Derek E. Baird :: Barking Robot

Children's Online Risks Diversifying [REPORT]

New research conducted by the London School of Economics shows the risks children face are increasingly related to user generated content including what children themselves are sharing.

According to the researchers, there has been a notable broadening of online risks encountered by children in the UK, and according to this report, these all concern kids and user-generated content. 

This report presents new UK-specific findings from Net Children Go Mobile regarding children’s online access, opportunities, risks and parental mediation. It compares these with the seven country European 2013 survey by Net Children Go Mobile and with findings from the UK 2010 survey by EU Kids Online.

Specifically, the new report highlights a shift in trends in the online risks reported by children in the UK between 2010 and 2013. Most notably, UK kids 11-16 year olds report more race hate (23%), self-harm (17%) and pro-anorexia (14%) content.

Net Children Go Mobile | UK Report

Livingstone, S., Haddon, L., Vincent, J., Mascheroni, G. and Ólafsson, K. (2014). Net Children Go Mobile: The UK Report. London: London School of Economics and Political Science.

EMSI Report: Middle-Skill Spotlight: In-Demand Sectors With A Community College Focus

It’s a simple but powerful point. Some industries rely more than others on employees with mid-level expertise—the exact type of worker that a community college specializes in training through certificate and two-year programs.

Middle-skill jobs are prevalent in advanced manufacturing, health care, information technology, sales and marketing, transportation, and energy.

Not coincidentally, these are also the most common sectors (depending on the region) in which employers have a hard time finding talent. And they're among the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. after the Great Recession.

This report by Economic Modeling Specialists International looks at the key skill sets required to secure employment in the 21st Century.

Middle-Skill Spotlight: In-Demand Sectors With A Community College Focus by Derek E. Baird

Snapchat Social Safety Guide for Parents and Educators [PRIVACY]

Few things strike fear in parents and educators as much as Snapchat. It wasn't too long ago that social technologies like MySpace, Facebook, SMS and camerphones had the power to elicit such a negative response.

But slowly, as parents and educators began to learn more about these new tools and social technologies, they not only embraced them, but many educators began integrating them into their teaching practice.

The Snapchat team has put together a wonderful guide to help parents and educators learn more about the app and help demystify some of the rumors. It's a good starting point to learn more about the app, which is becoming more and more mainstream every day.

The guide also talks about the SnapKidz--the totally private and secure version of Snapchat designed for kids under the age of 13. Snapkidz is a fun way for tweens to privately share photos of camp, that trip to Disneyland or family vaycay with their friends, cousins and even grandma! 

For educators, this guide is a great opportunity to have a discussion with your colleagues in a professional development setting to learn more about Snapchat and how students in your school are using this tool. Who knows, you might even find yourself using the "Our Story" feature to document that field trip!

Happy Snapchatting!


Snapchat Social Safety Guide for Parents & Educators

How Teens Use Instagram [CASE STUDY]

Business Insider columnist, Caroline Moss, has an interesting piece that explores how teens use Instagram.

It's a pretty spot on case study of how teens use mobile social media apps like Instagram.

Ms. Moss delves into hashtag culture, how teens leverage 'follow for follows' to increase their 'cool factor' and some of the other factors that make it so popular with teens and tweens.

"For a young kid, clout comes in the form of a high number, which makes you look like you're really important. It's a more innocent and more straightforward way about getting the attention they're craving.

There is no subconscious, hidden need to be validated every time a different photo goes up, because regardless of the nature of the content, if a kid has 3,000 followers and follows only 20 people back, they consider themselves to be Instagram-famous and so do their friends.

For the older crowd, we're never sure who really takes home the crowd at the end of the day. Is it the person with the beautiful wedding, the beautiful vacation home, the beautiful engagement ring? Or is it the person who doesn't have an Instagram account?

With kids, it's as simple as a number, and, no matter what, the biggest number wins."

 

How to Use Instagram Like a Teenage Girl [CASE STUDY]

TechNews Daily takes a peek into the teen world of Instagram through the eyes of a teenage girl. Learn the nuance of filters, hashtags and popularity. 

If your Instagram feed consists of sunsets, water droplet close-ups and elegantly arranged gourmet meals, you're not a 15-year-old girl.

Teens girls favor embellishments you can't get inside Instagram, as well as photos of  their favorite people, including themselves. While some effects may seem a bit silly (sparkles, anyone?), many of them are handy for women and men of all ages. 

Mary Meeker Internet Trend Report: 50 percent of BuzzFeed readers are in the coveted 18-24 age range

Every year, Kleiner Perkins investor Mary Meeker puts together an extensive Internet trends report.

On Wednesday, she announced her findings for the year of 2014 during the Code Conference.

While some of her findings were rather obvious, others were much more interesting and revealing.

KPCB Internet trends 2014 from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

Bullying Can Lead to PTSD in Children and Teens [RESEARCH]

Social media, anonymous messaging apps and text messaging have assumed a dominant role in communication among teens society. And, as common in teenage social environments, these circumstances often involve online teasing and harassing.

An article in Psych Central News points to research conducted in Norway and published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology that points to increasing evidence that bullying at school can lead to PTSD in children and teens.

The study measured the extent of intrusive memories and avoidance behavior, two of three defined PTSD symptoms. The third, physiological stress activation, was not covered.

“Traumatic experiences or strains imposed on us by others can often hurt more than accidents,” said Dr. Thormod Idsøe from the University of Stavanger (UiS) and Bergen’s Center for Crisis Psychology. “That could be why so many pupils report such symptoms.” The PTSD symptoms can make it difficult to concentrate and have a disruptive effect on daily life, preventing those who are bullied from functioning normally, according to the researcher.

“Pupils who’re constantly plagued by thoughts about or images of painful experiences, and who use much energy to suppress them, will clearly have less capacity to concentrate on schoolwork,” he said. “Nor is this usually easy to observe — they often suffer in silence.”

Photo Credit: Amanda Dorner via Flickr

 

YouTube reaches more 18-34 year-olds than any cable TV network [REPORT]

They are passionate. They define trends. And when they find a brand they love, they tell all their friends. They are 18-34 year-olds and they live and breathe YouTube.

In this issue of YouTube Insights, learn how to connect with this influential demographic, turn them into fans and create advertising with instant impact from research and case studies from brands such as Hyatt and Brand USA.

Youtube Insights: What 18-34 Year Olds Want From Brands

Sean Combs' Howard University Commencement Speech: "You Don't Know How Powerful You Are"

Sean Combs' Howard University commencement speech is touching and so incredibly inspiring. Music mogul Sean Combs electrified Howard University’s Class of 2014 with a commencement speech that was thoughtful, funny and, surprisingly, sentimental.

In the 1990s, when most of his friends were graduating from Howard, he’d been fired from his first job as talent director at Uptown Records, his girlfriend was 81 / 2 months pregnant, and he had just bought a house in Arizona that he could not afford.

He said he could have given up and let the darkness swallow him. Instead, “I had to decide to be my own light.”

He added:

“One day, you’re going to be sitting in the dark like I was, thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’ In that moment, I want you to remember the power in you.”

“Nobody is going to take you to the front of the line — you need to push to the front of the line,” he said.

 

 

Gamification of Education [INFOGRAPHIC]

Gamification [n]: the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.

“Game players regularly exhibit persistence, risk-taking, attention to detail, and problem-solving, all behaviors that ideally would be regularly demonstrated in school.” – The Education Arcade at MIT

 

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media