Tag: New York Times

Posted in 21st Century life, acceptable use, digital life, modeling for kids

Can the New York Times Social Media Policy Become a Teaching Tool?

Posted on by Marti Weston

Today, October 13, 2017, the New York Times introduced its new social media policy for people who work in the Times newsroom. Not only is it interesting to read — it may will also become a useful document for educators to share with students. The policy clearly illustrates the advice educators share over and over with 21st Century young people, basically that anything a person puts online can become a public story.

Times Social Media
Click on the headline to read the article about the new policy..

Continue reading “Can the New York Times Social Media Policy Become a Teaching Tool?” →

Posted in 21st Century life, newspapers, parents and technology, searching, searching for information

A Tale of Two Online Newspaper Searches

Posted on by Marti Weston
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The newspaper article in the morning paper

It’s Monday morning and over breakfast I’ve found two articles that I want to read more closely, perhaps to share on my blogs — one in the New York Times and the other in the Washington Post. When I decide to share, I usually print out the article, mark it up a bit, and copy the all-important link. My digital life features online newspapers, but in the mornings I still love to look over the paper version,

The 21st Century searching experience for the two newspapers could not be more different.

On the Times website I search for the headline that I’ve just seen and up pops my article. Within moments it’s printed and ready for me to study. Interestingly, even if the Times’ online version leads with a different headline, my article will pop up with a search for either headline.     Continue reading “A Tale of Two Online Newspaper Searches” →

Posted in parents and technology

What We Do When the Power Goes Out

Posted on by Marti Weston
We unplugged all of our gadgets in case a surge occurred when the power came on.

Check out the November 9, 2012 New York Times piece, Hurricane Sandy Reveals a Life Unplugged. The article by reporter, Aimee Lee Ball, describes the experiences of New York and New Jersey families who lost power and home access to their computers and digital devices during and after Superstorm Sandy.

Each family handled the situation differently, but many children and their parents found it was a challenge to engage in non-digital activities over a longer period of time.

The Best Quotes in the Article

  •  “One of greatest skills you can teach a child is: You don’t have to be hooked up to any machine to get through life,” said Mr. Powers, the author of “Hamlet’s BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age.”
  • “The problem I see us bumping against is how attached we adults are to our own digital devices,” said Ms. Frederick. …“You have to check yourself if you’re going to lay down the law for your kids.”

Continue reading “What We Do When the Power Goes Out” →

Posted in cultural changes, digital change, digital parenting, future of the Internet, online communication, parents and technology, social media, social media friends, social networking

Looking into Our Kids’ Futures: Will Social Media Be There?

Posted on by Marti Weston

If you missed this set of essays, Is Facebook a Fad? Will Our Children Tweet?, published in the June 19, 2012, New York Times, take some time to read these short pieces on social media and contemporary life.

As a part of a regular Times’ feature, Room for Debate opinion, readers can learn what six knowledgeable media commentators think about the always evolving digital world.

For instance, MIT Professor Sherry Turkle describes the tendency of social media users to “hide” from one another, substituting quick text nuggets for what used to be face-to-face interaction. Morra Aarons Mele, a digital manager and founder of Women Online, acknowledges the communication downsides, but says that social media and the digital professional work it has created make the world more egalitarian.           Continue reading “Looking into Our Kids’ Futures: Will Social Media Be There?” →

Posted in parents and technology

Cool TechTips from David Pogue

Posted on 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.

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” →

Posted in answers to media questions, cultural changes, digital parenting, parents and technology, social media, social media friends, technology changes

Why Social Media? Especially Why in My Child’s Classroom??

Posted on by Marti Weston

Read this thought-provoking post, Why Social Media Tools Have a Place in the Classroom, over at the GigaOM blog. Writer Ryan Kim goes into considerable detail describing reactions to a recent New York Times article, Speaking Up in Class, Silently, Using Social Media. Kim’s blog post then goes on to offer some compelling reasons why teachers (and probably parents, too) should examine social media more thoughtfully before rushing to judgement.

Learn a bit more about the GigaOM blog.