Digital Smarts Blog

Congress is currently working on a bill to regulate recreational drones that is expected to address privacy including air rights around people’s homes, but in the meantime, people have been arrested for shooting down drones that have strayed into their backyard. Exactly what the rules are when it comes to drones is still being determined, but if your children have access to a drone it is important to remind them that civil complaints could be filed against them if it enters someone else’s property. In addition, flying a drone by someone’s window could be considered a criminal action in many states.

Congress is currently working on a bill to regulate recreational drones that is expected to address privacy including air rights around people’s homes, but in the meantime, people have been arrested for shooting down drones that have strayed into their backyard. Exactly what the rules are when it comes to drones is still being determined, but if your children have access to a drone it is important to remind them that civil complaints could be filed against them if it enters someone else’s property. In addition, flying a drone by someone’s window could be considered a criminal action in many states.

Virtual assistant programs such as Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri were created to make your life easier. Although they are great at helping you access information quickly and easily, in order to do so they need access to personal information including your location, your calendar, your contacts and much more. In addition,  audio data from voice commands may also be sent to the company’s servers to process the request and improve speech recognition. Your browsing and search histories are probably collected, too. Companies often claim this is to provide more relevant results, but the data may also be used to help send more targeted advertisements your way. Wondering what they are going to do with your data? The Privacy Statement page on Microsoft’s site goes into greater detail about use of the personal information the company collects from you on behalf of Cortana (and its other services like Bing and Outlook.com). If you use Siri or Google Now, both Apple and Google have lengthy declarations posted on their respective sites that explain what they intend to do with your data, as do sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Virtual assistant programs such as Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri were created to make your life easier. Although they are great at helping you access information quickly and easily, in order to do so they need access to personal information including your location, your calendar, your contacts and much more. In addition,  audio data from voice commands may also be sent to the company’s servers to process the request and improve speech recognition. Your browsing and search histories are probably collected, too. Companies often claim this is to provide more relevant results, but the data may also be used to help send more targeted advertisements your way. Wondering what they are going to do with your data? The Privacy Statement page on Microsoft’s site goes into greater detail about use of the personal information the company collects from you on behalf of Cortana (and its other services like Bing and Outlook.com). If you use Siri or Google Now, both Apple and Google have lengthy declarations posted on their respective sites that explain what they intend to do with your data, as do sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Some US colleges are taking into consideration requests to block access to the popular app Yik Yak on campus. According to several campus officials, the social media app has been linked to bullying and threats of violence because of the ability to post anonymously. Many students are protesting the app on the grounds that it breeds hate, and are suggesting geofences to completely block the app when on their college campus.

Some US colleges are taking into consideration requests to block access to the popular app Yik Yak on campus. According to several campus officials, the social media app has been linked to bullying and threats of violence because of the ability to post anonymously. Many students are protesting the app on the grounds that it breeds hate, and are suggesting geofences to completely block the app when on their college campus.

E-mail is fast and effective, but it's also potentially risky: Without body language or tone of voice to guide them, recipients may wind up taking offense to what you write. It is especially true in back-and-forth chains that can devolve into frustrated knee-jerk responses, writes Peter Post on the Boston.com site. "Any time you begin to sense that the thread is becoming unpleasant, that is the moment to pick up the phone or visit the person to resolve the issue," he advises.

E-mail is fast and effective, but it's also potentially risky: Without body language or tone of voice to guide them, recipients may wind up taking offense to what you write. It is especially true in back-and-forth chains that can devolve into frustrated knee-jerk responses, writes Peter Post on the Boston.com site. "Any time you begin to sense that the thread is becoming unpleasant, that is the moment to pick up the phone or visit the person to resolve the issue," he advises.

When you’re stuck at home on a snowy day and don’t want your kids to be entertained by digital devices for hours on end, check out Free Printables. The free website has a range of printable graphics and documents for home, kids, business and more. For kids you’ll find coloring pages, printable play money, masks, tooth fairy letters, and paper dolls as well as writing templates to inspire creative writing. There are also games, gift cards, flash cards, invitations, chore charts, mazes, to do lists, printable world maps, and so much more.

When you’re stuck at home on a snowy day and don’t want your kids to be entertained by digital devices for hours on end, check out Free Printables. The free website has a range of printable graphics and documents for home, kids, business and more. For kids you’ll find coloring pages, printable play money, masks, tooth fairy letters, and paper dolls as well as writing templates to inspire creative writing. There are also games, gift cards, flash cards, invitations, chore charts, mazes, to do lists, printable world maps, and so much more.

Is your school or PTA/PTO looking for apps to promote communication between teachers, parents and students? Laura Devanye of eSchool News reviews six applications that can help parents and teachers communicate. On the list is GroupMe, a texting tool that allows parents to connect with the parents of their child’s classmates, and gives teachers the ability to text classroom parents in one group message.

Is your school or PTA/PTO looking for apps to promote communication between teachers, parents and students? Laura Devanye of eSchool News reviews six applications that can help parents and teachers communicate. On the list is GroupMe, a texting tool that allows parents to connect with the parents of their child’s classmates, and gives teachers the ability to text classroom parents in one group message.

If your child is a student athlete, you may want to check out CaptainU , a software program that is designed to help high-school athletes manage their recruiting experience and connect with college coaches. The platform lets students build profiles, find schools that fit their athletic and academic goals, create checklists of action items and build relationship with coaches. Students may register for free, but paid accounts are also available to access premium features.

If your child is a student athlete, you may want to check out CaptainU , a software program that is designed to help high-school athletes manage their recruiting experience and connect with college coaches. The platform lets students build profiles, find schools that fit their athletic and academic goals, create checklists of action items and build relationship with coaches. Students may register for free, but paid accounts are also available to access premium features.

Trying to get a discussion about sexting started with your kids but don’t know how to broach the subject? One way is to first arm yourself with some facts about the topic so that you can talk more sensibly. To do that, take a look at these 11 Facts About Sexting on the website of DoSomething,org,  one of the largest online organizations for young people and social change campaigns.  These eye-opening facts will give you an idea of what you – and your children – are up against.

Trying to get a discussion about sexting started with your kids but don’t know how to broach the subject? One way is to first arm yourself with some facts about the topic so that you can talk more sensibly. To do that, take a look at these 11 Facts About Sexting on the website of DoSomething,org,  one of the largest online organizations for young people and social change campaigns.  These eye-opening facts will give you an idea of what you – and your children – are up against.

More college admissions officers are using Google and social media sites to get information about student applicants, according to the yearly survey done by Kaplan Test Prep. 400 college admissions officers participated in the survey, with 40% saying they visit applicants' social media pages and about 29% performing searches on prospective students via Google. Reasons given for using social media included learning more about an applicant’s interest or talent, verifying awards, checking for criminal records, and doing background checks on scholarship candidates.

More college admissions officers are using Google and social media sites to get information about student applicants, according to the yearly survey done by Kaplan Test Prep. 400 college admissions officers participated in the survey, with 40% saying they visit applicants' social media pages and about 29% performing searches on prospective students via Google. Reasons given for using social media included learning more about an applicant’s interest or talent, verifying awards, checking for criminal records, and doing background checks on scholarship candidates.

Facebook recently conducted a survey with Ipsos Media of 8,000 people in 8 countries and discovered that parents outpace nonparents on social media, especially in mobile usage. New moms post 2.5 times more status updates and 3.5 times more photos than nonparents, researchers say. In the survey, 53 percent of parents with young kids also stated that they use mobile devices to keep their children entertained.

Facebook recently conducted a survey with Ipsos Media of 8,000 people in 8 countries and discovered that parents outpace nonparents on social media, especially in mobile usage. New moms post 2.5 times more status updates and 3.5 times more photos than nonparents, researchers say. In the survey, 53 percent of parents with young kids also stated that they use mobile devices to keep their children entertained.