CIC-0708_InterActive_v6 5/23/08 9:04 AM Page 3
InterActive
Q.
Behavior Discussions
Cyberbullying and other inappropriate
behaviors continue to plague children online.
How do you teach web etiquette to your students?
At the juvenile detention center where I work, I
have students who have been accused of cyber-
bullying. Therefore, we discuss the appro-
priate ways to communicate online.
We discuss that you should never
reveal or ask for personal infor-
mation and that just because
something is written online
doesn’t mean that it is true.
We also discuss the danger
of meeting others from online
chat rooms. It is dangerous to
you personally, and it is also
dangerous to your reputation. It
is easy to be accused of inappropri-
ate behavior when you have a “history.”
I encourage the students to respect others
and to practice self-control. We explore general
charges and discuss circumstances that may lead
to those situations. It is my opinion that inappro-
priate language and responses lead to charges that
occur because the things are put in print and would
have been ignored if it were verbal communication.
Rebecca Painter, Ph.D.
2005 Cable’s Leaders in Learning Award winner
Science educator
Warren Regional Juvenile Detention Center
Bowling Green, KY
Tips for Parents
Here are some of the points we’ve discussed in par-
ent groups I’ve led.
You may not know if your child has a Facebook
or MySpace profile. To find out, here is an idea a
parent suggested: Start a discussion and mention
that another parent told you she had a Facebook
page and shares recipes with her friends. Ask your
children if they have any friends who could help
you set up a page. If they volunteer, that’s a clue
that they may have one.
I realize this may seem subversive, but sometimes
it’s necessary to give your teenagers less-than-full
disclosure about your parenting techniques. One par-
ent complained that this seemed dishonest, and that
set up a discussion among the parents about what
www.ciconline.org/cicmagazine
is ethical for parents to do to make sure their chil-
dren are safe and whether these types of tactics
are honest. We compared reading a child’s
MySpace profile with reading a diary,
and found an explanation that we
agreed on. While a diary is
meant to be private, once a
web page is published, it is
there for anyone to see. It
is no longer private. This is
a point that a child needs
to understand.
If you feel pretty sure your
child has a profile and you’ve
never seen it, and you want to
make sure she doesn’t have any-
thing unacceptable on it, approach
her about personal pages and tell her you’d like
to look at her page tomorrow night. Don’t ask to
see it right now; if there’s anything on it you
wouldn’t approve of, she’ll remove it. Your goal is
to have her take off anything unacceptable, not to
catch her doing something wrong.
Be aware that your child might have more than
one page. A couple of our parents shared that their
children have friends who have two or three dif-
ferent profiles with different e-mail addresses.
Remind your children that anything they put on
their page can be seen by anyone, anywhere, and
can follow them for years. Your daughter’s sexy pic-
ture that she puts on her page at age 14 can sur-
face 10 years later when she is looking for a job.
Kay Zoretic
Retired teacher and elementary
reading specialist
Former Cable in the Classroom
coordinator for Insight
Bowling Green, KY
Search Me
Here are a few things teachers can discuss with their
students.
Turn the caps lock key off. When you type a post
with all capital letters, you are going to annoy other
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InterActive

(Continued from page 3) Along with other information designed to

users. Using all capital letters is viewed as protect them, both students and parents NATIONAL EDUCATION
shouting when communicating online, and must sign the contract acknowledging they ADVISORY BOARD
it’s considered rude. have read the district Internet policy.
Lois Adams-Rodgers, Ed.D. Henry Jenkins, Ph.D.
Keep IM (instant message) language ca- Tony Knapp Deputy Executive Director, Director, Program in
sual. You may not want to use IM to give 2007 Cable’s Leaders in Council of Chief State Comparative Media
someone bad news, tell a secret, or an- Learning Award winner School Oficers Studies, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
nounce something big in your life. While Principal
Dale Allender
some people may consider instant messag- North Ridge Elementary School Associate Executive Lean King, Ed.D.
ing similar to the telephone as a means of Moreno Valley, CA Director, National Council of Superintendent, Encinitas Union
communication, others consider it much Teachers of English West, School District
less formal. Know your audience. Are you Talking It Through UC Berkeley
Bob Moore
talking to your best friend or your teacher? When I taught middle school, I taught lan-
Sandra Calvert, Ph.D. Executive Director, Information
This makes a difference. guage arts and reading. Technology was Professor of Psychology, Technology Services,
Tell other users when you’re away. Let not in our curriculum per se. Moreover, most Director, Children’s Valley School District
others know when you are available to talk, of my special-needs students were not Digital Media Center,
Georgetown University
have stepped away from your computer, or allowed to take elective classes (art, music, Lan Neugent
Assistant Superintendent
are online but need to do other things. This or technology) because they had to have an
Tom Carroll, Ph.D. for Technology and Human
helps keep the communication going and extra hour of reading. Hence, I infused President, National Resources, Virginia
your friends will not be waiting around for literature through multimodal means. Commission on Teaching Department of Education
an answer when you are not there. First, we talked about the role of percep- and America’s Future

Erin Reilly tions along with netiquette. For example, Susan Patrick
Milton Chen, Ph.D. President & CEO,
2007 Cable’s Leaders in my students and I would read a reverse
Executive Director, North American Council
Learning Award winner fairy tale together. This is a classic fairy tale The George Lucas for Online Learning
Research Director, Project that is told from another character’s perspec- Educational Foundation
New Media Literacies tive, such as “Little Red Riding Hood” from Linda Polin, Ph.D.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology the Big Bad Wolf’s perspective. Then, I’d ask Sue Collins Professor of Education
Principal, Collins Consults and Technology,
Cambridge, MA my students to write and share a fairy tale
Pepperdine University
where they take the perspective of differ- Jan Harp Domene
Instilling a District-Wide Policy ent characters. President, PTA Linda Roberts, Ed.D.
Though our elementary students do not have I wanted them to see that there are mul- Consultant
as much network access as secondary stu- tiple sides to a story. We would then talk Ann Lee Flynn, Ed.D.
Director, Education Bill Rust
dents, we still remind each student—through about perspectives relating to both online
Technology, National School Research Director,
signed Student Electronic Information and offline behavior and the multiplicity of Boards Association Gartner, Inc.
Resource Contracts and Parent Internet Safety these perspectives. Then I had my students
Guides—that there are strict rules in place create a classroom acceptable- use policy. Mila Fuller Steve Sánchez, Ph.D.
to protect them. This includes never reveal- Just as I want my students to share in cul- Director of Strategic Consultant
Initiatives, International
ing their home address or phone number or tivating the classroom climate, I want them
Society for Technology Burck Smith
entering a chat room without the authori- to share in cultivating the classroom cyber- in Education CEO & Co-Founder,
zation and supervision of a teacher. Also, climate as well. Smarthinking
students are directed to never send or re- Mechelle De Craene Tracy Gray, Ph.D.
spond to any messages that contain abusive, 2007 Cable’s Leaders in Managing Director, American Julie Walker
Institutes for Research Executive Director,
profane, offensive, or discriminatory lan- Learning Award winner
American Association
guage and to never send or retrieve any ma- Former special education teacher
Elizabeth Hale of School Librarians
terial that is lewd, obscene, or pornographic. Tampa, FL President, Institute for
Educational Leadership Frank Withrow, Ph.D.
President, A Better Learning
Speak Out Sharnell Jackson Experience Company
Chief eLearning Officer,
Office of Technology Julie Young
Question: Which sites do you use to help ELL students develop a love of reading? Services, Chicago Executive Director,
Send your comments to: cic_interactive@ccicrosby.com. Include your name, title, school affiliation, Public Schools Florida Virtual School
city/town, phone number, and e-mail. Responses may be published in a future issue. 200-word limit.

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