Search Engine is a weekly podcast hosted by Jesse Brown of the CBC . It focuses on current issues surrounding technology and social media. A few weeks back this episode was aired which revealed some interesting findings from a US wide study on the online solicitation of minors. The finding are really interesting. I have edited the podcast down to just the segment dealing with internet safety to save you time. I recommend adding this program to your regular listening list. It is always quality.

Click on the link to play the clip: The State of Internet Safety

Some interesting quotes from the show.

“Kids do encounter frequent sexual harrassment, abuse and solicitation online but it is far more likely to come from other kids.”

“We could find no cases where solicitation of minors occurred on social media sites like Facebook and myspace”

“Law reinforcement is far more successful at luring predators than predators are at luring kids”

“Some at risk teens actively seek out attention online and engage in risky behavior in unmonitored chatrooms”

What do you think?

Are we starting to come out from under a veil of conventional wisdom that has led us to believe that the internet is full of predators and is unsafe?

If our students are the ones causing most of the problems where should we be directing our energy?

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

People often ask me for podcast suggestions. While I do add and delete feeds from my Itunes on a regular basis there are a few that have stood the test of time. Here are some of my favorites.

1. The Economist

Global news from around the world. Science, Business, Technology, Economics and more. This podcast is FULL of current information. If you or your school already receive the print addition of the Economist then you automatically have access to the full audio podcast download. Contact your librarian for details. Over eight hours of continuous news each week! All read in a comforting English accent I might add.

Weekly Selections: Link to Itunes

Full Version: http://www.economist.com/audioedition/

2. Search Engine

Search Engine with host Jesse Brown. A blog and podcast about the Internet and technology. Very current and entertaining. One of my faves and Jesse is Canadian!

Subscribe in iTunes …. Subscribe via RSS….. Blog Feed

3. TED Talks = ESSENTIAL!

Ideas worth spreading, a podcast worth listening/watching. 20 minute lectures on all sorts of great topics. I just watched a recent one on The Art of Baking Bread that blew me away. I have learned more from this podcast in the past few years than any other source. I also love that fact that it is also in video.

Itunes link

4) Big Ideas – Celebrating the art of the lecture.

“BIG IDEAS is a showcase of ideas that shape our public debates. At their best the lectures featured on the program expose us to the differing ways of defining what matters and how that affects our understanding of the world as it is and as it is likely to be,”. “Each age has a set of questions by which it defines itself. If, 50 years from now, someone came across a list of BIG IDEAS shows, they would have a pretty good idea of what people thought about and debated in the early 2000s.”

Links to the audio and video podcast

5) The Onion

Looking for some humor and levity in your day. The Onion has been a source of both for me for a while. A laugh a day is sometimes the best medicine to all ailments. If you have ever lived in Thailand or appreciate sports commentary you will love this bit, It is my absolute favorite.

Itunes link

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