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Hordes of children across the country are heading back to classrooms, and experts say social networking and smartphones are radically changing the whole back-to-school experience.

"It's almost like multimedia friendship," said Ester Cole, psychologist and former chair of the Psychology Foundation of Canada. "It means children have a magnified exposure to information."

Cole says social media has become an intrinsic part of schooling. Today's students have more avenues to explore than any other generation before them and in some ways they'll be better off, she says.

But there's also a negative side to the gadgets they're carrying and the networks they're building at a young age.

Children get bombarded by photos and images all summer, Cole says, which can become a point of conversation and help them make new friends come the start of a new school year.

"It's a way kids can get their timelines straight and help them feel connected," she said.

While some might be quick to denounce kids carrying smartphones and using social media, Nora Spinks, chief executive officer at the Vanier Institute of the Family, says there are some practical bonuses.

"It's an easier way to stay connected to your friends and avoid negative situations," Spinks said.

A few years ago, young girls might have called each other first thing in the morning to pick out a wardrobe for their first day back. Now, much of that can be done much more efficiently through text messages, Spinks says.

If there's a bully waiting on a street corner, kids can text each other to avoid that situation, too.

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How social media is changing the face of back to school

By WEEK Producer

Social networking site users rank sites as important in election season

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In November, voters will determine the next president of the United States. But for now, some Americans believe social networking sites have great importanceduring thecampaigning process.

According to a survey by Pew Research, 36 percent of social media users say the sites are "very important" or "somewhat important" to them in keeping up with political news.

Around 26 percent of users believe social media websites are "very important"and "somewhat important" to them in recruiting people to get involved in political issues that matter to them.

A quarter of those surveyed say they use social media for debating or discussing political issues with others.

The report found that democrats who use social networking sites are more likely than republicans or independents to say the sites are important.

To read the full report, visit http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Politics-on-SNS.aspx.

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Social networking site users rank sites as important in election season

WASHINGTON - Social networking sites play a modest role in influencing most U.S. users' political views, with the biggest impact among Democrats, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The poll by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project comes as Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are using Facebook pages and other social media as campaign tools ahead of the November election.

"For most of those who use the sites, political material is just a small portion of what they post and what they read. And the impact of their use of the sites is modest, at best," Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project, said in a statement.

Thirty-six percent of social networking site users say they are "very important" or "somewhat important" to them in keeping up with political news, the survey showed.

The sites are "very important" or "somewhat important" to 26 percent of site users in recruiting people to get involved in political issues that matter to them.

A quarter of the site users say they are "very important" or "somewhat important" for discussing or debating political issues, the poll showed.

Twenty-five percent of users say the sites are "very important" or "somewhat important" in finding other people who share their views about important political issues.

In each case, Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independents

A third of Democrats and liberals who use social networking sites say their activities on the sites have led them to become more active, compared with 24 percent of site-using Republicans and independents.

The survey found that 84 percent of site users say they have posted little or nothing related to politics in their recent status updates, comments and links.

Continued here:
Pew survey: U.S. social networking sites have modest political impact

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 4, 2012) - Sangoma Technologies Corporation (STC.V) - Around the world, social networking has become integral to the way many people communicate. While the benefits of these resources are apparent to most people, gaining access is an entirely different matter altogether-particular for people with disabilities such as visual impairments. Globally, some 39 million blind people face significant challenges in just using computers, to say nothing for engaging in social networking. It was an issue that Proximus, a Chilean-based communications provider, sought to address.

After completing a highly successful pilot, Proximus engaged PaloSanto Solutions of Ecuador to develop a cost-effective, robust, and scalable platform capable of serving 4,000 users. As a fundamental part of the design, Proximus selected the Elastix open source-based telephony platform. PaloSanto Solutions quickly designed and built a robust server-based solution, operating with Elastix software and using digital telephony interface boards from Sangoma, to provide connectivity from the Proximus system to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

"Sangoma proved to be a highly reliable choice," said Paul Estrella, head of product development at PaloSanto. "As we worked closely with Proximus to design the final solution that would meet the performance requirements for the platform, we knew form the start that Sangoma boards were the best option for IP-to-TDM and PSTN integration."

The inherent quality of the Sangoma hardware combined with the award-winning Elastix platform continues to contribute to the extremely reliable operation of a platform that has had virtually no downtime yet continues to process nearly 2 million voice minutes per month.

"The voice hardware actually became the easiest part of this project" noted Estrella. "This, in turn, allowed our team to concentrate their efforts on other parts of the development to create the features and applications that dramatically expand the value of the system."

A recent case study, "Social Networking Made Possible for the Sight-Impaired", provides a detailed analysis of this implementation, and is available for download from Sangoma.

Sangoma's industry-leading solution portfolio enables the interworking of a wide variety of disparate TDM and IP networks, clouds, protocols, services, devices, and applications. Its portfolio includes award-winning voice and data boards, transcoding and gateway software, and standalone gateway appliances, designed for simple integration with open source and closed source IP PBX applications, contact centers, unified communications systems and service provider networks. For more information about the Sangoma portfolio of IP telephony and network integration solutions, or to locate an authorized reseller, visit http://www.sangoma.com.

About Sangoma Technologies Corporation

Sangoma is a leading provider of hardware and software components that enable or enhance IP Communications Systems for both telecom and datacom applications. Enterprises, SMBs and Carriers in over 150 countries rely on Sangoma's technology as part of their mission critical infrastructures. Through its worldwide network of Distribution Partners, Sangoma delivers the industry's best engineered, highest quality products, some of which carry the industry's first lifetime warranty. The product line includes data and telecom boards for media and signal processing, as well as gateway appliances and software.

Founded in 1984, Sangoma Technologies Corporation is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (STC.V). Additional information on Sangoma can be found at http://www.sangoma.com.

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Sangoma Boards Enable Social Networking for the Sight-Impaired

Updated: September 4, 2012, 2:27 PM ET

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie said on Twitter on Tuesday that he's no longer with the Baltimore Ravens but later told NFL.com in a text that there still might be a chance he stays with the team.

He wrote: "Decision is made! I'm gone!" And when asked by the Baltimore Sun whether he was no longer on the team, he replied in a text message "yes," the newspaper reported.

However, he later told NFL.com in a text, "Not officially over yet just got a call." That followed a text to the website in which McKinnie said he was being released because "we couldn't come to an agreement on the restructure of my contract."

The Ravens haven't made an official announcement of any move regarding the offensive tackle.

The Ravens had been asking the 32-year-old McKinnie to take a pay cut from his $3.2 million base salary this season.

If McKinnie is released, Michael Oher would move to left tackle and rookie Kelechi Osemele would likely start at right tackle.

The 6-foot-8, 354-pound McKinnie had an average 2011 season and told team officials in March that he would get in better shape this year. A rocky offseason continued when the team kept him off the practice field for mandatory minicamp in June so he could focus on conditioning.

The Ravens picked up his $500,000 roster bonus in March after a face-to-face meeting in which he agreed to get in better shape.

McKinnie starred with Minnesota from 2002-2010 before the Vikings gave up on their former No. 1 draft pick last summer. McKinnie joined the Ravens on Aug. 24 of last year and started every game at left tackle -- considered by many to be the most important position on the offensive line.

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McKinnie tweets of cut; no word from Ravens