Archive for February, 2012
Posted by Marti Weston on February 26, 2012
The tenor of the political advertising in this election season is appalling, and it will get worse. Because no code of best practices exists when it comes to campaign advertising, the current presidential election cycle media will feature unending ads that stretch the truth or make up the facts outright and deliver them straight into the lives of kids. While it’s a fine opportunity to help citizens, young and old, strengthen their media literacy skills, television is over-exposing all of us to some unfortunate and distressing content.
Click to visit.
To Learn a lot more listen to recently broadcast Diane Rehm Show about the non-candidate SuperPACs that are spending enormous sums on political advertisements. Jane Mayer’s recent New Yorker article, Attack Dog, is another comprehensive article. Talking to children about what they are seeing on television is critical, especially during an election cycle.
In a February 26, 2012 piece published at the USA Today Teachers’ Lounge, media lit guru, Frank Baker pithily describes the situation. He writes:
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Posted in answers to media questions, digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, media literacy, parent child conversations, parents and technology, teaching digital kids | Tagged: 2012, advertising, campaign advertising, digital kids, digital media, digital parenting, election, Frank Baker, media literacy, medialit, political advertisements | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 24, 2012
I know a lot about technology. I’ve taught people from preschool to aging seniors. I write blogs, participate in social media sites, and love my e-mail. I know enough to keep my digital accounts out of danger, until now, that is …
On Thursday early evening, I came home, terribly tired — maybe too tired to work on technology tasks. With a cup of tea I sat down to look over my blogs and Twitter account where I discovered a funny message, from someone I know and respect. That Tweet reported on a not-so-nice Tweet about me, and I only needed to click on the link to check it out.
Now I have been teaching digital common sense and responsibility for nearly 20 years. I have made presentations to kids, parents, teachers, church members, seniors, and even newly arrived immigrants about taking care, not opening attachments, and not clicking on links. But in this case I did not even think about it. I clicked, and the naughty link did its work, sending out copies of the message to every one of my followers.
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Posted in digital learning, digital parenting, online safety, online security, parents and technology, scams and fraud | Tagged: common sense, digital security, hacks, online communities, spam, Twitter, viruses | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 23, 2012
If you use Twitter, watch out for a spam tweet — usually a direct message tweet that tells you about a “crazy personal message.” Do not click on the link that accompanies the message. If you do you may send out the hoax to your Twitter followers. If it goes on for too long before you do anything, it may also send out a message from your account. Oh, and the original message may come from someone you know, like, and trust. Mine did.
Because it’s a scam, do the following things.
- Change your Twitter password.
- Disconnect from all connected accounts such as Facebook, newspapers, Linked-in, etc. Wait a day or so to reconnect.
- Log out all devices.
- Restart all devices as needed.
You should be ok. However, keep an eye out on your Twitter account.
Posted in online security, privacy, Twitter hoax | Tagged: privacy, social networks, spam, tweets. hoax, Twitter | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 20, 2012
Extreme Job Interview Requirements
At a time when cyber-bullying is a nationwide problem and negative political campaign advertisements are saturating the airwaves, some compelling signs indicate that students who are not immersed in activities that emphasize respect, responsibility, and collaboration may be disadvantaged in job interviews.
According to Job Interviewing, to the Extreme, an article at LATimes.com, many employers are incorporating new and sometimes innovative techniques into job interviews. These include interviewing two candidates at once to see how they communicate with one another, asking interviewees to solve offbeat problems, and conducting some part of an interview on Twitter. The goal of these unconventional methods is to figure out how an employee might function under pressure and whether he or she might communicate awkwardly or not know how to be a team player.
Best Quote from the Article
…while some applicants reveal a creativity that might have been smothered in a more conventional interview process, others expose tics and weaknesses that might have remained hidden.
Posted in 21st century job hunting, collaboration, digital parenting, teaching digital kids | Tagged: collaboration, digital kids, Interview, jobs, LATimes.com, teamwork | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 17, 2012
Today the medium is a lot less about a message and more about the toys!
Just about everyone — parents, teachers, grandparents, youth leaders — should read the New York Times article, Hasbro, Intent on Expanding Its Toy Brands, Is Playing All the Angles.
The days of interesting television shows with good story plots are fast disappearing because many of today’s shows are a composite of toys and programming about those toys.
Concerned parents and other adults may want to consider additional limits on television and carefully evaluate whether the end result of a toy or game purchase is simply more television watching.
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Posted in American Academy of Pediatrics, digital parenting, marketing to kids, media literacy, parents and technology | Tagged: Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, digital kids, digital parenting, marketing to chidren, New York Time, television, toys and games | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 14, 2012
The next time people in your family use Google to look for personal health information, they may be contributing to scientific research.
Google search data is beginning to be used to learn more about the flu. In fact, it’s beginning to look like Google Flu Trends (GFT), which keeps track of searches that inquire about influenza symptoms, may be faster and more effective than the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) surveillance network when it comes to predicting where the flu will become most prevalent. To learn more read this Google Flu Trends FAQ.
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Posted in data collecting, online databases, online safety, parents and technology, searching | Tagged: CDC, digital parenting, Google, Google Flu Trends, health information, searching | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 12, 2012
I’ve just finished re-reading The Price of Privilege, a 2008 book by Madeline Levine. Last week at a professional development event at my school, I heard Dr. Levine speak, while taking nearly three pages of notes and recalling some of the parenting strategies my husband and I used when our daughter, now out of graduate school, was in middle and high school.
Almost every concern that Dr. Levine raised — perfectionism, discontent, and insecurity — is familiar after years of parenting and teaching. I especially like her descriptions of effective parenting. Most importantly, when I read her book four years ago and reread it again last week, I thought about sleep and how much of a priority it needs to be for parents and children.
After the lecture my husband and I thought back to our daughter’s middle and high school years, considering all of the things we did well or could have done better. In the process we remembered the emphasis our family placed on getting enough sleep and eliminating computer screens each evening — sometimes to our daughter’s chagrin. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in cell phones, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, gadgets and sleep, good books to read, parents and technology, risky behavior | Tagged: bedrooms, gadgets, Madeline Levine, parenting, Price of Privilege, sleep, strategies | 1 Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on February 8, 2012
Click to visit the Common Craft QR code tutorial.
The Common Craft website is filled with great tutorials on digital topics of all sorts. When I want to learn about something unfamiliar, Common Craft is one of the first places I look for clear — and simple — explanations. And parents and teachers today need lots of digital explanations as we all navigate 21st century learning landscape.
The tutorial on QR codes is great. I can’t embed the video here on the blog, because a user needs a subscription to do that, but I’ve made a small graphic of the tutorial. Click on it, visit the Common Craft site, and watch the tutorial.
And while you’re at it check out some of the other tutorials. Learn more about Common Craft membership .
Posted in Bookmark It!, digital learning, digital parenting, online learning, parents and technology, tutorials | Tagged: Common Craft, digital parenting, FAQs Help and Tutorials, QR Code, Tutorial | Leave a Comment »
