Digital Smarts Blog

Forbes has reported that several colleges and universities have adopted social media influencer programs with student ambassadors to promote the schools on channels such as Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Student ambassadors from the University of Delaware and other schools with similar programs such as Kent State University, Babson College, University of Central Florida or New York University post about anything from game day apparel to what they had for breakfast in the dining hall. These posts that showcase everyday experiences can help prospective students see the university could be a home for them too. Some of the student influencers say that the programs have helped them acquire marketing experience and access networking opportunities.

Are you curious about artificial intelligence (AI)? It is likely to become a big part of our children’s lives. Once artificial intelligence becomes virtually universal, human interactions, work and even morality will look different, says Alex Bates in an article from CIO. He even goes so far as to say “..we might not even have to speak anymore, instead exchanging thoughts and precepts with other humans or AI agents directly, using via neurotechnology like brain-computer interfaces.”

The Associated Press reports that Instagram is expanding a pilot program that started in Canada, masking "likes" to users. The test is a response to mental health concerns regarding the way people feel when viewing the engagement on other people’s profiles. People can still see how many people liked their own photos, but won’t see counts for other people’s posts. Critics say that such counts hurt mental health and make people feel bad when comparing themselves to others. One group that may be affected is Instagram “influencers,” the major, minor or micro celebrities who use social media to market products and otherwise influence their hordes of followers. The program is expanding to users in Ireland, Italy, Japan, Australia, Brazil and New Zealand.

Do you know a kid who excels at video games but not traditional sports? Or maybe they excel at both? It could be time your school looked into eSports. Defined as competitive video game play, eSports has moved beyond negative stereotypes into a smart, developmental, multidisciplinary activity that can actually earn student-players scholarships at top-named universities.

If you are looking for resources to help your child or school get started,  Kevin Brown, an educator in California, shares tips to help implement such programs. His blog post includes strategies for organization and how to design eSports electives that support state learning standards and students' career explorations.

Many people feel that one of the advantages of using physical books over digital is the ability to make notes in margins, whether it be study notes in a textbook, recipe modifications in a cook book, or highlighting favorite lines in a novel. Now there are tools to make relevant comments or ask questions digitally in textbooks and non-fiction and fiction books for students, and even include web annotations of relevant resources, writes educator Matthew Farber on the Edutopia site. In his blog post, he shares several such resources that he believes help foster reading comprehension. Look for examples of specific resources and how they are used in the post and pass the information on to your school.

Facebook has notified parents and corrected a technical error that permitted thousands of children using the Messenger Kids app to join group chats not approved by their parents. The app lets children between 6 and 12 years old message and video chat with family and friends who their parents approve. It's unclear how long the flaw existed. The app has been controversial since its launch in December 2017, and child advocacy groups have repeatedly urged Facebook to shut down the app, arguing it violates a federal law aimed at protecting a child's online privacy.

The Associated Press reports that schools using education technologies are becoming targets of cyberattacks that disrupt digital lesson plans and could potentially compromise data. Schools "may be considered easy targets because they're a little bit more open than your traditional corporate culture," said Sean Wiese, chief information security officer for North Dakota, where a malware attack last year affected a large number of public schools.

The shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the IT workforce has prompted some K-12 schools to add classes in cybersecurity strategies and practices to their curriculum. Some high schools even offer professional certification and college credit, or allow students to serve apprenticeships to their district with cybersecurity needs. Not only do these classes help educate students on becoming smart digital citizens, it could also spark interest in pursuing a career in that field.

Students with disabilities appear to experience higher highs and lower lows when using social media, according to a new report from the Ruderman Family Foundation. Students with disabilities are 1.8 times more likely to be victims—and 1.7 times more likely to be perpetrators—of social media-related cyberbullying, the group found in an analysis of survey information covering 24,000 Boston-area high school students. The connection between experiencing cyberbullying and suffering from depressive symptoms and suicidal tendencies is also particularly strong for these students.

America's schools are awash in data, and while concerns about the privacy and security of students' information are regularly discussed, the Center for Democracy & Technology says there is one issue that has been mostly overlooked: properly getting rid of student data when it's no longer needed. "Deleting data is much more complicated than one might think, with a number of important policy, legal, and technical considerations," reads the group's new report, titled "Balancing the Scale of Student Data Deletion and Retention and Education."

Do you know what your school or district does with your child’s data after they graduate or leave the school?

The Federal Trade Commission, which oversees the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), is considering updating privacy laws that protect children online. If you are unfamiliar with COPPA, it requires operators of commercial websites, online services, and mobile apps to get permission from parents before gathering information about any child under the age of 13. The act was put in place to give parents say in what type of information is collected and/or shared about their children online. The commission typically reviews rules every ten years to determine if changes in technology necessitate an update to the rules that go along with it. The FTC is holding a public workshop on October 7, 2019 to examine the COPPA Rule and seek comments from consumers. More details about the workshop can be found on the event page.

Instagram has recently announced new features and changes to help stamp out cyberbullying on the platform, including using artificial intelligence to detect when something offensive is about to be posted. A prompt will appear asking the user if they are sure they want to post, giving them the opportunity to reconsider. Another feature will be introduced soon that allows users to "restrict" someone, meaning they can delete comments from or block the other person from posts without that person knowing. The company said it arrived at the concept after hearing feedback that users are reluctant to outwardly block a bully because it could escalate the situation, especially if they also interact with the bully "in real life." These features may help, but social work professor Jonathan Singer says parents cannot rely on those safeguards alone. Singer encourages parents to discuss online safety with their children and keep communication open about social media use.

Need someone else to read a bedtime story for your kids this Tuesday? Archie Moss, an elementary-school principal in Tennessee, reads weekly bedtime stories to students over Facebook Live. In an interview, Moss says the idea for the "Bedtime Stories with Principal Moss" program came from the school's librarian, Monique Howard, who shared it as part of an effort to find innovative ways to reach students and build a culture of reading at the school. He has read stories every Tuesday night since February when it was started as a celebration of Black History Month.

The Washington Post just highlighted a report from the National Center for Education Statistics showing that 20% of teen students in the US said they were bullied in the 2016-17 school year, and of those, 15% were bullied online or via text, a 3.5 percentage point increase over the previous year. Kathryn Seigfried-Spellar of Purdue University says the spike may be due to increased awareness of what bullying looks like and reporting of cyberbullying incidents. Seigfried-Spellar states that students have become less inhibited about bullying others with digital separation because they don’t have to witness the emotional toll exacted or have to deal with the immediate consequences. “It’s easier to do because you don’t have to worry about a physical repercussion,” she said. “It removes that personal experience.”

Do you or your kids create videos to share on Facebook? Maybe to help a nonprofit or school page, or even for your own business? If so, you may want to take a look at some new tips Facebook posted, including an infographic providing ideas for getting your videos noticed. Some of their recommendations include considering shorter lengths for teasers, ads or polls and long-form content for developing narratives or livestreaming. They also suggest tips such as hooking mobile audiences with vertical formats and close-up shots and provide ways to ensure content shows up in search engines, all useful advice if you are trying to increase views!

Canadian researchers reported recently in JAMA Pediatrics that teens with higher-than-normal social media and TV use have increased odds of developing depression symptoms, with increased social media and TV screen time tied to greater symptom severity. According to the study co-author Elroy Boers, "Social media and television are forms of media that frequently expose adolescents to images of others operating in more prosperous situations, such as other adolescents with perfect bodies and a more exciting or rich lifestyle." However, the findings, based on data involving nearly 4,000 Canadian youths followed from ages 12 to 16, showed that higher video-game and computer-use levels didn't affect depression symptoms.

Have you been meaning to talk to your kids about misinformation, but don’t know exactly where to start? In an article on MiddleWeb (intended for middle school teachers), educational consultant Frank Baker shares several examples of so-called fake news, strategies to identify and understand it, and media literacy tips for dissecting advertisements. These are a great place to start to help your kids think more critically about media messages and the entities that create them.

Some communities have adopted an online kindergarten-readiness program called Waterford Upstart, operated by nonprofit organization Waterford.org. Advocates say that the program is a high-quality, cost-effective preschool program that rivals some brick-and-mortar options, but critics say that these programs raise questions about education quality and what exactly preschool is meant to teach. As the economic chasm in the United States grows, experts remark that having access to human interaction is becoming a stark dividing line through every stage of life.

A recent survey from Business Insider found that teens and young adults are losing interest in Facebook and spending more time each day on Instagram, YouTube and SnapChat. Of the 1,884 Americans ages 13 to 21 that were surveyed, 30% of them have reported abandoning Facebook completely, while over 60% check Instagram and YouTube on a daily basis.

According to an article in Forbes, MindEdge Learning's State of Critical Thinking study found that while most Americans believe critical thinking is essential in assessing the truthfulness of online information, very few – including college educated Americans - can identify suspicious material when they encounter it on the web. Identifying misinformation includes paying attention to such details as spelling or grammatical errors, the presence or absence of photo credits, indications that the content is being promoted or contains suspicious web addresses, and other obvious indicators.

The study, now in its third year, recorded a decrease of 17 percentage points since 2017 in the proportion of respondents who achieved an "A" grade on the organization's digital literacy test. Three quarters of millennial respondents received an "F" grade, failing to get more than five questions right. Interestingly, older respondents (60 and older) scored better than Millennials, who are generally considered more web-savvy.