Tag: digital kids

Posted in 21st Century Learning, blogging, digital learning, digital parenting, parent education, parents and technology

You Can Start a Family Blog – Summer 2012

Posted on by Marti Weston
Visit Start a Family Blog and Get Started!

This summer think about starting a family blog. It’s a terrific communication project as well as a collaborative learning opportunity for everyone — kids, parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Last year I taught a short online blogging course to parents at my school. My Start a Family Blog class, hosted on a WordPress blog, is still available. The posts will guide interested families through the basics of starting a blog for relatives and friends.

Over at some novel ideas, a blog authored by librarian Stacy Nockowitz would be bloggers will find a comprehensive and rich list of resource links to help get started. She organizes her links into categories:

    • Blogging Basics
    • Blogging Resources
    • Blogs About Blogging
    • Blogging Platforms
    • Images

Also included at the bottom of the resource page is a cool glossary of blogging terms.

Posted in cell phones, digital parenting, electronic communication, gadget ownership, mobile phones, parents and technology, social media friends

Are Teens Moving Away from Facebook?

Posted on by Marti Weston

Take a few minutes to read Some Teens Aren’t Liking Facebook as Much as Older Users, a May 30, 2012 business article in the Los Angeles Times. Facebook’s growth is slowing, and many teens, after absorbing lessons about privacy and the need to share less personal information, now seek to socialize online in smaller community groups with people they know.

Reporters Jessica Guynn and Ryan Faughnder point out that students are also far more eager to use mobile services designed for their smartphones. Interestingly, parents are still avid Facebook users.

Best Quotes from the Article

  • Teens… can also be more selective about what they share and with whom, and feel less social pressure to “friend” everyone in their school or friends or friends.
  • Teens who belong to the first truly mobile generation — their most common form of communication is text messaging — are increasingly gravitating to services made for their smartphones and tablets.
Posted in cell phones, digital parenting, mobile phones, parents and technology

Getting a Cell Phone for a Child in Summer 2012?

Posted on by Marti Weston
Check out Techlicious!

The Techlicious blog features an information-filled post, with resources for parents who want to learn more about features and limits-setting as they go about considering whether to purchase a cell phone for a child. In her May 28, 2012 piece Suzanne Kantra describes some of the newest parental control packages on the market at large mobile phone carriers.

Kantra compares and contrasts various features that  address  a variety of parent concerns including:

      • Keeping track of kids
      • Text messaging limits
      • Entertainment

Below are a few past blog posts from MediaTechParenting on mobile phones and kids.

Posted in 21st century job hunting, collaboration, digital parenting, parents and technology, teamwork

Multi-Generational Teams Do the Best Work

Posted on by Marti Weston

Have you been ever in a work situation where you feel especially old — as younger colleagues occasionally roll their eyes, proudly demonstrating their up-to-the-minute technology skills? Or maybe you’ve seen more experienced workers shoot down younger worker’s ideas. Lots of people in mid and late career periods, well people of all ages really, note these frustrations. It’s not all about age or technology — it’s about working together.

…and guess what?

Teams with differing ages and skills are often the most productive. While technology skills are important, collaborative skills and teamwork are more significant. In today’s fast-changing world, we are spending considerable effort teaching tech-savvy students how to work together with people who have differing perspectives and different kinds of ideas. Twenty-first Century employers are on the lookout for workers who can collaborate.

Sometimes older and more experienced team members offer points of view that add innovative problem-solving puzzle pieces to a team’s project. Younger workers can push limits and eagerly try new things. Older workers can also be skilled mentors. Skilled leadership, the ability to help people form a cohesive team, is a key to success.

Read, Why Multi-Generational Teams Are Best, over at bNet, the CBS Interactive Business Network.

Two broad reasons that a variety of age groups work together well and produce better results:                 Continue reading “Multi-Generational Teams Do the Best Work” →

Posted in acceptable use, data collecting, data sharing, digital footprints, digital parenting, Do Not Track Kids Act, parents and technology, privacy

Kids’ Online Privacy Legislation – Will It Ever Happen?

Posted on by Marti Weston
Image made with Wordfoto with a picture taken at the Library of Congress.

Much of what a child or teen does online gets added to a digital profile. Even when information is not supposed to be collected, it accumulates – somewhere. Moreover, when a child or adolescent acts impulsively or thoughtlessly online, no way exists to erase or delete a digital mistake. Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society posts a great digital dossier video that parents and educators may want to use as a conversation tool.

To learn a lot more about the state of privacy policy, especially as it concerns children and adolescents, read the article Congress Revisits Online Privacy Legislation over at Boston.com.

Continue reading “Kids’ Online Privacy Legislation – Will It Ever Happen?” →

Posted in acceptable use, digital citizenship, digital parenting, online safety, parents and technology

Read 10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety at Common Sense Media

Posted on by Marti Weston

Check out 10 Simple Steps to Internet Safety over at the Common Sense Media website. Actually it looks like there are eleven items for parents to review at the page.

As always, Common Sense Media hits the nail on the head with clear, well written, and to-the-point parenting information. I’ve inserted a list of the questions.

Pay special attention to the two questions that I’ve listed below:

  • How do I teach my kids to recognize online advertising?
  • Should I let my kid get a Facebook page?
Posted in 21st Century Learning, acceptable use, conversations on commenting, digital citizenship, electronic communication, interesting research, parents and technology, social media, social networking, teaching digital kids

Online Etiquette Not the Greatest

Posted on by Marti Weston

 Check out the May 13, 2012 post, Online Etiquette Lacking, Study Finds, over at the  Techlicious blog. 

Writer Christina DesMarais describes a study that identifies irritating digital world behaviors such as communicating at inappropriate times, sharing too much information, and highly negative commenting — all related to our increasing use of 21st Century social media.

This article is filled with digital world conversation starters that parents and teachers can use to begin discussions about ethics, privacy, and security.

Also, you can check out my related post, Conversations About Commenting.