By Lynette Owens
Week of September 16, 2013
To help you keep up with what’s going on with kids, families, schools, and technology, we’ve compiled a list of stories, tips, and insights, we’ve found most useful over the past week. What have you been reading? Tell us below or Tweet @TrendISKF.
—————-
GOOGLE BAKES NEW COOKIES: A source this week told USA Today that Google is developing an anonymous identifier for advertising, or AdID, which would replace third-party cookies as the way advertisers track people’s Internet browsing activity for marketing purposes. This new technology could ensure information about consumers is only transmitted to those that have agreed to basic guidelines, giving consumers more privacy and control over how they browse the Web. The counter-argument? A lot more control of and access to online consumer data will end up in Google’s hands.
TWITTER MAKES KIDS SMARTER: In this illuminating article, The Globe and Mail recently argues that social media is actually making kids smarter by encouraging hyper-literacy. The article points to studies which suggest that over decades, student compositions have become longer, better constructed, and more intellectually complex. Part of this shift may be due to the ability to write for broader, more critical audience (in the form of blogs and social networks) versus writing for an audience of one: the teacher.
MOBILE MAKES KIDS DUMBER: Kids and tech bring on such polarizing discussions. This post highlights a study by the NPD Group that reveals that in families with children between the ages of two and 14, 51% of children use smartphones or tablets and 40% of the children have devices of their own, or are primary users. The study also revealed that 79% of families own a smart device. Some educators say this is good because it’s subsequently creating a world of more educational apps. Other teachers say it’s causing us to raise a more distracted generation.
THE BRAIN AND THE INTERNET: Another fascinating post on the connection between technology and our brains. Scientists argue that the Internet is definitely changing the way we think, but that it depends on how exactly you’re using it. In the case of reading, memory and concentration can be either negative or positively impacted, depending on whether you’re an active reader or skim reader.
TIPS ON APPS: Here’s a great site that provides insights and suggestions on apps for kids called Top Kids Apps. In this post, they discuss “I Learn With”, a series of educational apps designed for kids ages 3-6.
See you next week!
Lynette Owens is Vice President of Global Consumer Education & Marketing at Trend Micro and Founder of the Internet Safety for Kids and Families program. With 25+ years in the tech industry, Lynette speaks and blogs regularly on how to help kids become great digital citizens. She works with communities and 1:1 school districts across the U.S. and around the world to support online safety, digital and media literacy and digital citizenship education. She is a board member of the National Association for Media Literacy Education, an advisory committee member of the Digital Wellness Lab, and serves on the advisory boards of INHOPE and U.S. Safer Internet Day.
Follow her on Twitter @lynettetowens.