Digital Smarts Blog

As children are now allowed more and more to bring their own digital devices into their classrooms, David Anrade, a K-12 strategy specialist, writes that it is increasingly important that students receive lessons on digital citizenship. Anrade says that when giving your child a device, it is your duty as a parent to teach them how to use it responsibly and discuss the risks associated with how he or she uses it to communicate with the world. Children can be bullied, victimized, scammed or led to disclose personal information through the web. In fact, the Cyberbullying Research Center reports that one of every four teens has experienced bullying while online.

As children are now allowed more and more to bring their own digital devices into their classrooms, David Anrade, a K-12 strategy specialist, writes that it is increasingly important that students receive lessons on digital citizenship. Anrade says that when giving your child a device, it is your duty as a parent to teach them how to use it responsibly and discuss the risks associated with how he or she uses it to communicate with the world. Children can be bullied, victimized, scammed or led to disclose personal information through the web. In fact, the Cyberbullying Research Center reports that one of every four teens has experienced bullying while online.

A new guide from Parent Coalition for Student Privacy aims to help parents take a more active role in evaluating the use of students' data by schools. The downloadable toolkit describes questions parents should ask about data security measures and how to identify "red flags" in service agreements with education technology providers. It enumerates parents’ rights and offers tips for parents looking to protect their children’s privacy.

A new guide from Parent Coalition for Student Privacy aims to help parents take a more active role in evaluating the use of students' data by schools. The downloadable toolkit describes questions parents should ask about data security measures and how to identify "red flags" in service agreements with education technology providers. It enumerates parents’ rights and offers tips for parents looking to protect their children’s privacy.

A recent hack of the educational platform Edmodo compromised tens of millions' user records and led to the revelation that the company was not only using ad trackers to monitor student and teacher behavior, but then forwarding the data to data brokers. The company issued a statement saying it is investigating the security breach and it has removed the "problematic" ad-tracking code from its platform. Edmodo is a platform that 78 million teachers, students and parents use to communicate about homework and lesson plans, and more.

A recent hack of the educational platform Edmodo compromised tens of millions' user records and led to the revelation that the company was not only using ad trackers to monitor student and teacher behavior, but then forwarding the data to data brokers. The company issued a statement saying it is investigating the security breach and it has removed the "problematic" ad-tracking code from its platform. Edmodo is a platform that 78 million teachers, students and parents use to communicate about homework and lesson plans, and more.

Bullying in schools is on the decline, but still, 1 in 5 middle- and high-school students reports being bullied, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. Data show a higher rate of bullying among some student groups including thirty-four percent of students who identified as LGBT complaining of bullying, compared to 19 percent who identified as heterosexual. David Osher, vice president at the American Institutes for Research

noted that campaigns to raise awareness can only help so much in helping to fight all kinds of bullying. He called for programs that build empathy and self-awareness, provide support for students who have mental health problems, and foster a positive climate in schools.

Bullying in schools is on the decline, but still, 1 in 5 middle- and high-school students reports being bullied, according to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department. Data show a higher rate of bullying among some student groups including thirty-four percent of students who identified as LGBT complaining of bullying, compared to 19 percent who identified as heterosexual. David Osher, vice president at the American Institutes for Research

noted that campaigns to raise awareness can only help so much in helping to fight all kinds of bullying. He called for programs that build empathy and self-awareness, provide support for students who have mental health problems, and foster a positive climate in schools.

Students now have access to free SAT coaching through a partnership between the Khan Academy and the College Board. The College Board recently reported that students who used the program gained on average 55 points over students who did not use the program. There are no rigorous, recent studies of test gains made by students who took a for-a-fee test prep courses outside the College Board program, but this free option may be a good alternative for those who do not want to pay for prep courses.

Students now have access to free SAT coaching through a partnership between the Khan Academy and the College Board. The College Board recently reported that students who used the program gained on average 55 points over students who did not use the program. There are no rigorous, recent studies of test gains made by students who took a for-a-fee test prep courses outside the College Board program, but this free option may be a good alternative for those who do not want to pay for prep courses.

A study in the journal Pediatrics found that youths who were bullied in fifth grade had a higher risk of developing depression symptoms by seventh grade, and of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana abuse by 10th grade, compared with peers who weren't bullied. The findings were based on 2004 to 2011 data involving nearly 4,300 children in Birmingham, Alabama, Los Angeles and Houston.

A study in the journal Pediatrics found that youths who were bullied in fifth grade had a higher risk of developing depression symptoms by seventh grade, and of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana abuse by 10th grade, compared with peers who weren't bullied. The findings were based on 2004 to 2011 data involving nearly 4,300 children in Birmingham, Alabama, Los Angeles and Houston.

Four students in California are suing their school district after they were suspended for "liking" racist posts on Instagram. At issue is whether the action infringed on students' free-speech rights since the responses to the posts were input off campus. Schools have broad authority under federal law to limit speech at school that they consider disruptive, according to First Amendment scholars, but courts have disagreed about whether schools can punish students for off-campus speech that causes disruptions at school. As critics also point out about this generation, “Likes” are ambiguous and could signify agreement, but also just as likely, disagreement, with a nod to the right to speak freely, making this yet another topic to discuss with your children.

Four students in California are suing their school district after they were suspended for "liking" racist posts on Instagram. At issue is whether the action infringed on students' free-speech rights since the responses to the posts were input off campus. Schools have broad authority under federal law to limit speech at school that they consider disruptive, according to First Amendment scholars, but courts have disagreed about whether schools can punish students for off-campus speech that causes disruptions at school. As critics also point out about this generation, “Likes” are ambiguous and could signify agreement, but also just as likely, disagreement, with a nod to the right to speak freely, making this yet another topic to discuss with your children.

Are you ready for Grandma to drop in unexpectedly by video? The ability to do just that is a feature of Amazon’s newest “Alexa” system device called Echo Show. Echo Show boasts a 7-inch touchscreen where your “whitelisted” guests can drop by at any given time. Fortunately there are privacy protections, such as setting a list of contacts you are willing to accept video visits from, and the fact that there is a 10 second delay before an video starts, giving you a chance to prepare before the unexpected guest drops in. Perhaps we are finally getting a bit closer to The Jetsons after all?

Are you ready for Grandma to drop in unexpectedly by video? The ability to do just that is a feature of Amazon’s newest “Alexa” system device called Echo Show. Echo Show boasts a 7-inch touchscreen where your “whitelisted” guests can drop by at any given time. Fortunately there are privacy protections, such as setting a list of contacts you are willing to accept video visits from, and the fact that there is a 10 second delay before an video starts, giving you a chance to prepare before the unexpected guest drops in. Perhaps we are finally getting a bit closer to The Jetsons after all?

Teaching children not to plagiarize is sometimes not as easy as just having a discussion. It is a crime as old as the first pictograph and to kids, it often seems a victimless crime or one they don’t completely understand because there are so many different kinds of plagiarism . What other persuasions can you add to your argument beyond “just don’t do it?” Take a look at the 15+ Unobvious Consequences of Plagiarism in Academia on the PlagiarismCheck.org site to see what teachers from all levels of education have to say on the subject.  Some remind kids that the loss of reputation is everything. Others talk about how it is a killer of creativity, and that students should learn to value their own thinking and learning. The final remarks of one commentator reminds kids that broken trust between students and teachers is very hard to repair.

Teaching children not to plagiarize is sometimes not as easy as just having a discussion. It is a crime as old as the first pictograph and to kids, it often seems a victimless crime or one they don’t completely understand because there are so many different kinds of plagiarism . What other persuasions can you add to your argument beyond “just don’t do it?” Take a look at the 15+ Unobvious Consequences of Plagiarism in Academia on the PlagiarismCheck.org site to see what teachers from all levels of education have to say on the subject.  Some remind kids that the loss of reputation is everything. Others talk about how it is a killer of creativity, and that students should learn to value their own thinking and learning. The final remarks of one commentator reminds kids that broken trust between students and teachers is very hard to repair.

Mobile devices are so common these days it is not unusual to own more than one, and it can be extremely tempting to hand one of them off to a squirmy infant or toddler to help amuse them. According to a new Canadian study though, children ages 6 months to 2 years whose parents reported increased use of electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and electronic games were more likely to have expressive speech delays. In fact, each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time was tied to 49% higher odds of developing speech delays. On the positive side, the findings showed that handheld-device use wasn't associated with other communication delays such as social interaction, gestures or body language.

Mobile devices are so common these days it is not unusual to own more than one, and it can be extremely tempting to hand one of them off to a squirmy infant or toddler to help amuse them. According to a new Canadian study though, children ages 6 months to 2 years whose parents reported increased use of electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and electronic games were more likely to have expressive speech delays. In fact, each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time was tied to 49% higher odds of developing speech delays. On the positive side, the findings showed that handheld-device use wasn't associated with other communication delays such as social interaction, gestures or body language.