Archive for November, 2011
Posted by Marti Weston on November 30, 2011
I’ve just read a November 28, 2011 Bloomberg article, iPad Crazed Toddlers Spur Holiday Sales. OK, the title is a bit overly dramatic, but it’s an interesting read, describing the demand for tablets of all kinds and kids’ motivation to use them.
Seriously, though, the tone of the article makes me worry a bit. As a confirmed techie, gadget lover, educational technology specialist, teacher, and parent, I know that children also need lots of outside play time and plenty of experiences working/playing with others. We don’t know what the jobs will be in 15 years when these kids are looking for employment, but we do know that their superior technology skills will matter little if they don’t have great people skills — understanding how to share, take turns, and work collaboratively.
The article reminds parents about the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations about no screen time (or very little of it) for children under two years of age. And please — this is a plea from me — avoid, as much as possible, using these digital devices as electronic pacifiers, the term used in the article by Victoria Nash of the Oxford Internet Institute (England).
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in American Academy of Pediatrics, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, parents and technology, tech free time | Tagged: American Academy of Pediatrics, digital devices, digital kids, digital parenting, Goodnight iPad, iPad | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 27, 2011
Made at Wordle.com.
Read You Make the Call on Kids’ Phones in the Sunday, November 27, 2011 Washington Post. Written by columnist Michelle Singletary and aimed at the parents of digital kids, the article examines the practice of giving children cell phones at younger and younger ages. The author believes that, in reality, cell phones are simply playful gadgets that easily confuse children about the difference between needing things and wanting things.
The paper edition of Singletary’s article also includes a nifty graphic depicting results from a parent survey conducted for Verizon. You can look at this and other images at SmartPhoneParenting.com.
Most Compelling Thoughts from the Article
Posted in cell phones, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, iPhones and iPads, parents and technology | Tagged: cell phone contract, cell phones, digital kids, digital parenting, gadgets, Michelle Singletary, mobile phone, parents, technology, Washington Post | 3 Comments »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 26, 2011
Check out this article about social media at Wikipedia.
If you wonder about the still-new world of social media, and are continually amazed when a few comments on a social media site affect prompt change (whether it’s a political movement, corporate policy, or an unsatisfied customer quieted down) this New York Times article, Redefining Public Relations in the Age of Social Media, provides helpful background. The article, by Stuart Elliott, describes the evolutionary and revolutionary changes in the digital public relations world.
A Few Interesting Thoughts from the Article
- Internet and social media like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter are transforming the relation between those of us in the general public and the people communicating with us. It’s no longer top down communication. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in digital parenting, parents and technology, social media, social media friends, social networking | Tagged: digital parenting, public relations, redefining public realtions, Social media, Stuart Elliott, Wikipedia | 3 Comments »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 22, 2011
If you are a parent helping an adolescent get started on the first hunt for a job or internship, or if you know someone who is searching for a job right now, Business Insider has just published an unusual infographic to help you understand that a resume may not always be the best — or at least not the only — job seeker’s tool.
This infographic offers an overview about the personal characteristics that employers cannot discover just by reading resumes. Any individual who seeks a position in this day and age needs to think about how to expand a resume and more clearly demonstrate these additional traits to potential employers. These include:
- People skills
- Grace under pressure
- Integrity
- Work ethic
- Charisma
- Ambition
- Leadership
- Positive attitude
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in 21st century job hunting, digital parenting, parents and technology | Tagged: Business Insider, digital parenting, employee traits, infographic, information braphics, job hunting, resume | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 17, 2011
The Pew Internet and American Life Project recently published new social media data, this time asking why American adults use social networks.
From my point of view, keeping in touch with people is a grand old American tradition, as traditional as apple pie. Over the years whether it’s over the backyard fence, via snail mail letter, postcard, telephone, or e-mail, Americans like to connect and communicate.
Interestingly, according to this new Pew data, adults become involved with social media — Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and others — because of the ease of keeping in touch. People use a social medium if it makes communicating with friends and family easy and fun.
Moreover, users like that social media now offers faster and faster ways to reconnect with the people from the past — something that was far more difficult in the “olden days.”
Posted in parents and technology, research on the web, social media, social media friends, social networking | Tagged: adults, Americans, communicating, Pew Internet, Social media, social networking | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 13, 2011
Do you sometimes wonder about the meaning of all those shortened words and acronyms that arrive in kids’ e-mails and text messages?
Check out the Texting Dictionary of Acronyms, published by C.G. Publishing in 2011. I purchased mine at a gift shop, but it’s available on the web. I’ve fun pulling it out of my purse or book bag when someone mentions one the the lesser known shortened words that often arrive in text messages of people under twenty-five years old.
And there’s even a family-friendly version.
Posted in digital parenting, parent education | Tagged: Dictionaries, digital kids, digital parenting, Text messaging, texting dictionary | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on November 4, 2011
If I had any doubt about the efficiency of the global economy, it was put to rest these past three days as I watched my new iPhone 4s traverse the world via Fed Ex, from Shenzhen, China to my front porch in northern Virginia, USA.
The iPhone began it’s journey on November 2nd, though allowing for time zones and the international date line, it was probably still November 1st where I live. Nevertheless, after it left China the package made intermediate stops in Hong Kong, Anchorage, Alaska, Memphis, Tennessee, and Dulles, VA, before being loaded onto the Fed Ex delivery truck in Alexandria, VA and arriving on my front porch in the early afternoon of November 4th. The package spent the most time standing still at the Fed Ex hub in Memphis, where packages accumulate all day and then fly out at night to destinations around the United States. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in electronic communication, family conversations, interesting research, online research, parents and technology | Tagged: Benedetto Pascale, family history, fed ex, global economy, IPhone, tracking | 1 Comment »
