Probably any number of things could inspire a student to become an activist, but in 16-year-old Ali's case, it was "an English homework assignment about marginalized groups in society," The Gazette, in Lisbon, Iowa, reported. "She realized they needed a voice," apparently thought about how kids can get marginalized in bullying types of situations, and emailed Lisbon Community Schools' dean of … [Read more...] about Student bullying-prevention activists, leaders, mentors
Personal ‘brand management’ for social literacy
The cynical way to say it might be that we're all our own best spin doctors these days. There are a lot of ways to say it, though – e.g., protecting one's public image, reputation management, maintaining your personal brand, or just online spin control – but there's nothing cynical or unsavory about this skill, and it's a life skill, not just an online one. Though it's an important one for social … [Read more...] about Personal ‘brand management’ for social literacy
The 7 properties of safety in a digital age
In Part 1 of this series, I pointed you to a recent talk by John Seely Brown on the whitewater-kayaking kind of learning we need today and in Part 2, examples of that in Marianne Malmstrom's New Jersey classroom. Both touch on "safety" in and for the learning process. Here, Part 3: zooming in on how they and other wise educators have clarified my view of child safety today. What safety is … [Read more...] about The 7 properties of safety in a digital age
SxSW, Part 2: Rheingold & Salen on how to play with social media
In addition to the panel mentioned in my previous post about Hope North and the one I participated in, "Reaching Teens on the Digital Streets," here – in Part 2 – are some takeaways from featured speakers at South by Southwest (SxSW) last week (Part 1 is here): * From Howard Rheingold, help in making social media work for you Social media is overwhelming to a lot of us parents and educators. … [Read more...] about SxSW, Part 2: Rheingold & Salen on how to play with social media
Great contest for teen activist/app developers
Spread the word to young app developers and code writers at your house or school: ReachOut.com has just announced its national "Don't Just Stand By" Facebook App Developer Competition. Launched at the SxSW conference, the competition "calls on teens 13-17 to create a Facebook app that will help inform and empower potential bystanders of cyberbullying to take action," says Reach Out's press … [Read more...] about Great contest for teen activist/app developers