In the second edition of its “Teachers Know Best” report, the Gates Foundation found that while teachers are optimistic about the use of technology, just 56 percent believe it makes them better at their jobs. Another Gates report, done in partnership with the RAND Corporation, sees “promising evidence on personalized learning” but finds that teachers and students are still using technology in simple and predictable ways.
In the second edition of its “Teachers Know Best” report, the Gates Foundation found that while teachers are optimistic about the use of technology, just 56 percent believe it makes them better at their jobs. Another Gates report, done in partnership with the RAND Corporation, sees “promising evidence on personalized learning” but finds that teachers and students are still using technology in simple and predictable ways.
Facebook is working with more than three-dozen nonprofits to test fundraising tools, including an updated "donate" button intended to facilitate spontaneous giving by users. More than 150 million people globally are connected to a cause on Facebook and the world's most popular social network has seen that even small amounts can translate into big bucks for charities, especially when people make snap decisions. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, where people uploaded videos of themselves dumping buckets of ice on their heads, fueled a viral social media campaign that helped raise more than $100 million for The ALS Association in the fight against the neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Despite stories like this, non-profits say they still face challenges with online donations because some people are still wary about putting their credit card information online. Online donations represent less than 10 percent of all charitable giving, although that rate is growing.
Facebook is working with more than three-dozen nonprofits to test fundraising tools, including an updated "donate" button intended to facilitate spontaneous giving by users. More than 150 million people globally are connected to a cause on Facebook and the world's most popular social network has seen that even small amounts can translate into big bucks for charities, especially when people make snap decisions. The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, where people uploaded videos of themselves dumping buckets of ice on their heads, fueled a viral social media campaign that helped raise more than $100 million for The ALS Association in the fight against the neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Despite stories like this, non-profits say they still face challenges with online donations because some people are still wary about putting their credit card information online. Online donations represent less than 10 percent of all charitable giving, although that rate is growing.
Onion Labs, the in-house ad agency of satirical publisher The Onion, is teaming up with Facebook's video advertising platform to deliver content to Facebook users. The partnership will start with the nine-video series "Help! I'm Turning Into My Parents!" with Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live." Thompson plays the role of Dr. Jimm, a self-help guru in the style of Dr. Phil, helping his guests avoid the technophobia that afflicts their parents.
Onion Labs, the in-house ad agency of satirical publisher The Onion, is teaming up with Facebook's video advertising platform to deliver content to Facebook users. The partnership will start with the nine-video series "Help! I'm Turning Into My Parents!" with Kenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live." Thompson plays the role of Dr. Jimm, a self-help guru in the style of Dr. Phil, helping his guests avoid the technophobia that afflicts their parents.
For a long time many watchers of the digital landscape have quietly been saying that the biggest cybersecurity risk is not identity theft, but misinformation. For example, if a hacker attacked a major news outlet and posted a false story about a rabies outbreak by an army of rabid rats in Times Square, panic might ensue even if the article was removed within minutes. That’s because the info may well have already been reposted and retweeted thousands of times. The misinformation likely would lead to crowded sidewalks, traffic accidents, overflowing hospitals, a plummeting stock market and other chaos.
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers poll found that news outlets are seeing more and more cyberattacks on their websites. Jeff Kosseff, assistant professor of cybersecurity law at the United States Naval Academy, feels that hackers who deface websites to spread false information can be just as dangerous as those who steal identities and other data. He also believes that media sites must beef up security and that new federal laws are needed to provide law enforcement with precise and effective tools to prevent and punish website defacement.
For a long time many watchers of the digital landscape have quietly been saying that the biggest cybersecurity risk is not identity theft, but misinformation. For example, if a hacker attacked a major news outlet and posted a false story about a rabies outbreak by an army of rabid rats in Times Square, panic might ensue even if the article was removed within minutes. That’s because the info may well have already been reposted and retweeted thousands of times. The misinformation likely would lead to crowded sidewalks, traffic accidents, overflowing hospitals, a plummeting stock market and other chaos.
A recent PricewaterhouseCoopers poll found that news outlets are seeing more and more cyberattacks on their websites. Jeff Kosseff, assistant professor of cybersecurity law at the United States Naval Academy, feels that hackers who deface websites to spread false information can be just as dangerous as those who steal identities and other data. He also believes that media sites must beef up security and that new federal laws are needed to provide law enforcement with precise and effective tools to prevent and punish website defacement.
Trying to make smarter choices about what media you use with your children? Consider the three C’s approach: the content, the context and the child. When looking at the quality of content, check out this list of resources that includes links to organizations that rate and review apps. Next, consider media just as an element of a “balanced diet,” including daily exercise, social engagement and good sleep. Putting media in this context and finding that balance is crucial for children’s development. Finally, consider your child and take note of how they interact with the media. Research indicates that “joint media engagement” — talking with children about what they are viewing, experiencing or creating — supports cognitive development and helps children learn more from media.
Trying to make smarter choices about what media you use with your children? Consider the three C’s approach: the content, the context and the child. When looking at the quality of content, check out this list of resources that includes links to organizations that rate and review apps. Next, consider media just as an element of a “balanced diet,” including daily exercise, social engagement and good sleep. Putting media in this context and finding that balance is crucial for children’s development. Finally, consider your child and take note of how they interact with the media. Research indicates that “joint media engagement” — talking with children about what they are viewing, experiencing or creating — supports cognitive development and helps children learn more from media.
Silicon Valley is taking some heat after the terror attacks in Paris and Beirut. Many technology companies explicitly expressed opposition to creating government "back doors" to the encryption that protects the systems and apps on smart phones. Regulators and law enforcement have long been pushing for power to monitor communications systems to expose potential threats to national security, and the recent events have many speaking on the topic. Tim Cook of Apple commented "If you leave a back door in the software, there is no such thing as a back door for good guys only.” On the opposite side, former assistant secretary of homeland security Robert Liscouski says that while some may call the regulations on “back doors” invasive, “we need to have more ubiquitous surveillance capabilities to detect these types of attacks."
Silicon Valley is taking some heat after the terror attacks in Paris and Beirut. Many technology companies explicitly expressed opposition to creating government "back doors" to the encryption that protects the systems and apps on smart phones. Regulators and law enforcement have long been pushing for power to monitor communications systems to expose potential threats to national security, and the recent events have many speaking on the topic. Tim Cook of Apple commented "If you leave a back door in the software, there is no such thing as a back door for good guys only.” On the opposite side, former assistant secretary of homeland security Robert Liscouski says that while some may call the regulations on “back doors” invasive, “we need to have more ubiquitous surveillance capabilities to detect these types of attacks."
Facebook says government requests for consumer data surged in the first half of 2015. Requests from around the world for information on users of Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram increased 18% to 41,214 from the first half of 2014. The United States made more data requests than any other nation. It requested data about 26,579 accounts in the first half of 2015, up from 21,731 accounts in the second half of 2014, according to Facebook. In about 80% of the requests, Facebook provided some of that data.
Facebook was asked to take down 20,568 pieces of content in the first half of 2015, more than double the 9,707 requests it received in the second half of 2014. India made most of these requests, asking Facebook to restrict 15,155 pieces of content.
"Overall, we continue to see an increase in content restrictions and government requests for data globally," Facebook's deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said in a blog post.
Facebook says government requests for consumer data surged in the first half of 2015. Requests from around the world for information on users of Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram increased 18% to 41,214 from the first half of 2014. The United States made more data requests than any other nation. It requested data about 26,579 accounts in the first half of 2015, up from 21,731 accounts in the second half of 2014, according to Facebook. In about 80% of the requests, Facebook provided some of that data.
Facebook was asked to take down 20,568 pieces of content in the first half of 2015, more than double the 9,707 requests it received in the second half of 2014. India made most of these requests, asking Facebook to restrict 15,155 pieces of content.
"Overall, we continue to see an increase in content restrictions and government requests for data globally," Facebook's deputy general counsel Chris Sonderby said in a blog post.
Are you planning on getting rid of an old printer? Standalone printers don’t really have a memory, but an all-in-one might have saved documents, scans, print logs or fax logs. To do a basic reset, turn the printer ON, unplug it for 15 seconds and then plug it back in. That should get rid of everything. If not, click here for the steps to do a full factory reset on a printer.
Are you planning on getting rid of an old printer? Standalone printers don’t really have a memory, but an all-in-one might have saved documents, scans, print logs or fax logs. To do a basic reset, turn the printer ON, unplug it for 15 seconds and then plug it back in. That should get rid of everything. If not, click here for the steps to do a full factory reset on a printer.
Instagram and YouTube star Essena O'Neill is ditching social media, saying that crafting an endless succession of staged, brand-sponsored photos led her to worry about her appearance, to feel like a commodity, and to lose track of what really matters in life. "I let myself be defined by numbers," O'Neill said in a YouTube video, which has since been taken down. "You'd think getting 100,000 followers on Instagram would be amazing. It was, for the day, but then you'd want 200,000."
Instagram and YouTube star Essena O'Neill is ditching social media, saying that crafting an endless succession of staged, brand-sponsored photos led her to worry about her appearance, to feel like a commodity, and to lose track of what really matters in life. "I let myself be defined by numbers," O'Neill said in a YouTube video, which has since been taken down. "You'd think getting 100,000 followers on Instagram would be amazing. It was, for the day, but then you'd want 200,000."
Sadly, sexting doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. With the growth in mobile devices, sexting has become even more prevalent than when it first received widespread attention. A recent study of several Texas high schools found that more than a quarter of the students reported having sent a naked photo of themselves, even though they were likely to report feeling bothered by being asked for one.
That’s where something called vault apps come into play. Vault apps offer sophisticated toolboxes offering more privacy controls and are available both as free and subscription based formats. Of course this also means more for parents to manage, including such apps as Calculator%, Keep Safe Private Photo Vault, and Best Secret Folder. Telltale signs that teens may be using vault apps include hiding phone screens, refusing to give over passwords, and sudden increases in device use.
Parents concerned about vault apps can take proactive measures by enabling parental controls. For families with iPhones, parents can screen apps before they are downloaded to their children’s iPhones with a feature called Ask to Buy.
By turning on Ask to Buy, whenever a child wants to download an app (whether free or paid), it sends a request to the parent’s iPhone, and the parent can then approve or deny the download. The steps, which are available on Apple’s website, involve setting up each iPhone with Family Sharing and then enabling Ask to Buy for the child’s iPhone.
For families with Android devices, parents can enable parental controls inside Google Play’s app store to allow children to download apps only at a certain maturity level. For stricter controls, parents can download an app called AppLock on the child’s device and lock down any app that they suspect to be a vault app by using a PIN code.
Sadly, sexting doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon. With the growth in mobile devices, sexting has become even more prevalent than when it first received widespread attention. A recent study of several Texas high schools found that more than a quarter of the students reported having sent a naked photo of themselves, even though they were likely to report feeling bothered by being asked for one.
That’s where something called vault apps come into play. Vault apps offer sophisticated toolboxes offering more privacy controls and are available both as free and subscription based formats. Of course this also means more for parents to manage, including such apps as Calculator%, Keep Safe Private Photo Vault, and Best Secret Folder. Telltale signs that teens may be using vault apps include hiding phone screens, refusing to give over passwords, and sudden increases in device use.
Parents concerned about vault apps can take proactive measures by enabling parental controls. For families with iPhones, parents can screen apps before they are downloaded to their children’s iPhones with a feature called Ask to Buy.
By turning on Ask to Buy, whenever a child wants to download an app (whether free or paid), it sends a request to the parent’s iPhone, and the parent can then approve or deny the download. The steps, which are available on Apple’s website, involve setting up each iPhone with Family Sharing and then enabling Ask to Buy for the child’s iPhone.
For families with Android devices, parents can enable parental controls inside Google Play’s app store to allow children to download apps only at a certain maturity level. For stricter controls, parents can download an app called AppLock on the child’s device and lock down any app that they suspect to be a vault app by using a PIN code.