Digital Smarts Blog

Are your kids too trusting of what they find online? It might be good to introduce them to the WWWDOT Framework. WWWDOT in an acronym for the factors to consider when evaluating a website as a possible source of information:

• Who wrote it and what credentials do they have?
• Why was it written?
• When was it written or updated?
• Does it help meet my needs?
• Organization of site
• To-do list for the future

For more information on using the framework see the article Evaluation Websites as Information Sources on the Edutopia website.

Are your kids too trusting of what they find online? It might be good to introduce them to the WWWDOT Framework. WWWDOT in an acronym for the factors to consider when evaluating a website as a possible source of information:

• Who wrote it and what credentials do they have?
• Why was it written?
• When was it written or updated?
• Does it help meet my needs?
• Organization of site
• To-do list for the future

For more information on using the framework see the article Evaluation Websites as Information Sources on the Edutopia website.

The Presidential election could be tough to talk about with early elementary kids because much of it will probably go over their heads, but that doesn’t mean they are not interested in what is going on. PBS KIDS has launched a website called PBS KIDS YOU CHOOSE to teach kids ages 6 to 8 about the Presidential election process in an entertaining and fun way, reminding them that even though they are unable to vote, their voice still matters. The site allows kids to “Meet the candidates” and learn fun and important facts about them, as well as collect trading cards of past presidents and their spouses. There are also videos featuring favorite PBS KIDS characters and new role models discussing democracy, elections, and other government related topics.

Older children from middle and high school (and grownups too) can turn to PBS LearningMedia’s new interactive Electoral Decoder, a scrubbable timeline of Presidential elections. Kids can run different scenarios to see what states a candidate must win in order to achieve to the key number of 270 electoral votes. The best part is that it is free and accessible to all. These recent additions to the larger PBS ELECTION CENTRAL initiative gets entire families and kids of all ages to be involved in the Presidential elections.

The Presidential election could be tough to talk about with early elementary kids because much of it will probably go over their heads, but that doesn’t mean they are not interested in what is going on. PBS KIDS has launched a website called PBS KIDS YOU CHOOSE to teach kids ages 6 to 8 about the Presidential election process in an entertaining and fun way, reminding them that even though they are unable to vote, their voice still matters. The site allows kids to “Meet the candidates” and learn fun and important facts about them, as well as collect trading cards of past presidents and their spouses. There are also videos featuring favorite PBS KIDS characters and new role models discussing democracy, elections, and other government related topics.

Older children from middle and high school (and grownups too) can turn to PBS LearningMedia’s new interactive Electoral Decoder, a scrubbable timeline of Presidential elections. Kids can run different scenarios to see what states a candidate must win in order to achieve to the key number of 270 electoral votes. The best part is that it is free and accessible to all. These recent additions to the larger PBS ELECTION CENTRAL initiative gets entire families and kids of all ages to be involved in the Presidential elections.

Audiobooks are gaining ground in education with more and more content available every day. Research shows that using audiobooks can actually help students read books above their reading level or learn new vocabulary, as well as build critical listening skills. As you look to build your own audiobook collections, check out this list of websites that offer free audiobook downloads. The Audio Publisher's Association also provides some suggestions with their 2016 Audie winners for best audiobooks, including “Echo” by Pam Muñoz Ryan for middle-grade readers, “Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel” by Libba Bray for Young Adults, and for children, “Little Shop of Monsters” by R.L. Stine and Marc Brown.

Audiobooks are gaining ground in education with more and more content available every day. Research shows that using audiobooks can actually help students read books above their reading level or learn new vocabulary, as well as build critical listening skills. As you look to build your own audiobook collections, check out this list of websites that offer free audiobook downloads. The Audio Publisher's Association also provides some suggestions with their 2016 Audie winners for best audiobooks, including “Echo” by Pam Muñoz Ryan for middle-grade readers, “Lair of Dreams: A Diviners Novel” by Libba Bray for Young Adults, and for children, “Little Shop of Monsters” by R.L. Stine and Marc Brown.

Is your child looking for someone to sit with during lunch? There's an IOS app for that. The Sit With Us mobile app was created by a student who spent a year eating alone and wanted to make sure everyone has someone to sit with during lunch. The app allows students to sign up as ambassadors and post open lunch tables to help reach out to other kids who have no one to sit with.

Is your child looking for someone to sit with during lunch? There's an IOS app for that. The Sit With Us mobile app was created by a student who spent a year eating alone and wanted to make sure everyone has someone to sit with during lunch. The app allows students to sign up as ambassadors and post open lunch tables to help reach out to other kids who have no one to sit with.

Twitter users will be able to squeeze more words into their tweets thanks to changes the social network plans launched in mid September, The Verge reported recently. The changes will exempt certain features from counting toward its 140-character limit, including media attachments such as photos, GIFs, videos and polls. To a lesser degree, the @names in tweet replies will also not be counted toward the limit.

Twitter users will be able to squeeze more words into their tweets thanks to changes the social network plans launched in mid September, The Verge reported recently. The changes will exempt certain features from counting toward its 140-character limit, including media attachments such as photos, GIFs, videos and polls. To a lesser degree, the @names in tweet replies will also not be counted toward the limit.

It is hard to imagine your child as a bully, but as bullying and cyberbullying rates continue to rise despite many attempts to prevent it, it is important to think about what you would do if you get the dreaded call from school or another parent that your child is involved in a bullying incident. Evidence shows there is a big difference between punishing your child for bullying (which usually doesn’t work) and coming up with an appropriate action once you figure out why your child was bullying in the first place. The best way to react, experts say, is to try to get the bully to take the perspective of the other child involved. If they trust you, they will answer questions like “How do you think he feels about coming to school tomorrow knowing he is going to see you again?'”

It is hard to imagine your child as a bully, but as bullying and cyberbullying rates continue to rise despite many attempts to prevent it, it is important to think about what you would do if you get the dreaded call from school or another parent that your child is involved in a bullying incident. Evidence shows there is a big difference between punishing your child for bullying (which usually doesn’t work) and coming up with an appropriate action once you figure out why your child was bullying in the first place. The best way to react, experts say, is to try to get the bully to take the perspective of the other child involved. If they trust you, they will answer questions like “How do you think he feels about coming to school tomorrow knowing he is going to see you again?'”

Using passwords to keep student data safe is important, but teachers are getting smart about helping young students by using QR codes instead coping with impossible to remember and often difficult to type nine or ten digit passwords that are needed to start up computers and other digital devices. Lots of other changes in the classroom this fall are giving teachers more ways to use apps based on their student’s needs as well, including using sites like Newsela, a program which takes news articles and rewrites them for reading levels from second grade through high school. Right now, more than 850,000 teachers and 9 million students in the U.S. use the program.

Using passwords to keep student data safe is important, but teachers are getting smart about helping young students by using QR codes instead coping with impossible to remember and often difficult to type nine or ten digit passwords that are needed to start up computers and other digital devices. Lots of other changes in the classroom this fall are giving teachers more ways to use apps based on their student’s needs as well, including using sites like Newsela, a program which takes news articles and rewrites them for reading levels from second grade through high school. Right now, more than 850,000 teachers and 9 million students in the U.S. use the program.

Rude Vs. Mean Vs. Bullying: Defining The Differences  is a good blog post to review this fall as school gets started and teachers and parents are once again watching out for cases of bullying and cyberbullying. As we try to protect, nurture and instruct our children, sometimes minor situations can become magnified and it is important to remember that there are sometimes other not so alarming perspectives on words and actions.

Rude Vs. Mean Vs. Bullying: Defining The Differences  is a good blog post to review this fall as school gets started and teachers and parents are once again watching out for cases of bullying and cyberbullying. As we try to protect, nurture and instruct our children, sometimes minor situations can become magnified and it is important to remember that there are sometimes other not so alarming perspectives on words and actions.

Many adults accept the idea that kids love technology. But just like adults, kids can find tech to be frustrating. Stress, distraction and the pressure of being connected and available at all times are just some of the difficulties that Devorah Heitner, founder of Raising Digital Natives, writes about in her article Kids Don’t Always Love Technology on the Edsurge site.

Many adults accept the idea that kids love technology. But just like adults, kids can find tech to be frustrating. Stress, distraction and the pressure of being connected and available at all times are just some of the difficulties that Devorah Heitner, founder of Raising Digital Natives, writes about in her article Kids Don’t Always Love Technology on the Edsurge site.

As schools discuss whether or not to continue teaching cursive handwriting, keyboard makers are debating what constitutes the most usable keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard is a century and a half old, originating from early typewriters, and some people are advocating for other layouts. Among them are Dvorak, which puts all vowels and the most-used consonants next to one another, and Colemak, which is more similar to QWERTY but eliminates the caps lock key among other small differences. The question now is whether or not the steep learning curve of these new layouts is justified.

As schools discuss whether or not to continue teaching cursive handwriting, keyboard makers are debating what constitutes the most usable keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard is a century and a half old, originating from early typewriters, and some people are advocating for other layouts. Among them are Dvorak, which puts all vowels and the most-used consonants next to one another, and Colemak, which is more similar to QWERTY but eliminates the caps lock key among other small differences. The question now is whether or not the steep learning curve of these new layouts is justified.