digital parenting – Page 14 – Media! Tech! Parenting!

digital footprints, digital parenting, marketing to kids, media literacy, parents and technology, privacy, teaching digital kids

Can We Stop Confusing Kids’ Privacy with Transparency?

Posted on May 13, 2012March 19, 2019 by Marti Weston

Our digital society hasn’t figured out what to do about privacy. More importantly, it hasn’t figured what to do about the privacy of our kids — we keep confusing privacy with transparency.

It’s problematic enough that adults are diving willy-nilly into the digital world, sharing everything about themselves, private and not so private, but it’s even worse to observe a world where everything a child does and almost every mistake he or she makes is now public. These days we are giving children and adolescents no cover and no protection as they blithely explore the digital world while making what in any other era would be common and developmentally appropriate errors.

Lest I sound like a digital Luddite, I’m not. I love participating in the activities of my digital world, actively but moderately, and I have an arsenal of digital gadgets in my purse, book bag, and lying around my house. As an educator, however, I am keenly aware of how much we are forgetting to nurture and honor kids’ developmental stages as they grow up in this digitally dense world. Part of solving that problem involves ensuring that children have a guaranteed amount of privacy.

Continue reading “Can We Stop Confusing Kids’ Privacy with Transparency?” →

apps, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, parents and technology, privacy

Lots More People are Using Smartphone Location Services

Posted on May 11, 2012March 19, 2019 by Marti Weston

Pew location services — Source: Pew Internet and American Life Project

The Pew Internet & American Life Project has just published new survey results finding that 74% of smartphone owners — that’s three-quarters — appear to be using location services on their phones.

This statistic is double what it was when Pew conducted a similar survey in May 2011. The increase in location services occurs despite privacy concerns about tracking and data collection. Check out the report to look at the data by age, gender, and ethnic group, depicted in a range of charts and graphs.

I am still minimizing or turning off the number of location services that I use on my phone. While some of us use more location services than others on our smartphones, it’s critical for parents to know how location services work and how to limit access on the phones that their children around each day. Many apps ask to turn on location services during the installation process.

Do you know about Foursquare ? If it’s on an adolescent’s cell phone a parent needs to learn about it. Find out more about location services by reading a post that I wrote about location services, Location, Location, Location – Services that Is.

Each adult needs to figure out how much privacy is necessary or desired in his or her digital life and also in the digital lives of children. People seeking one right answer won’t find it, however, it’s best to take the time to understand the devices that family members carry and apps that they use.

commenting, conversations on commenting, digital citizenship, digital parenting, electronic communication, parents and technology

The Public Forum, Facebook, and Democracy

Posted on May 6, 2012March 19, 2019 by Marti Weston

Visit the U.S. Capitol — a symbol of our democracy.

Read Social Media — The Public Space on Steroids, a May 4, 2012 opinion piece in the Seattle Times.

Today, as everyone is talking about the public stock offering and it’s worth, writer Taso Legos examines the value of Facebook as a societal public space that enables people to share ideas and speak up. Without a doubt, face-to-face communication is occurring less and less in coffee houses and community centers, but we are all aware of that aspect of our 21st Century virtual world communication bargain.

I wonder, though, about what is the best balance between face-to-face and electronic communication — the best to ensure a vibrant democratic process. It’s up to parents and teachers of digital kids to help identify the right balance.

Most Interesting Quotes

We engage more in the public sphere because it has never been easier to do so.

… the new electronic public sphere offers instantaneous dialogue with little time for reflection. Democracy is thus now on steroids and this speeding up affects how we make decisions.

If you enjoyed this post, you might want to read, Conversations on Commenting.

digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, parents and technology

To Give Kids E-mail or Not — A Decision in Summer 2012?

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Marti Weston

Check out my post, Are You Thinking About Giving Younger Kids E-mail this Summer, a piece that I wrote about a year ago.

Summer is the time when many digital children start using e-mail accounts — and often the laid back summer lifestyle means that parents spend less time helping their children develop strong and collaborative digital habits.

Last year’s post offers parents some ideas and suggestions for getting started and setting limits.

Hundreds of digital options — e-mail is only one of them — are available and waiting for your child to discover them, so in the final analysis you cannot prevent digital access. You can, however, make decisions help you focus on educating your child about digital citizenship.

21st Century Learning, copyright, digital parenting, Great TED Talks, parent child conversations, parents and technology, teaching digital kids

Copyright: Lessig on History, Creativity, and Sharing

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Marti Weston

In his 2008 TED talk, law professor Lawrence Lessig describes the history of copyright policy, illustrating the reasons why our laws in general and copyright laws in particular should evolve to reflect contemporary culture and information.

Thoughtful and thought-provoking, this lecture contains information that can be used as conversation starters for parents and teachers of digital kids.

digital parenting, digital world conversations, parent child conversations, parent education, parents and technology

Digital Kids to Parents: Listen Up!

Posted on April 26, 2012March 19, 2019 by Marti Weston

With more than 30 years as a teacher including over 20 in the educational technology field, I’ve heard many kids reflect thoughtfully, and not so thoughtfully, on their parents’ digital skills.

Here are the seven most common “I Wish” statements that I’ve heard expressed by children over the last 16 or 17 years. Two of them, I can report, my daughter also mentioned to me ages ago.

Kids wish their parents and other adults would: Continue reading “Digital Kids to Parents: Listen Up!” →

21st Century Learning, blogging, digital learning, digital parenting, parents and technology

Thinking About a Blog?

Posted on April 10, 2012April 11, 2012 by Marti Weston

StartFamilyBlog — Visit Start a Family Blog

Are you thinking about starting a blog for school, work, or family? It a terrific communication opportunity.

At SomeNovelIdeas, a blog authored by librarian Stacy Nockowitz, would be bloggers will find a comprehensive list of links to help them get started. She organizes her links into following categories:

Blogging Basics
Blogging Resources
Blogs About Blogging
Blogs to Follow
Blogging Platforms
Images

Also included at the bottom of the resource page is a glossary of blogging terms.

Last year I taught a short blogging course to parents at my school. My Start a Family Blog class, hosted on a WordPress blog for two months, is still available.