Put a plan in place, get senior managers on board and be ready to listen – how schools can successfully use social media

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A thought provoking article by Graham Brown-Martin - keynote speaker at upcoming digitallyconfidentconference.org

When viewed through the prism of "network capitalism" Facebook's recent acquisition of WhatsApp for $19bn looks like good value.

The consensus is that Facebook acquired the company because it was fearful of losing its grip on the youth market, who favoured mobile communications, to a system that apparently their parents didn't use. And, as a theory has it, with the world shifting to mobile internet it only makes sense for Facebook to demonstrate its chops in the mobile world. This might also account for why it acquired Instagram...

Read the full article here.

A bleak dystopian view of life in the future when we really have The Internet of Things.

'I wake up at four to some old-timey dubstep spewing from my pillows. The lights are flashing. My alarm clock is blasting Skrillex or Deadmau5 or something, I don't know. I never listened to dubstep, and in fact the entire genre is on my banned list. You see, my house has a virus again.'

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This departmental advice is for:

school leaders

school staff

governing bodies

local authorities

It applies to:

maintained schools

community schools

foundation schools

voluntary schools

community special schools

foundation special schools

academies and free schools

pupil referral units

non-maintained special schools

The advice covers:

powers to search without consent

prohibited items schools can search for

powers to confiscate items found during searches

Read the document here.

The Childnet STAR Toolkit (www.childnet.com/star) is a free online resource that offers practical advice and teaching activities to help secondary schools explore internet safety with young people with autism spectrum disorders.

The four sections SAFE, TRUST, ACTION and RESPECT all feature the concept of friendship and emphasise the importance of finding the balance between online and offline interaction. At the same time, the resource is continually promoting a positive, fun and safe experience for young people with ASD.

You can access the resource Here.

If you think your messages to your Facebook friends are private, think again. The social network announced that it has plans to look at your personal conversations as a way to make more profits from targeted advertising.

Read the article here.