Digital Smarts Blog

Whose Responsibility Is It? Tech Devices Come Home

Power to Learn — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:29:17 -0500

As devices like iPads start being sent home from school to be used for homework and projects, whose responsibility is it to protect children during their online activities? That’s the debate in several schools and districts in Colorado and the consensus is that this is new ground and that only time will tell whose responsibility it will be. One charter school did finally send the iPads home with students, but only after they found adequate online filters. Other schools have asked parents to be responsible for acting to protect children while they are online, with mixed results. Who do you think is responsible for online activities when technology comes home?

So What Are They Using Those Smartphones For?

Power to Learn — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:23:00 -0500

As smartphone usage proliferates among high school and university students, new data indicates that students who use their mobile devices as study tools study more often and more efficiently. An infographic developed by StudyBlue, a free mobile and online study service for students, demonstrates several benefits for students who power-up their smartphones for study sessions. Kids do lead a mobile life and it just may be that a smartphone may be a good study investment after all.

It Isn’t So Amazing Anymore

Power to Learn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:20:00 -0500

David Pogue’s latest post in The New York Times entitled Things That Were Once Amazing about how he is amazed that people are still amazed about certain things about technology – like kids are better at it than adults – really rings true. He suggests his list, which includes truisms like consumer technology is constantly changing and you really do need to update your computer operating system (and that of your phone and your tablet) if you want it to continue to run smoothly, should be on a list of things not to say at a cocktail party if you want to appear digitally savvy.

Dislike Facebook’s Timeline? Don’t Get Scammed

Power to Learn — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:49:00 -0500

The new Facebook Timeline feature is mandatory. There is no getting around that, but many people are not very pleased about it and scam artists are taking advantage of that fact by offering, for a “small fee” (read, your credit card details) to disable the feature for you. They offer a plug-in for your browser that will "disable" the new Timeline functionality. The developers even add helpful hints advising users to ignore software warnings that extensions, plug-ins, and other apps "can harm your computer." The developers also suggest that you should "allow up to 24 hours for the changes to take effect," which is a cute way of covering up the fact that absolutely nothing will happen.

There isn’t much you can do if you get taken in by this scam. To keep track of scams like this take a look at the Facebook Security page and click the Like button. While the page hasn't been updated to include information on this latest scam, it's still a great spot to find out what's happening on the site. Live chats with staff, security hints and tips, and information about new features — it's a great resource.

Amazing Apps for Little Ones

Power to Learn — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:43:00 -0500

Jinny Gudmundsen, USA Today, recommends five super apps for children. One is free and all cost only a few dollars. There’s Painting with Time for the iPad “which lets kids explore how things change over time. With this app, which was partially funded by the National Science Foundation, kids select from tubes of paint that represent different intervals of time.” For example, if landscape is selected, the tubes represent the seasons. When children “paint” with their fingers, they can transform the scene into colors of the different seasons. Other of Gudmundsen’s favorites are the stories: Hogworld: Gnats Adventure for the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android, and Kindle Fire, where children engage in adventures through 3D visuals, sounds and interaction; Cinderella – Nosy Crow Animated Picture Book for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad, in which the characters talk to the reader, and on the iPad2, the reader’s face shows up in all the mirrors; and Auryn – Van Gogh and the Sunflowers for the iPad, an eBook that brings Van Gogh’s life and painting to life through visuals and interaction. The app Out-A-Bout for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad uses parent-child interaction as it teaches early reading skills and encourages physical play. The app involves the reader in the story through photos and recordings. All of these apps would be wonderful for preschoolers through primary age kids.

Facing Off Over Facebook

Power to Learn — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 15:19:00 -0500

Does it seem like you are constantly struggling with the Facebook issue with your teens? Facebook has been around now for eight years and, with 20 million Facebook users under the age of 18, has firmly settled into an acceptable venue of family communication. With it comes to parental hovering — your kid might call it "creeping" — and a tenuous series of negotiations regarding boundaries and online etiquette. Gone are the days of parents snooping through a diary or putting an ear to the bedroom door to find out what's going on while their teen talks on the telephone. Now, it's an online game and a vital, if risky, part of adolescence. The satirical online news site theonion.com offered advice to Facebook parents recently, summing up with this: "The only excuse now for not knowing every detail of your child's life is having a life of your own."

If you are in the midst of a Facebook faceoff, you will find some info on how other parents are handling the issue in this recent USA Today article.

When It Comes to Tech, Teen Issues Are Historically the Same

Power to Learn — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 15:17:00 -0500

Danah Boyd, a “hip”social media researcher was profiled in an article in the New York Times recently. The upshot of her research is that teenage life online is just a reflection of all the adolescent angst that teens social lives have always revolved around - friendship, gossip, flirting, transgressing and keeping it all – good or bad – from parents. She makes a strong case for the idea that teens are overwhelmingly using the Internet for good rather than bad, being far more productive and creative, and far less harmful, than people assume.

GPS Decision Tests Limits of Privacy

Power to Learn — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:15:00 -0500

The Supreme Court unanimously ruled recently that police must obtain a warrant before tracking a suspect’s car with GPS. Using electronic surveillance is allowed in public spaces, but physically placing a GPS in a suspect’s car is considered an unlawful search that violates the Fourth Amendment. Of course, the whole discussion is an interesting one considering we all carry phones with GPS devices in them and camera surveillance is becoming so commonplace.

When Cyberbullying Spills into Schools

Power to Learn — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:07:00 -0500

Education Week offers the Webinar, When Cyberbullying Spills into Schools, on Thursday, February 23, 2012, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET. The session will focus on online conflicts and negative comments that cause problems within classrooms and schools. We hear so much about bullying and cyberbullying these days, and parents and students often expect school administrators to solve the problems created by students outside school. Even when the problems spill over into schools, actions administrators and teachers can take aren’t clearly defined. The Webinar will take on topics such as: should schools be monitoring sites like Facebook, can action be taken against students who misbehave online, when should schools step in, and how can schools create cultures that don’t accept bullying? Leaders of the Webinar will be: Kevin Jennings and Barbara-Jane Paris, both national experts on the problems of bullying and anti-bullying programs.

Are Google’s Self Driving Cars Ready for the Real World?

Power to Learn — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 15:04:00 -0500

A recent symposium took up the question of whether Google’s computerized systems that replace human drivers are ready for prime time and the consensus seems to be that the challenges posed, including legal and insurance questions, far outweigh the technological ones. While such vehicles could reduce accidents caused by human error, the largest single cause of deaths and injuries on the road today, and hold potential for greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions, simple questions like what happens when the police try to pull over such a vehicle remain unanswered.