Education Week recently reported on a study that looked at the prevalence of sexting among youth ages 10-17. That report cited two distinct studies that indicated a surprisingly small percentage of students were involved in sexting as they defined it. My point in highlighting their article isn't to weigh-in on the issue of sexting.  Rather, my objective is to stress how important it should be for schools to use REAL numbers and data when addressing some very tough issues. If you spend much time watching traditional news venues, you quickly observe the negative portrayal of technology use on children. I don't want to belittle serious issues such as cyber-bullying, sexting, and online predators, but I think it is important to genuinely address those issues using facts. Many parents and schools have made anti-technology decisions because of those fears. Unfortunately, their students suffer because they miss out on many of the affordances provided through technology. That approach could be compared to an overprotective parent who never lets their child leave their side. Schools need to instead address these very real and serious issues with numbers and reports which do exist and are available. Students should be taught about RESPONSIBLE use rather than simply blocking technology. Real issues around technology should be addressed and become part of the culture rather than a thirty minute lecture about digital citizenship. Schools also need to work to help their students create a POSITIVE digital footprint. As a school administrator, one of the first things I did with candidates who made the first cut was do an internet search of their name. It wasn't done with the purpose of finding negative things about candidates, but rather in an effort to find information about the great things candidates had done. If candidates aren't "googleable" in 2011, I wonder what in the heck have they been doing!

Nick Sauers

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