Keeping track of a number of stories relating to ‘Raising Children in a Digital Age‘ in the news:
- Looking to help parents bridge the digital and physical, Moonfrye expands to Android and closes in on another $1.1M: Parenting has changed in the digital era, but they jury remains out on whether this has been a net positive or negative. For decades, parents have used TVs, then video game consoles and PCs, and most recently smartphones and tablets to placate their kids. But many parents harbor an element of guilt for pawning off their children on a digital babysitter, despite feeling relieved to have some peace and quiet.
- Give Your Child More Screen-Time, Here’s Why: Parents and educators are often inundated with information that cautions them against allowing their children more than a certain amount of screen-time, suggesting that it fosters anti-social behavior and impacts their ability to learn. Yet studies have found that it depends on the type of content, not the device usage itself, that truly matters. (Whilst others suggest to take some time out)
- Stop Sharing on Thanksgiving: This year, let’s take a day off from sharing our every thought and feeling with the world. Give thanks for the people in your life by giving them your undivided attention. The most meaningful thing we have to give is our time. Stop broadcasting and start listening.
- The ‘Facebook’ Town Square: So, now Facebook is serving as the old town square, where people spread the word, get up on the occasional soapbox, and — most dangerously — visually place someone in a stockade when they have wronged the owner of the Facebook account. No judge or jury needed, just the ability to coerce someone into giving up their dignity and holding up a sign stating their transgressions.
- Kids and Life Online: Are Parents’ Fears Warranted?: For the parents of “digital native” children, the fact that their kids spend so much of their lives online is often the source of serious consternation. For starters, they worry they’re raising a generation of sallow, unpleasant, disconnected creatures who are fearful of emotions, physical contact and possibly even sunlight. They also wonder if playing Angry Birds for hours on end is sharpening their kids’ minds or turning them to mush; if texting 60 times per day is teaching their kids vital communication skills or turning them away from real-world relationships; if Facebook is a healthy venue for social interaction or an overflowing cauldron of bullies and miscreants. Etc. Most of all, though, parents worry that the digital universe is a dangerous place for their children to wander unsupervised.
- Creating An Army of Digital Defenders To Stop Child Sexual Exploitation: This week, Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, issued an op-ed in the UK’s Daily Mail outlining the new proactive steps Google has committed to take in response to the accessibility of child pornography links via mainstream search platforms. Google stands alongside Facebook, Microsoft and many other technology companies that have stood up to be part of the proactive effort to combat the sexual exploitation of children.
- Little Rock School District Undergoing “Digital Conversion”: Little Rock public schools are currently in the process of implementing what’s known as a “one-to-one” program which focuses on personalizing learning through universal, uninterrupted access to technology.
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Will our digital children be tomorrow’s IT power house?: Translating knowledge of digital technologies into useful technology skills and the thinking required in the workplace is a key priority for businesses and Europe as whole; transferrable and useful skills for the future go some way in addressing the current levels of unemployment. Demand for employees with IT skills is growing by approximately 3% each year yet the number of graduates from computing sciences fell by 10% between 2006 and 2010.
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Ten Trends in Interactive Media for Children from Dust or Magic: Each year technology reveals new possibilities for delighting and educating children. It’s challenging to stay abreast of it all and, at the same time, easy to get overzealous in adopting new platforms and features for the sake of it (it’s a touch screen so now you should be able to touch EVERYTHING right?). In this rapidly evolving ecosystem it is important to pause and seek guidance and inspiration from children, innovative companies and experts who focus on kids media.
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The popular Digital Discovery Centre at the British Museum will expand its programme in a new five-year agreement with Samsung: An in-demand digital centre at the British Museum which has repeatedly inspired children and teachers will forge ahead with cutting-edge classroom sessions after agreeing a new five-year deal with its backers, electronics giant Samsung. (See also Tech Week Europe)
… and what you might look for in technology gifts for Christmas, the growth of digital libraries, sharing gift ideas via blogs and we are warned of the dangers of texting and driving.
