Posted in 21st Century Learning, Admiral Grace Hopper, coding, coding history, computer history, digital change, educating digital natives, parents and technology, programming, resources to read, women and math, women in computer science

Admiral Grace Hopper & Her Singular Achievements

Public Domain from the U.S. Navy website.
Public Domain from the U.S. Navy website.

In the late 1980s, early in my educational technology career, I attended a one-day conference about technology in schools. Held in a hotel in the Washington, DC area — I don’t remember which one — the conference convened a small number of teachers, identified as early adopters, people from that National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, what seemed hundreds of technology consultants from places like Cambridge, Palo Alto, and various state universities, and one older, somewhat fragile woman far ahead in the front of the room, who attended for a short time.

That was my first encounter with the life of retired Admiral Grace Hopper. She lived for only a few more years after that, passing away at the age of 85, but I remember her face, her eagle-eyed attention, and the reverence with which others in the room regarded her.

Yale University has decided to change the name of its residential Calhoun College to Grace Hopper College, honoring the computer scientist who played a significant role in moving the country (and the world) into the age of technology and who became a Rear Admiral in the United States Navy. Hopper received a master’s degree and PhD in mathematics from Yale and was one of the mathematicians  who programmed some of the earliest computers before and during World War II.                                             Continue reading “Admiral Grace Hopper & Her Singular Achievements”

Posted in 21st Century Learning, digital learning, digital parenting, electronic reading, i-Books and e-Books, iPhones and iPads, resources to read

My Roundup of e-Books and e-Self-Publishing

KQED MediaShift posted a March 15, 2012 list of recently published articles on e-books and self-publishing. On this page you can also sign up for a regular self-publishing e-newsletter from MediaShift.

A Few More Self-publishing Resources From that I’ve Read Over the Past Few Months

Posted in digital citizenship, digital parenting, family conversations, parents and technology, privacy, resources to read

SOPA Best Coverage: We Need to Learn More Since It Will Be Back

So maybe, other than discovering that Wikipedia wasn’t working very well, you did not really get into all of the brouhaha about SOPA.

Fine, but if you read blogs or write for blogs or just do a lot on the web, you need to learn a lot about this issue. Below is a basic reading list, culled reliable press sources, to help you understand more.

What stands out in many of the articles, is how many of our representatives in Congress do not know or even understand enough about the digital world to be making policy about it. I wonder how many representatives and senators based a decision on a single staff memo or an index card with important (but perhaps poorly explained) bullet points? Right now the bill is not going anywhere, but this issue will come back.

Educate yourself by reading some of the articles below. Continue reading “SOPA Best Coverage: We Need to Learn More Since It Will Be Back”

Posted in Bookmark It!, digital learning, digital parenting, digital world reading habits, resources to read

International Children’s Digital Library: Changing the World One Book at a Time

What if our children had instant access to a library with thousands of books from countries all over the world — a place that invited them to drop by, read, and learn about one another (and without driving)? Imagine what they could find out about the world’s cultures, celebrations, languages, differences, and also about what they have in common.

Click here to visit the library.

That just about describes the mission of the International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL), an online destination hosted at the University of Maryland. The massive website, with digitized books in 61 languages is the largest online collection of multicultural children’s literature, and everything on the site promotes reading and the love of diversity.

Continue reading “International Children’s Digital Library: Changing the World One Book at a Time”

Posted in cell phones, copyright, digital photography, electronic communication, plagiarism, resources to read, setting technology limits, tech free time, writing for the web

9 Family Digital Citizenship Tips: Back-to-School Reading #5

The beginning of a school year is a good time for families to set limits, explain rules, and in general, clarify expectations about technology use. Getting started in the fall, when everyone is off to a new grade and a fresh beginning, encourages healthy tech habits.

Depending on the age of your children, you may want to accomplish some or even all of the tasks on this list, encouraging everyone to think responsibly and become committed digital citizens.

Nine Back-to-School Technology Tasks

1. Place computers in central, well-traveled locations — away from bedrooms and private spaces.

2. Be sure adults, not children, are administrators on the computers and devices in your  home — including laptops and other digital devices.

3. Print and post rules and expectations next to each computer. Specify the times when you do not want your children using computers. Emphasize that your family rules are in effect when children go to a friend’s house. Share my digital citizenship poem that highlights issues to consider. Continue reading “9 Family Digital Citizenship Tips: Back-to-School Reading #5”

Posted in Bookmark It!, digital parenting, resources to read, social media, web research

Keeping Track During a Disaster — A Helpful Kind of Tracking: Bookmark It!

Nixle helps to aggregate data sources during a disaster.

If you haven’t had enough of hurricane Irene, PC Magazine just published 10 Mobile Apps for Tracking Hurricane Irene. Some are free and others are downloadable for a small charge.

Applications come from government agencies like NOAA, but there are also some that are more survival oriented. One helps users develop and share a disaster plan.

Nixle, the application on the left, allows a user to set up connections with data sources so the information comes to you. Every app is not available for every mobile platform.

Check out the PC Magazine presentation, featuring something for every type of disaster tracking personality.

Posted in Bookmark It!, digital citizenship, digital parenting, online safety, online security, parents and technology, resources to read

FTC Net Cetera and OnGuard Online Family Website – Bookmark It!

Visit OnGuard Online

Are you searching for reliable tutorials to help you learn more about managing digital-age parenting topics? Check out the short book Net Cetera: Chatting With Kids About Being Online. Simple, straightforward, and easy to read, this publication covers most of the relevant digital topics, and its comprehensive table of contents is a ready-to-use outline that can help to guide virtual world family conversations. Net Cetera, published by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is also available as a PDF download. Moreover, the booklet can be ordered in quantity for a PTA, book club, church activity or other parent group.

The FTC website, OnGuard Online, which features Net Cetera, is also a repository of information that can help parents to address concerns with their digital children. Each subject is covered with three sections, starting with a review of the “Quick Facts.” A more detailed explanation follows with a section of links that connect to additional online resources.

Topics include:

  • Kids Privacy
  • Computer Disposal
  • Identity Theft
  • Scams
  • Social Networking
Visit OnGuard Online

 

This site, and especially the Net Cetera booklet, is useful for everyone in a family, including grandparents or other seniors.  The type can be adjusted so that it is larger, and many of the topics covered provide information that is critical for aging family members to understand, and perhaps grandchildren can help do some of the teachings.