Digital Smarts Blog

Common Sense Media has partnered with 40 U.S. school districts  to launch the “Common Sense Privacy Evaluation Initiative.” Supported by the Gates and Dell Foundations, the partnership aims to establish a common framework to help districts thoroughly review the privacy and security standards of the educational technology tools they use. The first set of evaluations will be for educational software and will be available April 1, 2016 at Common Sense Graphite.

Common Sense Media has partnered with 40 U.S. school districts  to launch the “Common Sense Privacy Evaluation Initiative.” Supported by the Gates and Dell Foundations, the partnership aims to establish a common framework to help districts thoroughly review the privacy and security standards of the educational technology tools they use. The first set of evaluations will be for educational software and will be available April 1, 2016 at Common Sense Graphite.

When your child has to give a presentation or speech, you know that practicing it over and over is the best way to prepare. A great way to help them practice is to take a video of the presentation, giving them opportunity to self-critique. Watching themselves will make them more aware of things like volume, eye contact, gestures, speed and even how comfortable they are with props or other presentation tools. It is also a great way to get other people in the family involved by sharing it with them. If you need help getting started, read how one teacher used it in their classroom. It is also important to note that student presentation is a major component of the Common Core Standards and is going to become a larger part of the classroom experience for all levels of students, so practicing these skills young will help later on.

When your child has to give a presentation or speech, you know that practicing it over and over is the best way to prepare. A great way to help them practice is to take a video of the presentation, giving them opportunity to self-critique. Watching themselves will make them more aware of things like volume, eye contact, gestures, speed and even how comfortable they are with props or other presentation tools. It is also a great way to get other people in the family involved by sharing it with them. If you need help getting started, read how one teacher used it in their classroom. It is also important to note that student presentation is a major component of the Common Core Standards and is going to become a larger part of the classroom experience for all levels of students, so practicing these skills young will help later on.

Before you start to complain about the amount of time teens spend on their phones, you might want to look a recent survey that found Baby Boomers are the most likely age group to use their phones at the table. Half (52%) of 50-64-year-olds say they use technology during meals, compared to 40% of 21-34-year-olds, and 38% of 15-20-year-olds. Although older generations may not be addictively Snapchatting, they are devoted to their emails: “over 50% of working adults check their company email over the weekend and before or after work. 40% also think it is fine to respond to important work emails during family dinners.”

Before you start to complain about the amount of time teens spend on their phones, you might want to look a recent survey that found Baby Boomers are the most likely age group to use their phones at the table. Half (52%) of 50-64-year-olds say they use technology during meals, compared to 40% of 21-34-year-olds, and 38% of 15-20-year-olds. Although older generations may not be addictively Snapchatting, they are devoted to their emails: “over 50% of working adults check their company email over the weekend and before or after work. 40% also think it is fine to respond to important work emails during family dinners.”

There have been several recent instances where charges were brought for using emojis in a way deemed to be threatening, and many of them involve children. A 12 year-old girl in Virginia was charged with threatening her school because she posted a message on Instagram that included bomb, knife and gun emojis and the phrase “meet me in the library.” Other cases have involved a variety of emojis and other social networking sites. It is worth it to mention to your kids, who might think lightly about using emojis to joke around.

There have been several recent instances where charges were brought for using emojis in a way deemed to be threatening, and many of them involve children. A 12 year-old girl in Virginia was charged with threatening her school because she posted a message on Instagram that included bomb, knife and gun emojis and the phrase “meet me in the library.” Other cases have involved a variety of emojis and other social networking sites. It is worth it to mention to your kids, who might think lightly about using emojis to joke around.

These days almost everything has a “paperless” option, even your kids’ school work. So what do you do when they get an assignment that calls for a specific kind of paper? Try Printable Paper, a free site that offers over 1600 different kinds of paper, including everything from graph paper to comic book templates. And speaking of comics and free, try the Comic Touch app from Plasq to help kids make posters and comic book covers on the fly.

These days almost everything has a “paperless” option, even your kids’ school work. So what do you do when they get an assignment that calls for a specific kind of paper? Try Printable Paper, a free site that offers over 1600 different kinds of paper, including everything from graph paper to comic book templates. And speaking of comics and free, try the Comic Touch app from Plasq to help kids make posters and comic book covers on the fly.

Teenagers spend almost nine hours each day in front of screens, including television and smartphones, according to Common Sense Media. A new documentary, "Screenagers," focuses on the addiction to screen time and the importance of adults setting boundaries.

Teenagers spend almost nine hours each day in front of screens, including television and smartphones, according to Common Sense Media. A new documentary, "Screenagers," focuses on the addiction to screen time and the importance of adults setting boundaries.

Facebook has finally updated the “Like” button to include five new emotions - Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. (And here is how to do it if you haven’t used it yet.) It’s not a change Facebook made lightly - the biggest consideration was finding sentiments so universal that they would easily translate across all the countries.

Facebook has finally updated the “Like” button to include five new emotions - Love, Haha, Wow, Sad and Angry. (And here is how to do it if you haven’t used it yet.) It’s not a change Facebook made lightly - the biggest consideration was finding sentiments so universal that they would easily translate across all the countries.

Are you curious about how your kids are using their phones to do homework? An education company called Socratic has spent the last two years researching the concept and they shared their observations in this recent article. While the results were intended for educational app developers, they are also useful to parents trying to demystify how kids use and think about their smartphones as a digital tool.

Are you curious about how your kids are using their phones to do homework? An education company called Socratic has spent the last two years researching the concept and they shared their observations in this recent article. While the results were intended for educational app developers, they are also useful to parents trying to demystify how kids use and think about their smartphones as a digital tool.

A recent survey from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Rutgers University shows that 9 out of 10 low-income families with school-aged children have access to the Internet at home, but are often forced to rely on mobile devices to get online. That can be a big problem when it comes to homework, home-school communications and independent learning.  To help bridge the gap, the Consortium for School Networking has developed a toolkit to assist schools and parents in closing the digital divide. The Digital Equity Action Toolkit addresses issues such as community engagement and suggests creative solutions for connectivity outside of school.

A recent survey from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Rutgers University shows that 9 out of 10 low-income families with school-aged children have access to the Internet at home, but are often forced to rely on mobile devices to get online. That can be a big problem when it comes to homework, home-school communications and independent learning.  To help bridge the gap, the Consortium for School Networking has developed a toolkit to assist schools and parents in closing the digital divide. The Digital Equity Action Toolkit addresses issues such as community engagement and suggests creative solutions for connectivity outside of school.

Technology has revolutionized the college admissions process, from the way students apply to how they can research a school. Experts say more and more students are visiting campuses through virtual tours and talking with admissions officers through live video chats. Some schools, such as the University of Michigan, are even using online services to help students begin building their college-application portfolio as early as the ninth grade.

Technology has revolutionized the college admissions process, from the way students apply to how they can research a school. Experts say more and more students are visiting campuses through virtual tours and talking with admissions officers through live video chats. Some schools, such as the University of Michigan, are even using online services to help students begin building their college-application portfolio as early as the ninth grade.