21st Century life – Page 14 – Media! Tech! Parenting!

21st Century life, digital learning, digital life, digital parenting, parents and technology

5 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Parents’ & Kids’ Digital Literacy Skills

Posted on January 5, 2016March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

The New York Times recently published For the New Year, Let’s Resolve to Improve Our Tech Literacy, about the need for leaders, law enforcement officials and policymakers to increase their digital world literacy. The December 23, 2015 article, written by Farhad Manjoo, points out that many the big problems that occur in our world become even more complicated because the leaders and law enforcement personnel do not have a big-picture understanding of the vast changes technology brings to today’s world. Greater understanding might strengthen our leaders’ problem-solving skills.

This article looks at the importance of digital literacy on a large-scale.

Tech Literacy

As I finished reading, I began thinking about resolutions on a smaller scale — those steps that adults and children can take in 2016 to improve a family’s tech literacy and perhaps prevent at least some of the potential connected-world problems. It’s a fast-paced, always-changing 21st Century world and everyone has a lot to learn. Many of the issues that do occur are made worse because kids and parents do not have enough knowledge to anticipate what might go wrong and take steps to steer clear of problems.

Below are five digital literacy resolutions that parents can make, and all of them can help people — both adults and children — become more sensible and savvy connected world citizens. Continue reading “5 New Year’s Resolutions to Improve Parents’ & Kids’ Digital Literacy Skills” →

21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, digital devices and gadgets, digital life, digital parenting, kids' advice for parents, media and family life, parents and technology, screen time

What to Do About Screen Time – A Diane Rehm Show Discussion

Posted on December 31, 2015March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

Click to check out the report’s infographic.. — Click to check out the Common Sense Media research report’s infographic.

This past week I listened to New Research On Teens, Toddlers and Mobile Devices, an engaging radio program about digital parenting on The Diane Rehm Show (NPR). In early November 2015 Rehm featured four expert guests who thoughtfully examined the digital parenting issues that adults should consider when it comes to digital media and children. It was rebroadcast in December 2015.

The program appeared to be timed to highlight a recently released report, The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens (2015). Educators and parents will learn a lot by listening to this broadcast or reading the transcript and by checking out the program’s resource links.

A new year—with new devices and new considerations about rules and limitation—is a good time to listen to experts who can help adults think more carefully about how to define screen time and discuss the research (and the need for much more). This program can help adults guide children whose 21st Century lives are increasingly defined by digital activities. Continue reading “What to Do About Screen Time – A Diane Rehm Show Discussion” →

21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, acceptable use, collaborating with kids, digital devices, digital kids, digital wellness, distracted driving, family conversations, gadgets and sleep, media and family life, modeling for kids, monitoring kids online, parents and technology

After Buying a Device & Before Giving It to Kids: What to Do

Posted on December 9, 2015March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

Every 21st Century parent needs a holiday digital parenting checklist that describes the tasks to accomplish between purchasing a new digital device and watching a child gleefully unwrap it. A list gives parents a head start, helping them understand challenges, set explanations and guidelines, anticipate problems, and most importantly, set the stage for responsible and respectful use of extraordinarily powerful devices.

Many parents I speak with point out how little time they have to go through this sort of checklist — but the time spent now is nothing compared the time drain that occurs after your child experiences a connected world problem. It’s worth your time to consider the checklist now.

The MediaTechParenting 2015
Digital Parents’ Holiday and Beyond Checklist
Continue reading “After Buying a Device & Before Giving It to Kids: What to Do” →

21st Century life, digital life, family life, Gratitude, parents and technology

Digital Opportunities That Make Life Better — Thanksgiving 2015

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Marti Weston

Thanksgiving Gratitude It’s Thanksgiving 2015 and time for my annual list celebrating what’s good about our digital world.

As a parent, teacher, and 21st Century learning advocate with a digital parenting focus, I spend lots of time suggesting ways that families, educators, and children, can strategize, enrich, and improve their digitally connected lives. And, of course, I am always encouraging people — kids and parents — to learn and understand enough about digital life to avoid potential problems.

This year I am especially grateful for a young new family member and for the digital tools that allow me to continually stay in touch. The ability to see, chat, laugh, watch reactions, and almost touch family members who live at a distance enriches life in countless ways.

My 2015 Thanksgiving List

I am thankful that digital life allows me to: Continue reading “Digital Opportunities That Make Life Better — Thanksgiving 2015” →

21st Century life, digital devices, digital learning, parents and technology

My New KarmaGo — It’s Here So Watch for My Reports #1

Posted on November 12, 2015November 12, 2015 by Marti Weston

I’ve been waiting and waiting. I realized that the KarmaGo was a new device, but I had no idea how popular it would be or how long I’d have to wait for it (like nearly two months). So about two weeks ago I wrote to ask EXACTLY WHEN I might expect it. And the customer service folks got right back to me, explaining that more people had ordered than expected, and that I should have it in hand within two weeks. Also they offered me another gigabyte of memory to use with this mini (and cute) wifi router.

FullSizeRender — The KarmaGo comes with a handy felt storage pocket. It won’t turn on unless I turn it on.

It’s been two weeks and now I have it in my hand, so check out the photo of my new KarmaGo and the handy little felt bag to use when I carry it around in my purse. The felt container ensures that I don’t turn it on by accident. What a nifty little 21st Century gadget!

For those of your who don’t know, the KarmaGo is a mini router with portable wifi that I’ll carry around. I can turn it on whenever I need wifi and keep if off when I’m not using it. I buy the wifi access that I require. as I need it and I’ll be learning a lot in the next few days!

Continue reading “My New KarmaGo — It’s Here So Watch for My Reports #1” →

21st Century life, commenting, digital learning, family conversations, media and family life, media messages, modeling for kids, parents and technology, teachers

StoryCorps’ Great Thanksgiving Listen – Check It Out!

Posted on October 28, 2015March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

Every Thanksgiving I write a post on each of my blogs listing the digital opportunities in my life for which I am thankful. In this age of constant worry about the various problems and challenges that technology presents for growing children, I like to remind myself that the connected world has given me and young people much to enrich our lives.

This Thanksgiving one more item will definitely be added to my list. StoryCorps, the storytelling feature that we listen to on National Public Radio (NPR), is featuring The 2015 Great Thanksgiving Listen. The goal is to:

… work with teachers and high school students across the country to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend.

Listen to a National Public Radio report about the Thanksgiving StoryCorps event.

Continue reading “StoryCorps’ Great Thanksgiving Listen – Check It Out!” →

21st Century Learning, 21st Century life, digital citizenship, digital devices and gadgets, family conversations, kids changing lives, parents and technology

Digital Literacy 101 for Kids, PreK -Grade 6: A Checklist

Posted on October 22, 2015March 17, 2019 by Marti Weston

In his book Net Smart, Howard Rheingold writes that for any of us to become knowledgeable connected world users and citizens, each of us needs to develop and continually strengthen five areas of digital literacy. People who use the web wisely and with good results develop fundamental skill in five literacy areas — attention, participation, collaboration, network awareness, and critical consumption of content.

New Smart – Read Rheingold’s Educause book excerpt.

As the lives of children, online and off, grow more complex by the day, we adults spend a good deal of our time helping them learn more about the lives they will live in a 21st Century world. We are accomplished at mentoring children in the parts of their lives that are offline, but often teachers and parents simply react to digital life problems rather than build fundamental digital literacy skills that will help children avoid problems. For kids to really be prepared to develop the five literacies that Rheingold describes, they need to build up a foundation of knowledge about the connected world environment.

How is it that children, pre-adolescents, and teens can understand how to use digital devices, consume digital culture at an early age, and even figure out digital device problems for their parents, but have only the barest knowledge about how to relate thoughtfully to people online, take complete advantage of digital resources, and solve problems rather than create them? The reason? We adults have so often put the cart before the horse. We give children their own personal devices or let them borrow ours — gadgets connect in various ways to the entire world, albeit different ones at different ages — and only gradually go about teaching the fundamental literacy aspects later on and especially when something goes wrong. Continue reading “Digital Literacy 101 for Kids, PreK -Grade 6: A Checklist” →