Posted in 21st Century parenting, American Academy of Pediatrics, digital parenting, early childhood, family life, parents and technology, print versus electronic books, reading, reading on electronic devices, reading with children, toddlers

Print Books: Better Than Digital for Toddlers!

img_0795Are print books better for young learners and especially toddlers? Ask almost anyone in early child development and they will likely say yes, print books are so much better in so many ways. Many educational technology specialists — people like me who love learning with technology — will say the same thing. You can also read this New York Times article by pediatrician, Perri Klass.

Dr. Klass writes about a study conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan and published at the journal Pediatrics. They conducted their research with 37 parent-child pairs who read together in three formats — print, electronic, and electronic with extra bells and whistles such as sound effects. Readers were videotaped. Toddlers and parents verbalized but interacted and collaborated less with electronic books. Then the researchers studied the recordings and coded the verbalizations and behavior or the parents and children.                 Continue reading “Print Books: Better Than Digital for Toddlers!”

Posted in parents and technology

Facebook on My Mind — Should I or Shouldn’t I ?

If like me, you occasionally mull over your Facebook participation, you may be carrying on that internal conversation every time you hear about the company’s mishandling of data. It’s not that I don’t like Facebook — I enjoy it immensely, especially connecting with so many friends — but I am distressed, over and over, by Facebook’s data problems, and its cavalier attitude towards user privacy.

Now two articles provide information about the problems and how users are responding.

CNET’s short article, Facebook Lost 15 million US Users in the Past Two Years, describes an Edison Research report that contains statistics on Facebook users. For instance, 15 million people in the United States quit using their accounts in 2017 and the article explains all sorts of statistics, including the fact that use among people 55 and older is still increasing. There are many more interesting stats in this brief piece. Continue reading “Facebook on My Mind — Should I or Shouldn’t I ?”

Posted in parents and technology

Facebook Fundraisers & My Credit Card

Create a fundraiserI like how individuals can set up small Facebook fundraisers for various charities as a way to celebrate birthdays and other important occasions.

Sometimes when I might be purchasing a present, or at least a card, contributing to a good cause makes it so much easier. At other times, a Facebook friend may put up a fundraiser for a cause that is near and dear to my heart. Once in a while deciding what to contribute to can be a challenge. especially when half-a-dozen friends set them up around the same time.               Continue reading “Facebook Fundraisers & My Credit Card”

Posted in 21st Century life, 21st Century parenting, 21st Century teaching, digital citizenship, digital citizenship case study, evaluating news, hoax, parents and technology

Oh No! It’s MOMO! … Psssst — It’s a Hoax

Well my title says it all. I read, quite by accident, a crazy MoMo post by someone named Wanda —a scary, urgent, bang-on-the-drum essay. Then there was the video… I am pleased to say that my hoax antenna is pretty well-tuned, and my reaction was, “Here we go again.” In truth I also realized that something similar had been around the digital world a few times before. But since then I’ve watched it travel, once again all over the world.

A viral hoax travels around the world.

Both the New York Times and the Atlantic have published articles about the MoMo hoax. They are worth reading and sharing, so check them out.

I am stunned that guidance counselors, police departments, sheriffs, and all sorts of other community leaders, even a few national leaders  (ummm, not to mention parents) did not do their media literacy evaluation homework before they responded, no freaked out.           Continue reading “Oh No! It’s MOMO! … Psssst — It’s a Hoax”

Posted in parents and technology

A Poem for About Mutual Digital Citizenship — for Kids and Parents

Several years ago I uploaded a post, Advice from Digital Kids to Parents, including some of the thoughts that kids in grades 3-6 shared with me about adults’ digital activities. My students often commented that it was unfair when parents asked their kids to sign a digital life contract or agreement, because adults then proceeded to break many of the common sense rules.

The comments of my former students ring true today, especially when I see parents and kids together on a walk or at the park for a fair amount of time and parents look down most of the time at their phones.

Continue reading “A Poem for About Mutual Digital Citizenship — for Kids and Parents”
Posted in brain, cell phones, mobile media devices, mobile phones, parents and technology

Digital Device Time Off

apple applications apps cell phone
Photo by Tracy Le Blanc on Pexels.com

How much time do you spend on your phone? How much of that is necessary and how much is diversion?  Do you pick up your phone when you suddenly have nothing to do? How about at a meal? Do you use your phone at the dinner table when conversation is supposed to be going on? How about in restaurants? These are all questions that I frequently ask myself.

New York Times tech reporter Kevin Roose addresses some of these questions in his article Do Not Disturb: How I Ditched My Phone and Unbroke My Brain. Of course, information about taking time off from digital devices is everywhere these days, usually focusing on privacy concerns and the habits that we develop using our mobile phones. But this article is different.                       Continue reading “Digital Device Time Off”