Everything's Social

Latest Updates: School RSS

• 

  Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say 'Duh'

  JP 1:44 am on August 22, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: aol news (2), facebook (320), Massachusetts (6), nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), School, social networking site (64), Superintendent Denise Walsh (2), Teacher Fired (2), wcvbtv boston (2)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking, Back to School

  

  Share

  Here’s a great way to get yourself fired: logging onto Facebook, and letting the world know how much you hate your job — and the people you work for — especially if you work with kids. That’s exactly what Dr. June Talvitie-Siple did, and it totally worked.

  Dr. Talvitie-Siple, supervisor of the math and science program at Massachusetts’s Cohasset High School, recently used the social networking site to air her grievances about her job and her community. “Residents are so arrogant and snobby,” she wrote in one post. In another, she emoted, “So not looking forward to another year at Cohasset schools.” As she told NBC’s WHDH affiliate, she had no idea that her rants were visible for the whole world to see. “I thought I had my privacy settings set so that I was only talking to my friends,” she said. “And it turns out I wasn’t.” Once word of her public criticism got around, Talvitie-Staple got her wish, and lost her job. Mission accomplished. [From: NBCBayArea and MSNBC]

  Update: According to WCVBTV Boston and AOL News, Dr. June Talvitie-Siple was asked by school Superintendent Denise Walsh to resign.

  Continue reading Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say ‘Duh’

  Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say ‘Duh’ originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   

  Reply Click here to cancel reply.

  Name (required)

  Email (required)

  Web Site

   
• 

  Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say 'Duh'

  JP 1:43 am on August 21, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: aol news (2), facebook (320), Massachusetts (6), nbsp (1,691), Read (1,473), School, social networking site (64), Superintendent Denise Walsh (2), Teacher Fired (2), wcvbtv boston (2)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking, Back to School

  

  Share

  Here’s a great way to get yourself fired: logging onto Facebook, and letting the world know how much you hate your job — and the people you work for — especially if you work with kids. That’s exactly what Dr. June Talvitie-Siple did, and it totally worked.

  Dr. Talvitie-Siple, supervisor of the math and science program at Massachusetts’s Cohasset High School, recently used the social networking site to air her grievances about her job and her community. “Residents are so arrogant and snobby,” she wrote in one post. In another, she emoted, “So not looking forward to another year at Cohasset schools.” As she told NBC’s WHDH affiliate, she had no idea that her rants were visible for the whole world to see. “I thought I had my privacy settings set so that I was only talking to my friends,” she said. “And it turns out I wasn’t.” Once word of her public criticism got around, Talvitie-Staple got her wish, and lost her job. Mission accomplished. [From: NBCBayArea and MSNBC]

  Update: According to WCVBTV Boston and AOL News, Dr. June Talvitie-Siple was asked by school Superintendent Denise Walsh to resign.

  Continue reading Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say ‘Duh’

  Teacher Fired After Criticizing Colleagues, Parents on Facebook, We Say ‘Duh’ originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 19 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Feds Not Filing Charges in Pennsylvania School Spying Controversy

  JP 1:45 am on August 19, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: district, lower merion school, lower merion school district, nbsp (1,691), Pennsylvania (11), Read (1,473), School, U.S. (109), webcam photos, Zane David Memeger

  Filed under: Computers

  After months of back and forth and hand wringing, it looks like the strange tale of the Lower Merion school district may finally be coming to a close. In advance of the new school year, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger has announced that the federal government will not be filing charges against the district or its employees over the controversial use of tracking software on school-issued laptops that snapped webcam photos of students. Memeger says that an investigation turned up no evidence of criminal intent. Still, if we were students in the district, we might choose to turn down the offer of a free, school-issued laptop. [From: Google/AP]

  Feds Not Filing Charges in Pennsylvania School Spying Controversy originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Massachusetts High School Forces Students to Buy MacBooks

  JP 11:26 am on June 18, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: James Hayes, Mac (36), macbook (8), Massachusetts (6), massachusetts high school, nbsp (1,691), public initiative, Read (1,473), School, student (4)

  Filed under: Computers

  In theory, it’s a noble public initiative to provide every high school student with the latest, high-tech laptops. What’s not so noble, though, is to make every kid pay for it themselves.

  As of September 2011, every student attending Beverly High School in Massachusetts will be required to have their own MacBook as part of a district-wide campaign to modernize classroom technology. According to the Salem News, though, parents will be forced to fork out the money from their own wallets. Even if a student already has her own laptop, she’ll have to get a new one unless she already has a Mac. As superintendent James Hayes says, “We have one platform. And that’s going to be the Mac.”

  Continue reading Massachusetts High School Forces Students to Buy MacBooks

  Massachusetts High School Forces Students to Buy MacBooks originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 15 Jun 2010 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  New Jersey Principal Tries to Ban Facebook for Middle Schoolers

  JP 2:33 am on May 1, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Anthony Orsini, benjamin franklin middle school, Jersey (8), nbsp (1,691), Networking (65), New Jersey (11), Read (1,473), ridgewood new jersey, School, social networking site (64)

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  
  

  “There is absolutely no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! Let me repeat that – there is absolutely, positively no reason for any middle school student to be a part of a social networking site! None.”

  That’s the claim being made by Anthony Orsini, the principal at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. The school administrator’s concerns about the increased frequency of cyber-bullying and sexting scandals has been to try to ban social networking amongst his 700 member student body.

  Orsini sent an e-mail to the parents of his students requesting that they sit down with their children and tell them no more social networking. He also urges parents to install parental controls and filtering software on computers and check their children’s text messages on a weekly basis.

  Continue reading New Jersey Principal Tries to Ban Facebook for Middle Schoolers

  New Jersey Principal Tries to Ban Facebook for Middle Schoolers originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  NJ High Schoolers Organize Protest Walkout on Facebook

  JP 1:48 am on May 1, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Governor Chris Christie, Michelle Ryan Lauto, nbsp (1,691), New Jersey (11), new jersey education, new jersey education association, NJ (3), Protest, Read (1,473), School, Steve Wollmer, wollmer

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  After Governor Chris Christie proposed widespread cuts in funding for New Jersey’s educational system, one former New Jersey high school student took it upon herself to organize a statewide walkout, via Facebook.

  Eighteen-year-old Michelle Ryan Lauto, a student at Pace University, created a special event on Facebook calling for all students to take to the streets in protest during regular school hours. Officially, 18,000 students RSVP’d yes to the event, and word quickly spread through other media, like text messages and MySpace. Yesterday, when the day to take action finally arrived, thousands of students marched out of their classrooms and took to city halls and main streets throughout New Jersey to voice their displeasure.

  The reactions of teachers and officials have been pretty mixed. While the New Jersey Education Association acknowledges the students’ right to participate in “civil disobedience,” it still feels that choosing to skip an entire day of school was inappropriate. Steve Wollmer, a spokesman for the Education Association, said that he thinks “the best outcome would be for the students to be in school and find a way to protest outside of school hours.” Shockingly enough, eighth-grader Nah-Fee Hinton told NJ.com, “[Teachers] said we were wasting our time.” Hinton, who’s clearly a lot wiser than said teachers, went on to say, “But we don’t believe that. We believe we can change.”

  Continue reading NJ High Schoolers Organize Protest Walkout on Facebook

  NJ High Schoolers Organize Protest Walkout on Facebook originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 14:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Student Can Sue for School's Facebook Fouls, Judge Says

  JP 12:51 am on February 19, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: facebook (320), first amendment rights, Judge Says, Judge SaysStudent, Katherine Evans, magistrate judge, Ms. Sarah Phelps, nbsp (1,691), Pembroke, pembroke pines charter high school, Read (1,473), School, South Florida, Sue

  Filed under: Web, Social Networking

  

  Back in 2007, a South Florida teen found herself in hot water after using Facebook to vent her frustration with an English teacher. Katherine Evans, who was at the time a Senior honors student at Pembroke Pines Charter High School, was suspended for “cyber-bullying” her teacher. Evans had created a group on Facebook called “Ms. Sarah Phelps [her teacher] is the worst teacher I’ve ever met!” After a few days, Evans removed the group, and assumed that was the end of the story. But several days later, she was called into the principal’s office and suspended — an action that has remained on her permanent record.

  The high school may have thought that it had settled the matter, but it had underestimated Evans’s tenacity and anger. In December of 2008, with the aid of the ACLU, she filed suit against the school for violating her First Amendment rights. School officials asked that the case be thrown out, but this week a Magistrate Judge rejected that petition. Evans’s lawsuit will now go to trial.

  Continue reading Student Can Sue for School’s Facebook Fouls, Judge Says

  Student Can Sue for School’s Facebook Fouls, Judge Says originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages

  JP 12:51 am on February 10, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Judge Rules (2), Mercer County (2), MySpace (8), myspace profiles (3), nbsp (1,691), Pennsylvania (11), Read (1,473), School, Schuylkill County (2), schuylkill county pennsylvania (2), U.S. (109), Witold Walczak (2)

  Filed under: MySpace, Web, Social Networking

  A U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday that schools can legally suspend students for creating fake MySpace profiles, but only if the fabricated online personas poses some sort of school disruption. A three judge panel in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania came to their decision after a student posted a sexually explicit parody of her principal on her fake MySpace page. The panel ruled that the school could legitimately expect the post to disrupt normal school activities, and thus granted authorities the right to suspend the student. As HuffPo reports, though, another Pennsylvania court in Mercer County ruled, in a nearly identical case, that high schools don’t have the right to regulate a student’s digital activity at home, arguing that a child’s MySpace posts fell under the umbrella of his or her right to free speech.

  As social networking has become more prevalent in middle and high schools around the country, school authorities have been seeking some sort of definitive ruling on whether or not they have the right to police students on the Internet. As Witold Walczak of the ACLU tells the Washington Post, “The law was unclear and now it’s in a state of chaos.” To make matters worse, a case of this nature hasn’t yet reached the Supreme Court, so lower courts are forced to use older high court rulings on the boundaries of school jurisdiction as their only legal compass.

  Continue reading Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages

  Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages

  JP 12:51 am on February 9, 2010 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Judge Rules (2), Mercer County (2), MySpace (8), myspace profiles (3), nbsp (1,691), Pennsylvania (11), Read (1,473), School, Schuylkill County (2), schuylkill county pennsylvania (2), U.S. (109), Witold Walczak (2)

  Filed under: MySpace, Web, Social Networking

  A U.S. appeals court ruled Thursday that schools can legally suspend students for creating fake MySpace profiles, but only if the fabricated online personas poses some sort of school disruption. A three judge panel in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania came to their decision after a student posted a sexually explicit parody of her principal on her fake MySpace page. The panel ruled that the school could legitimately expect the post to disrupt normal school activities, and thus granted authorities the right to suspend the student. As HuffPo reports, though, another Pennsylvania court in Mercer County ruled, in a nearly identical case, that high schools don’t have the right to regulate a student’s digital activity at home, arguing that a child’s MySpace posts fell under the umbrella of his or her right to free speech.

  As social networking has become more prevalent in middle and high schools around the country, school authorities have been seeking some sort of definitive ruling on whether or not they have the right to police students on the Internet. As Witold Walczak of the ACLU tells the Washington Post, “The law was unclear and now it’s in a state of chaos.” To make matters worse, a case of this nature hasn’t yet reached the Supreme Court, so lower courts are forced to use older high court rulings on the boundaries of school jurisdiction as their only legal compass.

  Continue reading Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages

  Judge Rules Students Can Be Suspended for Fake MySpace Pages originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 06 Feb 2010 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

  
   
• 

  Man Fired for Using School Network to Hunt Aliens

  JP 10:43 am on December 3, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: Arizona Republic, Berkeley (4), Brad Niesluchowski, high frequency radio, higley unified school district, nbsp (1,691), network (5), network systems administrator, Read (1,473), School

  Filed under: Computers

  Part of being a professional is knowing how to separate work and play. For example, if you’re a network systems administrator that’s interested in extraterrestrial life, you shouldn’t search for signs of it while on the clock. Unfortunately for Brad Niesluchowski, common sense is illusive.

  According to the Arizona Republic, Niesluchowski resigned from his position with the Higley Unified School District in October, after officials began investigating suspicious activity on the district’s computers. As it turns out, Niesluchowski downloaded a software program called ‘SETI@home’ to every computer in the district. The free program, which was developed at the University of California at Berkeley, is designed to search for alien life by monitoring high-frequency radio signals.

  Continue reading Man Fired for Using School Network to Hunt Aliens

  Man Fired for Using School Network to Hunt Aliens originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

  Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments