, the first American state to mandate such content.
www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary-0286-34539933-ITM and enter the article name "Have You Googled Your Teacher Lately? Teachers’ Use of Social Networking Sites." A personal warning to teachers, from Phi Delta Kappan in the May 2008 edition.
http://www.readwritethink.org/beyondtheclassroom/summer/grades9_12/OnlineName/
Lesson Plan: Ages 12-16 Creating a Safe Online Profile. Students look at sample email addresses to find out what they can tell about the person, and then create a safe online profile. (This is also an excellent literacy site in general.)
There are many, many websites that touch on these topics in various ways. These are four that might be of interest, should you want to go beyond the content on this site for additional information.
Two Canadian school district listings, which link to many other good sites.
www.wsd1.org/internetsafety/ Winnipeg
www.cbe.ab.ca/Parents/internet_links.asp Calgary
Three sites aimed at both parents and children, with content for a variety of ages.
www.kidsintheknow.ca
www.netsmartz.org (real life stories for middle and high school kids, but sponsored by Club Penguin so lots for parents, educators and younger students as well)
www.bewebaware.ca