Net-savvy school

Here's an enlightened school, where tech's concerned: The William Penn School in Philadelphia sees cyberspace as an extension of its community, ConnectforKids.org reports in a thoughtful article, "Cyberbullying: No muscles needed." "The school community doesn't begin and end at the door." Though traditionally schools saw anything happening off of school property as beyond their reach, this may have to change as, increasingly, everything happening at school spills into a constant swirl of instant messages. To get students thinking about the possibility of consequences, Penn even had local police officers come in and alert them to the fact that "electronic messages such as IMs and emails leave 'fingerprints' - nine-digit numbers recorded with your ISP (Internet Service Provider)." CFK adds that "violations of the school's honor code land a student in front of the community council, leading to suspension or expulsion. But small things can tweak a student's conscience," Penn has found, too. "For example, the school's director of technology put a mirror up in the lab, bearing the caption 'Are you a cyberbully?,' with action steps for kids who think they're victims as well." For more on this, please see "Cybersocializing, cyberbullying: Where are the parents?"