Posted by Marti Weston on May 18, 2012
Check out 10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety over at the Common Sense Media website. Actually it looks like there are eleven items for parents to review at the page.
As always, Common Sense Media hits the nail on the head with clear, well written, and to-the-point parenting information. I’ve inserted a list of the questions.
Pay special attention to the two questions that I’ve listed below:
Posted in acceptable use, digital citizenship, digital parenting, online safety, parents and technology | Tagged: Common Sense Media, digital citizenship, digital kids, digital parenting, digital safety, digital security | Leave a 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.
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 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.
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 July 23, 2011
Think seriously about securing the cell phones in your family. Over at NetFamilyNews Ann Collier has written a clear explanation of hacking and spoofing (and some links, too).
If you find you are glued to the news from Great Britain’s News Corp scandal, but still a bit fuzzy about how to implement better security on your own mobile phones, please read Collier’s post.
Posted in cell phones, digital parenting, online safety, online security | Tagged: cell phone, cell phones, digital parenting, mobile phones, moblie phones, NewFamilyNews.org, parents and technology | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on June 12, 2011
I recommend this documentary for a summer family movie night.
Are you thinking about digital citizenship and safety conversations? Do you want to learn more about Wikipedia? Summer is a great time for these talks. Here’s why.
School’s out and many children fill at least part of their summer days with World Wide Web activities on fast internet connections. Camps and daycamps feature computer labs and lots of specialized digital programs. On the go we increasingly carry more gadgets — mobile phones, smartphones, iTouches, Blackberries, and iPads. In fact, even on vacations and at hotels, cottages, and many of those rustic country cabins we all hope to escape to, we stay connected. After years of teaching I’ve found that my students’ digital skills usually expand during the three-month summer hiatus from school.
Adults can learn more, too. Ask your children to help you expand your own skills. Maybe you want to download videos or save podcasts to your smartphone. Perhaps you can start a family blog, really learn how to use your digital camera, or ask your child can show you how to make special ringtones from your favorite music. If you don’t know how to text, summer is a great time to learn. Read 7 Constructive Digital Suggestions from Kids to Parents.
Posted in digital parenting, family conversations, online safety, online security, parents and technology, teens and technology | Tagged: children, digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, summer vacation, technology, teens, Truth in Numbers | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on May 30, 2011
Made with Wordle!
Day after day frightening stories bombard us with warnings about what might happen to children and teens when they use the Internet and World Wide Web, so it’s useful to remind ourselves that these digital resources can provide our children with unparalleled opportunities to learn, socialize, and become active citizens. An article, Our Overblown Paranoia About the Internet and Teens, recently published in the online publication, Salon, provides just such a reminder.
Pediatrician Rahul Parikh, who practices in the San Francisco Bay area, points out that, despite all of our anxiety about teens and Internet risks, no statistics really exist to offer a full picture of the incidence of exposure to risk. Those few that do are often biased because of a common problem for research, posing questions to get the desired answer. Situations that do occur are often covered by a hysterical media, making us feel like a problem happens over and over, just around the corner. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in cyber-bullying, digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, online safety, parent child conversations, parent education, parents and technology, teens and technology | Tagged: adolescence, children, digital citizenship, digital parenting, exposure to risk, Internet, pediatricians, risks, teens, World Wide Web | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on May 20, 2011
Visit OnGuard Online
Are you searching for reliable tutorials to help you learn more about managing digital-age parenting topics? Check out the short book Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online. Simple, straightforward, and easy to read, this publication covers most of the relevant digital topics, and its comprehensive table of contents is a ready-to-use outline that can help to guide virtual world family conversations. Net Cetera, published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is available as a PDF download or as a printed booklet. Moreover, the booklet can be ordered in quantity for a PTA, book club, church activity or other parent group.
The FTC website, OnGuard Online, which features Net Cetera, is also a repository of information that can help parents to address concerns with their digital children. Each subject is covered with three sections, starting with a review of the “Quick Facts.” A more detailed explanation follows with a section of links that connect to additional online resources.
Visit OnGuard Online
The OnGuard Online site also included videos, PowerPoint presentations, games, and a host of games that are designed a bit like quizzes. Users can also sign up for a daily cyber tip e-mail.
This site, and especially the Net Cetera booklet, is useful for everyone in a family, including grandparents or other seniors. The type can be adjusted so that it is larger, and many of the topics covered provide information that is critical for aging family members to understand, and perhaps grandchildren can help do some of the teaching.
Posted in Bookmark It!, digital citizenship, digital parenting, online safety, online security, parents and technology, resources to read | Tagged: digital life, digital parenting, Federal Trade Commission, FTC, Net Cetera, OnGuard Online | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Marti Weston on March 27, 2011
I saw this article, Want to Know What Your Cell Phone Can Do? Ask a Teenager, published in a Patch.com Reston,Virginia edition. It’s a wonderful story and presents an idea — students and seniors working together — that any family, school, or church group can easily replicate.
The article describes how middle and high school students, from the Reston, Virginia area, volunteered to be cell phone tutors with seniors, helping them learn how to use mobile phone features such as texting and checking voice mail. While many of the senior participants attending Cell Phone 101 had purchased phones for safety reasons, most were not able to use other phone capabilities. The student mobile phone mentors demonstrated how seniors could use their phone more effectively, and voicemail tutorials appeared to be especially popular. Students also explained how some of the phone capabilities cost extra money to use.
Posted in digital parenting, online safety, parents and technology, service-learning, technology support, teens and mentoring | Tagged: cell phones, community service, digital citizenship, mobile phones, Patch Media, seniors, teens | 4 Comments »
Posted by Marti Weston on December 9, 2010
If you think about using some type of product to monitor your child’s online activities and safety, the Mashable blog has just published information about four digital tools that may help you understand more about these types of products. Notice I use the word “may” because on the web nothing is for sure. The services, all with monthly payments, alert parents when something questionable is discovered, so they do more than simply monitor a home network.
The blog posting, written by Sarah Kessler and originally published by MyLife Scoop blog, refers to a Yahoo family survey finding that more than 70% of parents take at least some action to manage/monitor/limit their children’s online activities and presence. Check out what Kessler has to say about these four monthly subscription services.
Posted in cell phones, digital citizenship, online safety, online security, parents and technology, privacy | Tagged: acceptable use, cell phones, Internet, photos, safety, security, texting, web | 1 Comment »
