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Internet Safety Panel at ISTE's NECC Trumpets Education, Awareness Building as Key in Advancing Online Safety

Attendees of the International Society for Technology in Education's (ISTE®) National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) received tools and tips on Internet safety at a town hall-style meeting, held Monday, June 30, at the Henry B. Gonzalez Conference Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The Town Hall featured a keynote address from Anastasia Goodstein, author of Totally Wired and editor-in-chief of the Ypulse blog. Goodstein outlined how today's teens are using technology and highlighted the variety of virtual worlds and social networks they're using to stay connected.

Goodstein also cited an MTV study conducted to determine what teens would miss most when left without the Internet for one week. The answer wasn't related to entertainment or even social networking, but informational resources, such as Wikipedia.org, used to complete homework assignments.

In addition to Goodstein's address, the town hall meeting featured two panels:

Internet Safety Issues: Amanda Lenhart, panel moderator and senior research specialist with the Pew Internet and American Life Project, cited some of the organization's recent research showing that only seven percent of online teens experience unwanted stranger contact, and the vast majority handles these instances appropriately by ignoring or deleting the contact.

The panel also included Jeanne Biddle, director of technology with Scott County Schools in Kentucky and ISTE board member; Julie Evans, executive director of Project Tomorrow; and Jake Young, a high school senior from Spring, Texas.

Resources and Tools: Moderator Adam Thierer, senior fellow and director of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, began the second panel by sharing his perspective on the "moral panic" in D.C. over Internet safety, which results in regulation-based strategies rather than education-and awareness-based strategies. Of the 40 Internet-related pieces of legislation currently in motion, the vast majority is regulation-based, he said.

The panel also featuring Lan Neugent, assistant superintendent of the Virginia Department of Education; Dr. John Slivka, technology director with Albertville Public Schools in Alabama; and Richard Stevens, vice president of business services with Time Warner Cable in San Antonio.

ISTE CEO Don Knezek also reinforced the importance of education in advancing Internet safety in his remarks.

"The best defense to online predators and inappropriate content is education," Knezek said. "We know there's no silver bullet solution that keeps every student safe all the time, and educating students to stay safe online is the best way to not only protect them in the short and long term, but it will materially assess their own intellectual growth."

ISTE thanks the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing for its support of this event. A video of the session will be available shortly; watch ISTE's Web site for details.

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE®) is the premier membership association for educators and education leaders engaged in improving teaching and learning by advancing the effective use of technology in PK–12 and teacher education.

See related files below for a link to Seven Internet Safety Tips for Educators.