If you’re reading this, odds are you are not one of the 570,000 people in the U.S. infected with the DNS Malware Virus. Congratulations. Yet, while you can still surf around to your heart’s content, ISPs are working overtime to help those less fortunate users find their way back to the information superhighway.
This morning at 12:01 the FBI shut down its DNS servers, which were acting as the only path to the Internet for hundreds of thousands of computers. s reported by CNet, the whole problem goes back to an online criminal ring from 2007 that was tinkering with computers' settings and then directing users to rogue servers that the criminals had set up. These servers then re-directed users to malicious Web sites. Late last year, the FBI arrested the ring and seized the rogue servers. But since so many infected computers relied on the servers to reach the Internet, the agency opted not to shut them down and instead converted them to legitimate DNS machines. Due to the high cost associated with operating these servers, the FBI has decided to shut them down.
ISP are taking a proactive approach to the problem with Comcast has contacting users with infected computers, according to the Wall Street Journal. Verizon has lined up technicians who can help customers remove the virus and AT&T plans to redirect infected PCs to the correct Web sites.
People who are unable to get online should call their ISP to see if their computers are infected. CNET has also posted a how-to guide to help people detect whether their PCs are pointing to the DNSChanger network.
The following two part blog is an excerpt sample Facebook fictional writing caper lesson plan from the new book Social Media Writing Lesson Plans by Erik Bean and Emily Waszak, published by Westphalia Press, imprint of the Policy Studies Organization, Washington, D.C..
Creative writing takes on a new twist in this Facebook caper. Your class will collaborate on including character development and dialogue as well as uploading pictures of key settings coupled...

Looking for a way to challenge your gifted kids during the final days of school (and help other teachers stay sane)?
If so, I have an idea for you.
Let’s be honest. The last few weeks of any school year can be rough. After testing and more testing, 180 days or so of sitting in seats, and listening to teachers, students are ready to break for summer. Teachers find themselves in a similar mindset....

Do you write an end of the year letter to your students? If, so, please share.Here is the one I used with my 6th graders:
Dear students,
The end of the school year has passed so very quickly. It seems like we were just beginning to learn about the world in which we live AND a bit about each other, and now, it is time for me to say goodbye to you as you continue to...

Flag Day is coming, a day to honor the flag of the United States. This year, Flag Day is June...

Before class, one of my third-grade students came to me and showed me a picture of a dog that she had drawn. I noticed that it looked very much like every other dog picture that she had drawn.
Not wanting to discourage her creative spark, I gently told her that I liked it and that I noticed she had drawn the shape of the dog’s head in the very same manner in every...
When Quincy Jones was chosen to produce "We Are The World" in 1985, the idea was that it would be a collective effort of the music community donating its time and talents to make a difference for others in crisis. Who can forget the story about the world's biggest recording stars being told to "check your egos at the door" - this cause is so much bigger than your celebrity.
...
Recess-it is a precious commodity to elementary students.
Having it taken away can be a most painful experience. So when a group of gifted students faced losing it because their classmates were being noisy and uncooperative, they began to stress. I felt their pain, but I also saw something else-an opportunity to challenge them.
After they groaned...