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[ABCDE] VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 Atwitter Over Social Networking ITS USES AND ABUSES INSIDE You and Cartooning’s 6,473 Teaching the Gaming Webcrawler: Texts Facebook 9 16 Twitter 21 A Month 26 Generation April 8, 2009 © 2009 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program About Atwitter Over Social Networking: Its Uses and Abuses Lessons: There are ethical, legal, business, cultural and societal issues related to Social networks, citizen journalists and enterprising individuals using social networking technology. The Web and social networking have have seen the potential of the Internet and cell phones. As advantages for teachers in all disciplines. thousands of new users are added daily, the global community is expressing itself. Through law and ethics, business and culture, Level: Low to High society is responding to the complexity of these diverse means of Subjects: Computer Technology, English, communication. Social Studies, Journalism Related Activity: Health, Art, Economics It is in this context, we share recent Post articles and commentary on being a cybercitizen, developing connections and remaining safe. Articles and suggested activities in this guide cover a variety of social networking — blogs and micro-blogs, digital gaming and netiquette, benefactors and imposters, texting and sexting, personal and business communication. Internet safety and test-taking practice are combined in “You and Gaming” for younger students. Student activities cover business and marketing applications of social networking by educators and students, cartoonists and technology firms. The Washington Post takes its responsibilities seriously and is engaged in this community in print, on the Web and in e-Replica. It NIE Online Guide uses Twitter (http://twitter.com/washingtonpost). When KidsPost Editor — Carol Lange gives Web URLs, they add the note: “Be sure to ask an adult before Art Editor — Carol Porter going to any Web site.” Contributing to This Guide: Aaron Manfull, adviser of the newspaper, A reminder to Post INSIDE program teachers: If you plan to use yearbook, podcast and Web (FHNtoday. articles in this guide in the e-Replica format more than three months com) staffs at Francis Howell North H.S. after their publication date, remember to bookmark them. “News in St. Charles, Mo., is the Journalism Hound Scavenger Hunt” in this guide gives students Education Association’s Digital Media e- practice in using the Search and Contents features of the Committee Chair (jeaDigitalMedia.org). Replica Manfull wrote the student activity, e-Replica Post. ■ “Using the Web to Market Your Class- room Activities.” Paul Sathrum, NEA Health Information Network Senior Project Coordinator, provided resources and the “You and Gaming” passage. Send comments about this guide to: Margaret Kaplow, Educational Services Manager, kaplowm@washpost.com Cover Design: Carol Porter 2 April 8, 2009 © 2009 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program Atwitter Over Social Networking: Its Uses and Abuses In the Know The world has gone digital. Netizens need to know the language emoticon A typographical cartoon or symbol and netiquette, consequences and benefits, potential and limits of generally used to indicate mood or appearance engaging in the growing array of social networking. The following as :-) and often looked at sideways. suggested activities may be used with the Washington Post articles in — The Associated Press Stylebook this guide as well as today’s Post. The Language Learn the Language as the number one misuse of the Discover emoticons and more in the following With speed of communication Internet. sources. being a hallmark of digital communication, an Internet Blog a Class www.netlingo.com/dictionary/all.php language has emerged. Provide KidsPost reports on District The Dictionary student groups with markers and teacher Simone Welch who won the Definitions of acronyms and text three large sheets of paper. Ask opportunity to be one of 12 teachers messaging lingo students to compile their lists to research glaciers in the Bering of abbreviations, acronyms and Sea. Read the article to learn more www.fun-with-words.com/net_lingua. emoticons that comprise this net about her PolarTREC, funded by html vocabulary. Review their lists the National Science Foundation. Net Lingua to determine their top ten, the Welch will not be isolated from Internet acronyms, initials, abbreviations essentials to fast communication. her students — or yours. She is and emoticons Post the lists and discuss them. keeping a Web log during her North • In what ways has use of these Pole experience. The benefits of The Etiquette influenced standard spelling? blogging can be seen by following Cyberspace has guidelines for civil behavior. • Have they influenced sentence her online and sending in questions structure when writing essays for to www.polartrec.com/user/181. www.kidsdomain.com/brain/ school? Discuss with your students the computer/surfing/netiquette_kids.html • Do these help to convey tone of possibilities of keeping a class blog Safe Surfing! voice so the writer will not be of your experiments and projects. A kid’s guide to netiquette explains the misunderstood? basics of being a responsible netizen This activity may be used to Take a Brief Look discuss the use of “net lingua” “News In Brief” articles give http://internet.suite101.com/article. in school assignments or as an glimpses of social, legal and cultural cfm/netiquette_guidelines introduction to “6,473 Texts a aspects of social networking. In Top 10 Netiquette Guidelines Month, But at What Cost?” that is what ways do they illustrate the In addition to providing guidelines, the included in this guide. influence of new media? Students author addresses cyberbullying and gives might be asked to read The Post advice to parents on keeping children Mind Your Manners for a week and compile their own safe online Netiquette is a term derived collection of briefs about social from the words “network” and networking in the news. “etiquette” which describes the use of proper manners and behavior Practice Taking Tests online. Discuss the use of Internet The passage, “You and Gaming” etiquette in all areas of electronic is aimed at a younger student. communication including e-mail, The text, provided for your use by chats, blogs, forums and tweets. bNetS@vvy, includes guidelines for This discussion might profitably gaming safely. Give the passage to lead to cyberbullying. Many Internet safety experts list this CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 3 April 8, 2009 © 2009 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY VOLUME 8, ISSUE 8 An Integrated Curriculum For The Washington Post Newspaper In Education Program CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 purpose and profitable use of the Online strengths of social networking students to read. Before discussing options. www.bnetsavvy.org the passage, give students “You and bNetS@vvy Gaming | Questions” which are set Beware of Faux Friends Tips, activity cards, lessons and strategies up to provide test-taking practice. How do digital communicators for schools and parents. This clearinghouse Students should be able to know who is truthful and what for Internet safety is provided by NEA’s eliminate one to two of the choices is real? The Style section article Health Information Network, Sprint immediately. One of the choices “When Famed Twitter Friend and the National Center for Missing & may have some truth, but not apply Proves Faux” focuses on the Exploited Children. to the whole passage or be not potential for lies and “tweet as true as the remaining choice. nothings.” After discussing www.nsteens.org Answers are found at the end of homophones and word play in NSTeens these suggested activities. the headline and subhead of the A lively site featuring comics, videos, Discuss the answers and content article, discuss some of the serious lesson plans and real-life stories for use of the passage. Sidebars of this ramifications of reading blogs and with teens. The lesson plans include guide provide additional resources tweets without some skepticism. activity cards and related news articles for teachers and parents. Note Some vocabulary to cover before — certain to start discussion — and that some of the sites are aimed reading: “virtual,” “doppelganger,” guidelines for safety. for student use to discover and “celebrity,” “fraud,” “bogus,” re-enforce Internet safety concepts. “copyright,” “impersonator,” www.netsmartz.org As an extension of this activity, “tastemaker,” “non-malicious,” NetSmartz Workshop students could be asked to read “niche” and “dismissive.” Kids area provides games, Club UYN, more about gaming and/or Internet Discussion could include: e-cards and adventures for elementary safety then to write an article for • Why is it necessary to have a school age. posting on the classroom’s bulletin business such as Valebrity.com? board or publishing in the school • Why would readership increase www.ikeepsafe.org newspaper. Students may record after a Twitter feed was identified I Keep Safe their Internet Safety Tips to create as fake? Parent Resource Center and Kids (Faux a podcast for posting on the school’s • What harm can come from Paw’s Fun Zone games, characters, videos, Web site. imposters? downloads) and Educators materials The case of Megan Meier, a for use with elementary to high school Market Your Ideas fourteen-year-old who committed students. Aaron Manfull, who chairs the suicide after receiving negative Journalism Education Association’s messages (“This world would be a www.pluggedinparent.com new Digital Media Committee, better place without you.”) from her Plugged in Parent provides a lesson for teachers MySpace crush, may be introduced Participate in Frontline’s Digital Nation across disciplines. Whether you are at this time. Washington Post staff collaboration with Columbia School of a journalism teacher who wants writer Tamara Jones covered this Journalism by contributing a short video to increase hits on your online story. “A Deadly Web of Deceit: A report on your life in the digital age.

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