Category: digital parenting

Posted in digital citizenship, digital parenting, electronic communication, online tracking, parents and technology, privacy

Big Tech Thinkers Talk About Privacy

Posted on by Marti Weston
Sherry Turkle’s 2012 TED Talk

NPR’s All Tech Considered blog has posted a thought-provoking piece on privacy (February 29, 2012).

In New Ways to Think About Online Privacy, Nina Gregory shares what she heard at TED Long Beach where some major technology thinkers and innovators (some speakers, some attenders) shared their thoughts about what Gregory calls “privacy hygiene” (and about what they might be teaching their kids about the subject).

You may not have heard of some of the companies represented, but the thoughts about privacy are worth reading.

In Gregory’s article read about the thoughts of: Continue reading “Big Tech Thinkers Talk About Privacy” →

Posted in collaboration, digital learning, digital parenting, kids changing lives, parents and technology

Listening to Bill Gates – My Notes

Posted on by Marti Weston
Read Bill Gates’ Annual Foundation Letter

Below I’ve shared some of the interesting points from Bill Gates’ education presentation at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) conference. The foundation is no less energized in the area of 21 Century and digital learning than it is in international health.

  • Gates believes that we have a big opportunity for change over the next ten years.
  • Teaching is not about access to knowledge — it’s about making the material relevant and connecting the learning with information that will nourish minds. Oh, and creating more knowledge…
  • Judgment and critical evaluation skills (about content) will be paramount.

[My note: This goes for kids, adolescents, adults, and seniors.]

Continuing with Bill Gates’ thoughts… Continue reading “Listening to Bill Gates – My Notes” →

Posted in answers to media questions, digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, media literacy, parent child conversations, parents and technology, teaching digital kids

Campaign Advertising — Media at Its Worst for Kids

Posted on by Marti Weston

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 a 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 (link no longer available), media lit guru, Frank Baker pithily describes the situation. He writes:

Continue reading “Campaign Advertising — Media at Its Worst for Kids” →

Posted in digital learning, digital parenting, online safety, online security, parents and technology, scams and fraud

That Nasty Spam Won’t Affect Me … but It Did!

Posted on by Marti Weston

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.

Continue reading “That Nasty Spam Won’t Affect Me … but It Did!” →

Posted in 21st century job hunting, collaboration, digital parenting, teaching digital kids

Still Not Convinced About Collaboration?

Posted on by Marti Weston
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 American Academy of Pediatrics, digital parenting, marketing to kids, media literacy, parents and technology

Kids’ Television Shows as Advertising

Posted on by Marti Weston

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.

Continue reading “Kids’ Television Shows as Advertising” →

Posted in cell phones, digital devices and gadgets, digital parenting, gadgets and sleep, good books to read, parents and technology, risky behavior

Kids, Parenting, Gadgets, and Sleep…

Posted on by Marti Weston

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. Continue reading “Kids, Parenting, Gadgets, and Sleep…” →