Take a look at this fascinating article on how some teachers handle cellphones in their classroom. Is your school considering a policy for allowing cellphones in the classroom or on-campus use? Perhaps these diverse examples of different viewpoints can help your school, as well as parents and kids, understand how teachers feel about cellphones and their in-class policies.
Take a look at this fascinating article on how some teachers handle cellphones in their classroom. Is your school considering a policy for allowing cellphones in the classroom or on-campus use? Perhaps these diverse examples of different viewpoints can help your school, as well as parents and kids, understand how teachers feel about cellphones and their in-class policies.
Educators have stirred debate about the use of social media, both locally and elsewhere, sometimes garnering national attention for their online posts. Still, school systems have been slow to adopt policies for administrators, teachers and staff on using social media with the result being, as one school board member put it, “Technology is like water. It can revive you, and sometimes it can drown you."
Marcus Messner, a social media professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, reminds social media users – teachers, parents and students alike - that freedom of speech does not guarantee shared material won't go viral or stir a storm of controversy. What’s his solution? Take a break for five minutes. Then, if you still think it's a good idea to share your thoughts (or images) or someone else’s in cyberspace, go ahead.
Educators have stirred debate about the use of social media, both locally and elsewhere, sometimes garnering national attention for their online posts. Still, school systems have been slow to adopt policies for administrators, teachers and staff on using social media with the result being, as one school board member put it, “Technology is like water. It can revive you, and sometimes it can drown you."
Marcus Messner, a social media professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, reminds social media users – teachers, parents and students alike - that freedom of speech does not guarantee shared material won't go viral or stir a storm of controversy. What’s his solution? Take a break for five minutes. Then, if you still think it's a good idea to share your thoughts (or images) or someone else’s in cyberspace, go ahead.
Close to 97% of parents said their children use mobile devices, most of whom started before their first birthday, according to a study published in Pediatrics. The findings, based on a survey of 289 parents of 350 children who lived in "an urban, low-income, minority community," reveal that three-fourths of the children owned their own mobile device at age 4, 20% had their own tablet computer at age 1, 28% could navigate a mobile device on their own at age 2 and 21% owned a gaming console at age 4.
Close to 97% of parents said their children use mobile devices, most of whom started before their first birthday, according to a study published in Pediatrics. The findings, based on a survey of 289 parents of 350 children who lived in "an urban, low-income, minority community," reveal that three-fourths of the children owned their own mobile device at age 4, 20% had their own tablet computer at age 1, 28% could navigate a mobile device on their own at age 2 and 21% owned a gaming console at age 4.
The popularity of online courses has led to a new market for online cheaters -- companies that will, for a fee, take online classes and exams for students. This may prove to be a growing problem as some surveys of online courses show that nearly a third of all higher-education enrollments in the U.S. are now online—with almost 7 million students taking at least one online class. Critics say that a more “blended” approach with added interaction between the online student and faculty, and with other students taking the course, can be a safeguard against this kind of academic fraud.
The popularity of online courses has led to a new market for online cheaters -- companies that will, for a fee, take online classes and exams for students. This may prove to be a growing problem as some surveys of online courses show that nearly a third of all higher-education enrollments in the U.S. are now online—with almost 7 million students taking at least one online class. Critics say that a more “blended” approach with added interaction between the online student and faculty, and with other students taking the course, can be a safeguard against this kind of academic fraud.
Pinterest is updating its mobile and Web apps with an interesting new way to visually search for content. If you spot something in a pinned image, like a certain science fair project or a cool lamp, you can simply tap the new search icon in the top right corner to select the item and do an image search for similar results.
Pinterest is updating its mobile and Web apps with an interesting new way to visually search for content. If you spot something in a pinned image, like a certain science fair project or a cool lamp, you can simply tap the new search icon in the top right corner to select the item and do an image search for similar results.
Plagiarism is a practice that many kids think is “victimless,” but in schools and out in the real world committing the offense still has significant consequences. Take a look at this feature on Understanding Plagiarism in a Digital Age to help your kids avoid plagiarizing. It’s one of those issues/terms to which teachers often give lip service because they don’t understand it themselves, with good reason, because it is terribly complicated. Yet teachers still hold students accountable through the use of plagiarism checkers like Turnitin.com. Talking about the complexity and consequences of plagiarism with your kids can certainly help them to understand and avoid it.
Plagiarism is a practice that many kids think is “victimless,” but in schools and out in the real world committing the offense still has significant consequences. Take a look at this feature on Understanding Plagiarism in a Digital Age to help your kids avoid plagiarizing. It’s one of those issues/terms to which teachers often give lip service because they don’t understand it themselves, with good reason, because it is terribly complicated. Yet teachers still hold students accountable through the use of plagiarism checkers like Turnitin.com. Talking about the complexity and consequences of plagiarism with your kids can certainly help them to understand and avoid it.
Many parents associate Snapchat with teen sexting and cyberbullying, but according to a new study out of the University of Michigan, college students feel that, in addition to face-to-face meetups, Snapchat offers the most rewarding personal interactions. While Snapchat was seen as being less of a socially supportive app, it was seen by the study subjects as a way to communicate spontaneously with close friends in a new and often more enjoyable way. The lead author of the study, Joseph Bayer, said "Since Facebook has become a space for sharing crafted big moments such as babies, graduations and birthdays, Snapchat seems to provide users with a distinct space for sharing the small moments." Parents should still caution kids about the use of app and its ties to cyberbullying.
Many parents associate Snapchat with teen sexting and cyberbullying, but according to a new study out of the University of Michigan, college students feel that, in addition to face-to-face meetups, Snapchat offers the most rewarding personal interactions. While Snapchat was seen as being less of a socially supportive app, it was seen by the study subjects as a way to communicate spontaneously with close friends in a new and often more enjoyable way. The lead author of the study, Joseph Bayer, said "Since Facebook has become a space for sharing crafted big moments such as babies, graduations and birthdays, Snapchat seems to provide users with a distinct space for sharing the small moments." Parents should still caution kids about the use of app and its ties to cyberbullying.
Hearing problems are cropping up in much younger kids these days as a result of listening to digital devices that play louder and run much longer. Ear doctors are now recommending the 60/60 rule. - that is, listening at 60%volume for a maximum of 60 minutes. In other words, monitor the volume bars on your device, and make sure they are never edging too far over the halfway mark. And after listening to 60 minutes – take a break!
Hearing problems are cropping up in much younger kids these days as a result of listening to digital devices that play louder and run much longer. Ear doctors are now recommending the 60/60 rule. - that is, listening at 60%volume for a maximum of 60 minutes. In other words, monitor the volume bars on your device, and make sure they are never edging too far over the halfway mark. And after listening to 60 minutes – take a break!
Apple announced recently that it has pulled hundreds of apps from its App Store because they violated the App Store’s review process by collecting unapproved kinds of data. A third-party analytics service called SourceDNA discovered that apps from a Chinese advertising platform called Youmi were collecting personally identifiable data, including email addresses, Apple IDs, device and peripheral serial numbers, and a list of apps installed on the device. Perhaps more disturbing than the data privacy breach is the fact that Youmi was able to get the data collection past Apple’s notoriously rigorous app review process.
Apple announced recently that it has pulled hundreds of apps from its App Store because they violated the App Store’s review process by collecting unapproved kinds of data. A third-party analytics service called SourceDNA discovered that apps from a Chinese advertising platform called Youmi were collecting personally identifiable data, including email addresses, Apple IDs, device and peripheral serial numbers, and a list of apps installed on the device. Perhaps more disturbing than the data privacy breach is the fact that Youmi was able to get the data collection past Apple’s notoriously rigorous app review process.
According to a new study in the journal Brain and Cognition, food imagery could be making you eat more. The study, which is really more an amalgamation of prior studies, links viewing images of food to bodily changes, such as increased salivation and (possibly) increased hunger. It goes on to say that "regular exposure to virtual foods might well be exacerbating our physiological hunger more often than needed, due to the array of neural, physiological, and behavioral responses linked to seeing food. The researchers place blame for our increased exposure to stylized images of food on the variety of digital screens that surround us every day, as well as "embellishing technologies" like Photoshop and Instagram.
The study also notes that we're "spending more time looking at virtual images of appetizing foods and paying less attention to the actual foods being consumed."
According to a new study in the journal Brain and Cognition, food imagery could be making you eat more. The study, which is really more an amalgamation of prior studies, links viewing images of food to bodily changes, such as increased salivation and (possibly) increased hunger. It goes on to say that "regular exposure to virtual foods might well be exacerbating our physiological hunger more often than needed, due to the array of neural, physiological, and behavioral responses linked to seeing food. The researchers place blame for our increased exposure to stylized images of food on the variety of digital screens that surround us every day, as well as "embellishing technologies" like Photoshop and Instagram.
The study also notes that we're "spending more time looking at virtual images of appetizing foods and paying less attention to the actual foods being consumed."