In an Huffington Post article, Suren Ramasubbu, CEO of Mobicip.com interviews an high school student Travis Allen. Here is an excerpt: 

 At Mobicip.com, we work with schools deploying iPod Touch-based 1:1 learning programs for their students. That is how I heard about a high-school student campaigning for the use of technology in education. I believe his voice should be heard, and this interview is my contribution towards that end.

For the benefit of people who are not aware, what is iSchool Initiative?

iSchool Initiative is a student-led non-profit organization dedicated to bringing technology to the classroom. We have three objectives - raising awareness for the technological needs of the classroom, providing collaborative research on the use of technology in the classroom, and guiding schools in the implementation of this technology.

Can you describe that "aha" moment when you came up with this concept?

After receiving an iPhone for Christmas in 2008 I began exploring the use of applications, and particularly how I could use them to help with my school work. I was amazed at all the many wonderful things I was discovering. One day, I was using my iPhone in class when something hit me. What if everyone in my class had one of these? What possibilities would there be then? In my excitement and desire to share my discovery with everyone, I made a YouTube video to share what I had found. I called it the iSchool Initiative. From that point on, I expanded the concept, did my research, and found out that this idea was catching on. Thus the iSchool Initiative was formed.

You can read the full article at  http://huff.to/ao4OTa

Mobicip CEO, Suren Ramasubbu, in his article published in Huffington Post, talks about Apple's decision to police the App store, how ipod touches are adopted by schools as learning devices in K-12 education and Mobicip's key role in being an integral part of mobile learning.

Here's an excerpt:

"Apple's App Store is a runaway hit. At the same time, Apple has been labeled, for its mercurial and opaque App Store approval process, as "a joke", "inconsistent hypocrite", and "notorious for doing things on a whim without an explanation". The issue really hit developers when over 5000 apps with questionable and suggestive content were unceremoniously removed one fine day. Steve Jobs recently declared with characteristic flamboyance: "We do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy and [sic] Android phone!"

To read the complete article, go to http://huff.to/asw5ke

Thousand Oaks, CA, March 18, 2010 (PressReleasePoint) -- Mobicip.com, the leading internet safety and parental control service for mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, today announced the official launch of its service in Europe, giving parents a valuable tool to protect their kids online.

Mobicip’s Safe Browser app is one of the most popular apps in the iPhone app store. Preferred by both parents and educators, the app provides an alternate browser that is used to replace the Safari Mobile browser. Built on the same WebKit platform that Safari Mobile is based on, the browser clone provides the same multi-touch browsing experience, albeit keeping users safe from inappropriate content through powerful cloud-based dynamic filtering. Premium subscription to the Mobicip’s parental control service allows parents to configure filters and monitor Internet activity remotely.

Mobicip’s dynamic content filtering app and service have been popular among parents and schools in the US and has been adopted steadily by parents in the UK and other countries in Western Europe. In response to popular demand from these users, Mobicip.com has setup cloud servers in Europe to ensure that users in Europe experience the same zippy performance that US-based parents and educators enjoy.

"Mobicip.com has been leading the way in providing a safe, secure and educational surfing for kids and teens on mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch" says Suren Ramasubbu, Founder and CEO of Mobicip.com. "Our focus on providing a quality user experience so youth are not restricted from being mobile with mobile devices, but parents and educators rest assured they can surf with smart filtering. Our customer service has been appreciated by parents and schools alike. The biggest reward has been the word-of-mouth referrals by parents and educators that has enabled us to grow virally across the globe!”
The Safe Browser app is available on the iPhone App Store, and the service is available at www.mobicip.com. The full press release is available at www.mobicip.com/press.

About Mobicip Web Filtering and Dynamic Parental Control Software
Mobicip is the most powerful internet filtering and parental control software designed specifically to work with mobile devices. Parents and Educators use Mobicip’s custom web filtering so kids and teens can use the Internet safely, securely and specific to their age, interests and parent/educator requirements. The Safe Browser iPhone app is the most popular parental control app on the iPhone App store. Learn more about Mobicip atwww.mobicip.com.

Dynamic Internet Filtering Service Enables a Pioneering School District in Texas to Roll Out iPod Touch Devices to Every High School Student in the District, Putting Parents and Educators at Ease

Mobicip.com, the leading internet safety and parental control service for mobile devices like the iPhone and iPod Touch, partnered with Jim Ned Consolidated Independent School District in Tuscola, TX so they could safely send iPod Touch devices home with every high school student in the district.

Jim Ned CISD launched a 1:1 program where every High School student was given a school-provisioned iPod Touch. The unique program not only allows the students to use the iPod Touch in school, but allows the device to be taken home so that the students can learn anytime anywhere. The school district allows students to explore and experience the Internet, App Store, music, videos and podcasts, with safe school-generated and approved content so teens can learn and use technology they relate to.

Most schools do not allow iPods out of the schools due to fear of teens surfing the web without supervision. Mobicip’s internet safety and parental control service allows educators to embrace new technology while letting teens embrace new-rules learning, on safe, secure terms. "Children today are growing up in an era where they are exposed to technology and content that can transform their learning experience, and it is our responsibility to allow them to do so safely," says Dr. Brant Myers, Superintendent of Jim Ned CISD. “You wouldn’t give a hammer to someone and tell her that you can use it for anything except drive a nail in the wall. We feel the same way about the iPods and learning. Mobicip allows us to unleash the web on these devices, address parental control wishes and let our students learn in and out of school, both on their terms and parent/educator’s terms.”

After a careful review of all available online security options, the school board and administration selected Mobicip's Safe Browser app and web-based monitoring service due to the high quality of the app and Internet filter. Mobicip’s service ensures CIPA-compliance, supports the school’s acceptable use policy, and makes the program eligible for eRate funding.

"Mobicip.com is proud to be a part of pioneering educational programs using the iPod Touch and netbooks around the country. Personalized learning and mobility fundamentally transform how children learn and we are proud to play a significant role in the process," says Suren Ramasubbu, Founder and CEO of Mobicip.com. "Mobicip's service is being used by thousands of parents around the world, and the fact that it is being adopted by schools is a testament to its capabilities."

The Safe Browser app is available on the iPhone App Store, and the service is available at www.mobicip.com. The full press release is available at www.mobicip.com/press.

About Mobicip Web Filtering and Dynamic Parental Control Software

Mobicip is the most powerful internet filtering and parental control software designed specifically to work with mobile devices. Parents and Educators use Mobicip’s custom web filtering so kids and teens can use the Internet safely, securely and specific to their age, interests and parent/educator requirements. The Safe Browser iPhone app is the most popular parental control app on the iPhone App store. Learn more about Mobicip at www.mobicip.com.

Mobicip.com
Lorrie Thomas, 805-380-5687
pr@mobicip.com

Britain is to make online safety lessons for children over 5 compulsory under a new scheme which aims to echo road safety campaigns of the past. The lessons are part of a "Click Clever Click Safe" strategy which will produce guidelines for government, industry and charities on how to protect children using the web.

"The internet provides our children with a world of entertainment, opportunity and knowledge -- a world literally at their fingertips," said Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "But we must ensure that the virtual world is as safe for them as this one. We hope that "zip it, block it, flag it' will become as familiar to this generation as "stop, look, listen' did to the last."

The government says that 99 per cent of British children aged 8 to 17 now have access to the internet. However research has shown that 18 per cent of young people had come across "harmful or inappropriate" content online, and 33 per cent of children said their parents were unaware of their web activities. The new plans, drawn up by the UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS) which is made up of over 140 organizations, including Google, Microsoft, and Bebo, would make online safety lessons compulsory for those over 5 from September 2011.

Brown said the aim was to make advice as well-known as the "green cross code" which was designed in the 1970s to give children information about road safety.

The Federal Trade Commisison (FTC) has published a report that analyzes how easily minors can access explicit content in virtual worlds, and the measures virtual world operators take to prevent minors from viewing it. According to the findings, although little explicit content appeared in child-oriented virtual worlds, a moderate to heavy amount appeared in virtual worlds that are designed for teens and adults.

Virtual worlds are popular with children and adults because they blend 3-D environments with online social networking, allowing users to interact in and shape their own online content. Some virtual worlds designed for teens and adults allow – or even encourage – younger children to get around the worlds’ minimum age requirements.The FTC surveyed 27 online virtual worlds – including those specifically intended for young children, worlds that appealed to teens, and worlds intended only for adults. The FTC found at least one instance of either sexually or violently explicit content in 19 of the 27 worlds. The FTC observed a heavy amount of explicit content in five of the virtual worlds studied, a moderate amount in four worlds, and only a low amount in the remaining 10 worlds in which explicit content was found. The Commission makes five recommendations to virtual world operators to reduce the risk of youth exposure to explicit content:

• Use more effective age-screening mechanisms to prevent children from registering in adult virtual worlds;
• Use or enhance age-segregation techniques to make sure that people interact only with others in their age group;
• Re-examine language filters to ensure that they detect and eliminate messages that violate rules of behavior in virtual worlds;
• Provide more guidance to community enforcers in virtual worlds so they are better able to review and rate virtual world content, report potential underage users, and report any users who appear to be violating rules of behavior; and
• Employ a staff of specially trained moderators who are equipped to take swift action against rule violations

Meanwhile, parents can protect their kids and teens by using filtering tools like Mobicip Premium which allows them to block or unblock a virtual world based on their wise judgement on the age-appropriateness of the content in a virtual world.

Facebook has issued a press release on creating its online safety board.

Below is the article published in ABC News:

Social networking site Facebook on Monday said it is creating a global safety advisory board to protect its users against online predators such as sex offenders.

The board will comprise representatives from five Internet safety groups: Common Sense Media, ConnectSafely, WiredSafety, Childnet International and The Family Online Safety Institute.

Facebook said the formation of the board formalizes relationships it has had with the groups. It also may expand the board to include more international representatives.

In early 2008, Facebook signed an agreement with attorneys general in 49 states to help protect children against online predators.

Last week, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said more than 3,500 offenders registered in New York have been kicked off Facebook and MySpace in recent months.

Over the last two years, 25 states have passed new laws requiring sex crime convicts to register their e-mail addresses and their dwellings.