parents and technology – Page 59 – Media! Tech! Parenting!

Cool TechTips from David Pogue

Posted on August 21, 2011August 22, 2011 by Marti Weston

I’ve been carrying this May 18, 2011 article, The Ins and Outs of Using Gadgetry by New York Times tech guru, David Pogue, for three months. Actually, it’s worth carrying around so you can pull it out and get a few quick, and very helpful tips for whatever gadget you happen to be using.

Pogue TED — Click to watch Pogue's 2006 TED Lecture.

Here are a few examples:

Skipping all of those irritating introductory messages on cell phones
Ensuring your digital camera focuses
Highlighting the address bar in your browser without taking time to grab the mouse
Using a few quick edit tips when you are writing
… and much more

I’ll admit to being a bit of a Pogue groupie. He always seems to have the answers, and if he doesn’t, he calls around (or messes around with the gadgets) until he does.

A Few David Pogue Links Continue reading “Cool TechTips from David Pogue” →

Back-to-school digital reading, digital parenting, online security, parent education, parents and technology

Filters: To Install or Not to Install? That is the Question! Back-to-School 2011 #1

Posted on August 3, 2011March 20, 2019 by Marti Weston

It’s almost back-to-school season, I’ve just been asked for my opinion about home network filters, and I’ve answered the way I always do: protective software programs are fine but limited.

Yes, filters keep a certain amount of inappropriate content away from children, but the problem of access is not solved simply by protecting home computers and networks. Over the course of a day or week, a child encounters many other connections to the world wide web — on laptops, smartphones, iPads, computers, in other people’s homes, and maybe even at a parent’s office. Not to mention all of the inappropriate advertising…

Continue reading “Filters: To Install or Not to Install? That is the Question! Back-to-School 2011 #1” →

digital parenting, future tech employment, kids changing lives, parents and technology

Are Technology Jobs Really Out There for Your Kids?

Posted on July 14, 2011March 20, 2019 by Marti Weston

Lots of parents think about the types of jobs their children will hold as adults, but today these days fast-paced technology changes loom large, so adults may need to adopt a new mindset when it comes to understanding the ever-changing nature of employment that today’s children will encounter.

In a July 12, 2011 column in the New York Times, Pulitizer Prize-winning writer Thomas L Friedman (The World is Flat), writes about jobs and the technology world. (or as he often calls it the “flat world”). In his opinion piece, The Start-Up of You, Friedman points out that all of the employees from the big, but newish tech firms (such Facebook, Twitter, and Groupon) can fit into Madison Square Garden with seats to spare. Basically, these firms are not creating that many jobs.

Continue reading “Are Technology Jobs Really Out There for Your Kids?” →

digital parenting, parent child conversations, parent education, parents and technology, social media, social networking

Learning More About What You Don’t Know

Posted on July 3, 2011March 20, 2019 by Marti Weston

I am just back from a huge technology conference in Philadelphia, the International Society for Technology in Education(ISTE), and I blogged from the event uploading nine or ten entries on a separate MediaTechParenting page. I also tweeted — sometimes using Twitter myself and at other times just watching, reading, and processing the tweets of others.

During the week — before, during, and after the conference — Twitter was my most important communication too. Over the four days it let me know where especially great workshops and presentations were occurring, helped me discover other people who shared my interest, kept me up-to-date about who was blogging, informed me about presenters who were sharing resources beyond their presentation rooms, and yes, even announced the location of the special snacks each afternoon. Without the #ISTE11 Twitter handle, and also the continuing backchannel tweets on #edtech and #edchat, my week would have been slower, less interesting, and nowhere near as dynamic.

Continue reading “Learning More About What You Don’t Know” →

cultural changes, digital learning, digital parenting, parents and technology

International Society for Technology in Education Conference

Posted on June 28, 2011June 29, 2011 by Marti Weston

Dear Blog Readers,

This week I am in Philadelphia attending the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) conference along with more than 15,000 technology educators and school administrators — all of us thinking about how students and, yes, their parents and teachers, learn in the fast-changing digital world.

The exhibits feature hundreds of vendors (36 long rows in a vast hall), and we can choose to attend an array of keynotes, presentations, meetings, poster displays, student presentations, and demonstrations.

To share some of my experiences I have set up a new MediaTechParenting page, and I am blogging several times each day from the conference — my thoughts, ideas, observations, and more.

Back to more traditional posts late this week.

Marti

acceptable use, Bookmark It!, digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, parents and technology

NetSmartz: Digital Suggestions for Summer Family Fun

Posted on June 21, 2011March 20, 2019 by Marti Weston

This set of summer digital activities, 5 Things You Can Do Online With Your Child This Summer, arrived in my e-mail a week or so ago. The list includes simple, but open-ended activities, each one enjoyable by itself, but with the potential to lead parents and children in many additional and enjoyable digital directions during the summer vacation. The ideas come from NetSmartz.

NetSmartz is an interactive and educational program for parents and kids, connected with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children^® (NCMEC). NetSmartz uses its considerable resources and clout to educate, engage, and empower children and their families about digital care and safety.

Visit the NetSmartz parents’ site. — Visit the site for Kids. — Visit the site for teens.

NetSmartz also features a wide range of digital safety educational resources for educators and law enforcement professionals.

No blog, though, at least not one that I can find. Puzzling since they provide some excellent information on blogging. Why not an example of what good blogging looks like — maybe one for parents and one for adolescents?