Posted in brain, learning and the brain, parents and technology

Look Forward to Hearing Bill Gates and Dr. John Medina Present

Posted on by Marti Weston
Image from Dr. Medina’s website.

I am attending a conference, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), in Seattle, WA and especially looking forward to hearing two speakers.

Bill Gates will present on Thursday morning, just a couple of days after India was declared a polio-free country. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, along with many other public health experts, worked hard to achieve this goal. Thought Gates will speak on education at NAIS, I hope he at least mentions this dramatic public health achievement.

I will also look forward to hearing how he believes schools should expand their visions on education.

Dr. John Medina, the author of Brain Rules, will also be speaking. Dr. Medina speaks fast and animatedly, and I’ve heard him speak two times. Here’s a MediaTechParenting post, Multitasking is a Myth, that I wrote some time ago after hearing Medina deliver a lecture and reading his book, Brain Rules.

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 online security, privacy, Twitter hoax

Twitter Hoax — Watch those Tweets!

Posted on by Marti Weston

If you use Twitter, watch out for a spam tweet — usually a direct message tweet that tells you about a “crazy personal message.”  Do not click on the link that accompanies the message. If you do you may send out the hoax to your Twitter followers. If it goes on for too long before you do anything, it may also send out a message from your account.  Oh, and the original message may come from someone you know, like, and trust. Mine did.

Because it’s a scam, do the following things.

  • Change your Twitter password.
  • Disconnect from all connected accounts such as Facebook, newspapers, Linked-in, etc. Wait a day or so to reconnect.
  • Log out all devices.
  • Restart all devices as needed.

You should be ok.  However, keep an eye out on your Twitter account.

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” →