I recently attended the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in San Antonio, TX hosted by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), an organization dedicated to advancing the effective use of technology in the classroom. The NECC brought educators together to learn about new tools, methods, and practices for integrating technology in their curriculum.

As NetSmartz Workshop's Educational Writer, I came away with a new appreciation for the work educators are doing to ready kids for an increasingly tech-driven world. Here are just a few highlights of what your children's teachers are up to.

1. "21st Century Learning" is the new buzzword – In almost every session I attended, someone was talking about "21st Century Learning." Teachers are becoming progressively more aware of this concept, and taking great strides to incorporate new technologies in the classroom.
   
2. Old technology is being used in new ways – PowerPoint is not just for presentations anymore! Teachers are using common computer programs like PowerPoint, Word, and Excel in their classrooms to create amazing projects. (Hint: Did you know you can print on sticky notes?)
   
3. Cell phones are being utilized as educational tools (Yes, it's true!) – Rather than leave their students to explore the wonders of social media at home, teachers are starting to use cell phones, blogs, message boards, wikis, and even photo-sharing sites in the classroom to facilitate creative projects and hone networking skills.
   
4. Teachers and administrators want to relax Internet filters – Innovative websites are being blocked by strict filters in schools, leaving teachers frustrated with current federal and state policies.
   
5. Kids are teaching the teachers! – In one session, I witnessed a 17- year-old high school student advise a seasoned technology administrator on a security problem in his district. It was both an amusing and eye-opening experience.
   

All of these points allow for increased collaboration between students and educators. Why don't you take some time today to talk to your kids about technology and what's happening in their schools? It could be a very enlightening conversation.

Michelle Menillo

Education Writer

Teenage drug experimentation has gone online; teenagers are using the Internet to obtain legal hallucinogens, such as the herb salvia divinorum, and to research the uses of over-the-counter drugs, like cough syrup, to get high. They then post videos on video-sharing sites, like YouTube, showing themselves in various states of intoxication - some look happy, some look giddy, and some look downright scared.

Remind your kids that things they post online are not private and can be viewed by parents and guardians, teachers, college admissions officers, employers, and the police. Even things posted on "private" social networking pages can be copied and pasted on other sites. Students have been suspended from school, kicked off sports teams, and denied jobs for posting photos and videos of themselves drinking alcohol or doing drugs. Inappropriate behavior can rebound to affect children both online and in the real world; talk to your kids about how their offline behavior can hurt them now and putting it online can hurt their future. Encourage your children to respect themselves on- and offline.

When my friend Jake* was 16, he was talked into going on a double date with his friend, Chris, and some girls that Chris had met on the social networking site, Facebook. Jake told his parents that he was going to hang out with Chris, and "forgot" to mention the girls they were meeting. When they met the girls in the bowling alley, the girls looked completely different in real life then they had in the pictures on their profiles. After bowling and chatting for a little while, Chris and Jake realized that these were not the same girls that they had met online. They were completely different then their profile had described, and they weren't very interesting. So Chris and Jake went to "look for something in the car" and left the two girls at the bowling alley.

I told Jake that I thought that he made a bad decision to meet someone online that he had never met before in real life; he told me that he would never do it again. Jake realized that you can never really know who you are meeting online. He was pressured to go by his friend, and that probably made him think that it was okay to meet these girls. I don't think that he ever told his parents about meeting these girls.

Parents and guardians, I hope that this story makes you think twice about what your children are doing online and who they are meeting. I just keep thinking how lucky Jake and Chris were that these girls were not predators or some other creeps. Talk to your kids about their friends on social websites, and warn them to never agree to meet offline with anyone that they first met online without talking to you first. If your child insists that they want to meet with someone online, go with them.

Katherine - NetSmartz Teen Intern

Join us every Friday to read the opinions of our teen interns in the NetSmartz blog installment Teens Talk Back.

*names changed to protect identity of those involved

Recently, several cyberbullying stories have emerged in the press, most notably those of Megan Meier and Billy Wolfe. As media attention escalates and parents' and guardian's ire grows, several U.S. schools have begun adopting anti-cyberbullying policies or expanding their current bullying policies to include electronic bullying. Some schools have adopted these policies under pressure or direct mandate from their state governments, as is the case in Arkansas. Privacy advocates opposing these school policies are asking, "Where does the school's authority end?"

Experts on both sides of the debate are weighing in. For instance, free speech advocates argue that schools do not have a legal right to discipline students for online activities that occur off school premises. However, Jace Shoemaker Galloway, Chairperson of the Macomb Online Safety Team and Internet Safety blogger, contends that "Electronic bullying that occurs away from school that creates a 'substantial disruption' in school, should not be condoned or tolerated."

Regardless of where you stand on the issue, there are still plenty of strategies schools can use to combat cyberbullying. Consider talking to your child's school about these options

• Starting a dialogue in the classroom making sure students understand cyberbullying and its possible consequences
  
• Enacting a mediation plan with school counselors when cyberbullying incidents occur; the issue may be resolved with a bit of intervention
  
• Encouraging students to start an awareness group at school or online to educate their peers about cyberbullying
  
• Encouraging students to speak up without fear of recrimination if they know of someone who is the victim of cyberbullying.
  

Above all, parents, guardians, schools, and communities should work together to explore various ways to prevent and fight cyberbullying and ensure a safer online experience for all children.

If you have a teen driver, then you have probably had more than one conversation about obeying the traffic laws, car maintenance, and keeping the car radio at a reasonable volume. But have you talked to them about driving and using their cell phones, specifically texting? Did you know that in 5 states it is illegal to use anything but a "hands free" wireless device? And in 17 states, including the District of Columbia, all cell phone use is restricted for novice drivers.

Teens like to always be connected, and their familiarity with cell phone technology might convince them that it is OK to text and drive. A study of 16-and 17-year-old-drivers by the American Automotive Association and Seventeen magazine stated that of the teens engaging in risky driving habits, 46% admitted to texting while driving. However, all it takes is 3 seconds of inattention to cause an accident, as 18-year-old Richard Tatum learned when he crashed his car head-on into a cement truck while texting and driving.

When you talk to your teen about healthy use of the Internet, include the need to occasionally be unplugged and make sure that you mention taking a break from the cell phone. Refraining from texting while driving is a definite health issue; in fact, it might just save your teen's life.

All the media headlines about the dangers of the Internet have made parents and guardians more interested in using parental controls. These tools allow parents to monitor their teenagers' use of the Internet—but this is not the most effective method to keep teens safer. The truth is that in some cases blocking and monitoring your teen only tempts him or her to explore and find out what you think is so bad on the Internet, just like we test the limits in other aspects of our lives. I have known kids that try to guess the parental control codes and are often successful.

Most of the time teens are not looking for danger on the Internet, and we feel that by parents and guardians checking up on us, you are invading our privacy. We just want a little freedom! Teens feel that the Internet is an escape, a place for us to express ourselves without judgment. When parents and guardians block the use of these sites, we feel they are trying to prevent us from being ourselves. However, teens know that the Internet can be a dangerous place. I believe this teen generation needs to be better informed on its potential risks, especially the problems that can happen when you expose inappropriate and too much information on the Internet.

Parents/guardians and teens need to communicate with each other about the Internet; keeping us safer online starts with talking to us. It is a good idea for you to know what we are looking at and who we are chatting with, but make some compromises too. If we are willing to explain to and show you exactly what we are doing while on the Internet, you must trust us to use our common sense. I think that it is important for parents and guardians to put some faith in their teenagers. When you show us that you trust us, we don't want to break that trust. This means that we'll think more when we're online, because we don't want to give you a reason to monitor us more closely! And, that's the most effective method to help keep us safer.

Kelly - NetSmartz Teen Intern