Derek E. Baird

Clementine, a 20 month-old, Discovers the iPad [VIDEO]

A Reluctant High School Hero: 'Just Lend a Hand. It's Not Hard'

So often the stories about youth that make the news are focused around them getting into some sort of "trouble" or acting like, well teenagers.

Tonight on the ABC World News they had a feature about an amazing high school football player named Rudy Favard. I don't want to say too much, but take a few minutes out of your day and watch this video.

 

So here's a challenge. This weekend let's all follow Rudy's example and find someone, some way to do something for someone else. Hold a door, let a frazzled mom cut in line at the grocery store or let that car merge into your lane.

It doesn't matter what you do, just that you lend a hand. It's not that hard.

LG Launches Text Ed with 'Glee' Star Jane Lynch

The LG Text Ed program, which was launched in early 2010, offers parents a number of articles, tips, videos and other content so they can educate themselves on the dangers of mobile phone misuse, employ strategies to help protect their children from potential problems, and discover how they might be modeling their children’s mobile phone behavior.

In a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, presented during the Federal Communication Commission’s recent Generation Mobile Forum, 40 percent of teens said they’ve been in a car when the driver used a cell phone in a way that put themselves or others in danger.

LG Text Ed with Jane Lynch

Bringing her trademark intensity and flair to the LG Text Ed campaign, award-winning actress Jane Lynch is working with LG Mobile Phones to raise awareness about risky mobile phone behavior.

In a series of comedic vignettes, which can be viewed on www.LGTextEd.com, Lynch tackles issues such as sexting, texting while driving, mobile bullying, and other questionable teen behaviors. 

At the end of each video, Lynch directs parents to LGTextEd.com where they can find professional advice and guidance to help promote safe and responsible mobile usage among their text- and tech-savvy families.

In the texting while driving video, Lynch confronts a classroom of parents about their own texting and driving bad habits and urges parents to model good behavior for their children.

Using humor to get to the heart of the issue, Lynch helps parents help themselves by putting the phone away in the car and encouraging their kids to do the same.

Parents can find additional information on the LG Text Ed initiative and mobile phone misuse (mobile bullying, sexting) by visiting www.lgtexted.com. You can also connect with LG Text Ed on Facebook.

 

Related: 'No Phone Zone' Lesson Plan: Teaching Teens the Dangers of Texting & Driving

Boomers, Millennials & Gen X: We All Want to Be Young [VIDEO]

via vimeo.com

The movie "We All Want to Be Young" is the outcome of several studies developed by BOX1824 in the past 5 years. BOX1824 is a Brazilian research company specialized in behavioral sciences and consumer trends.

Some of the key generational characteristics (or insights) showcased in the film include:

• the sense of global, personal connection and collective consciousness enabled by the internet (and information age);

• a generalized sense of anxiety brought on by access to an overwhelming amount of information – and the need to stay connected across networks;

• use of hyperbolic language in self-expression, arguably to avoid getting ‘lost’ amidst this information overload;

• blurred definitions and categorizations of self (think designer-slash-DJ-slash copywriter-slash blogger);

• transience in short-term relationships;

• balancing work & pleasure by seeking out pleasure in short, pre-programmed breaks – this generation is used to having access to things that give them immediate pleasure.

Related: Watch 'We All Want to Be Young" in Spanish

Land of Nod Teams with the No Kid Hungry Campaign

Kid retailer The Land of Nod has has teamed up with the No Hungry Kid campaign, a program of Share Our Strength, dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America by 2015.

There's been lots of chatter about how well Millennials respond to cause marketing campaigns. In many regards this generation expects corporations to "do well and do good." Since many of them are full swing in the baby and childhood rearing stage of their lives, hopefully this collaboration will resonate with Millennials and their pocketbooks.

The Land of Nod, part of the Crate and Barrel family of stores, has set up a dedicated microsite to educate their customers on the facts on childhood hunger in America. In addition, they have several products that they will give 5% of the proceeds from the purchase to No Kid Hungry.

To make it even easier for people to get involved, The Land of Nod has made it possible to donate to No Kid Hungry via SMS. You can make a $10.00 donation now by texting "NOD" to 20222.

While some may see this as yet another exercise in slacktivism, the sad truth is that nearly 17 million American kids don't have enough to eat. So if this pro-social campaign makes it easier for people to donate, then I'm all for it--kudos to The Land of Nod!

 

The No Kid Hungry Campaign operates on four key points:

* Creating public-private partnerships at the state level to break down barriers that prevent kids from accessing the food they need.

* Feeding hungry kids where they live, learn, and play. In 2009, thanks to a lot of team work, we helped provide 4.5 million more meals to needy children.

* Educating children and families about nutrition and healthy eating. Through Share Our Strength’s Operation Frontline®, we have reached nearly 60,000 families, spreading knowledge on how to budget for groceries and cook great tasting and nutritious foods.

* Building awareness of the childhood hunger crisis and a drive for change among all Americans. Using as many channels as possible we are making No Kid Hungry a shared national priority.

• Connect with No Kid Hungry on Twitter and Facebook

• Connect with Land of Nod on Twitter and Facebook

Cyberbullying: Solutions for Parents [VIDEO]

Cellphones, Facebook, Instant Messaging : Kids use these tools to communicate with friends, but they can also abuse them. In this video, Common Sense Media presents tips and guidance on managing kids' digital lives to keep them safe, protected, respectful, and responsible.

via www.youtube.com

Family Online Safety Institute: 90% of parents have discussed Internet safety with their kids

According to the Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) 90% of parents have had conversations about Internet safety with their kids? Have you?

Check out this video from FOSI called “Go Figure” to learn more about the digital habits of your teens.

 

Thanks to the Facebook Safety team for sharing this video!

A Parents' Guide to Facebook

This guide is designed to help you understand what Facebook is and how to use it safely. With it, you will be better informed and able to communicate with young Facebook users in your life more effectively.

That's important because: 1) if something goes wrong, we want our children to come to us and 2) as the Internet becomes increasingly social and mobile, a parent’s guidance and support are ever more key to young people’s well-being in social media and technology.

The guidebook is published by Connect Safely in partnership with the iKeepSafe Coalition. A Parents' Guide to Facebook

Related: Recommended Facebook Safety Settings for Teens [Chart]

Infographic: Ken Robinson on Changing Education Paradigms

Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson challenges the way we're educating our children. He champions a radical rethink of our school systems, to cultivate creativity and acknowledge multiple types of intelligence.

 A visionary cultural leader, Sir Ken led the British government's 1998 advisory committee on creative and cultural education, a massive inquiry into the significance of creativity in the educational system and the economy, and was knighted in 2003 for his achievements.

His latest book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, a deep look at human creativity and education, was published in January 2009.

 

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award.

Pew Internet Research on Teens, Adults and Sexting

Teens and adults use their cell phones to transmit and receive suggestive images - a practice often called "sexting."

This talk by Pew Internet & American Life researchers Amanda Lenhart and Scott Campbell outlines the demographics of who is sending and receiving these images and under what circumstances. 

Teens, Adults & Sexting: Data on sending and receipt of sexually suggestive nude or nearly nude images by Americans

View more presentations from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.

Further, teen focus group data explores scenarios under which sexts are exchanged and further examines some gender differences in language used to talk about sexting experiences.

Related: SafetyWeb >> Sexting 101: A Guide for Parents

The (Very) Unofficial Facebook Privacy Manual

Like Facebook, but wish your information wasn't so public?

Time to lock your settings down. Facebook doesn't make this easy, however; features are constantly added and the default for each new one seems to favor transparency instead of privacy.

The result: there are hundreds of little changes you need to make to truly control where your information goes.

The (Very) Unofficial Facebook Privacy Manual

This handy guide outlines everything you could ever want to know about locking down your privacy on Facebook, and a few things you probably didn't even know you wanted to know.

This guide outlines a variety of things regarding Facebook privacy, including:

• Making sure a comment meant for your friends isn’t seen by co-workers
• Understanding what it means to upload content to Facebook
• Control whether others can check you in to certain locations
• Keeping your Facebook page off Google’s search results
• Blocking unwanted users from seeing your page

Trend Watch: Parents Want to use Facebook to Connect with Teachers

A recent poll conducted by YouGov found that 58% of teachers would like parents to help more with their child’s learning and more than one-third of parents want to be more involved in the youngster’s schooling.

But with half of mothers and fathers only seeing their child’s teacher once a term, parents and staff both said they wanted more opportunities to discuss feedback about pupils in less formal situations than at parents’ evenings.

The study also found that one in five parents in Glasgow wants to be able to contact their child’s teachers through social networking sites such as Facebook.

Two-thirds of mothers and fathers said email would be a good way to discuss any issues, while 22% said they would like to be able to text or swap messages over the internet.

via www.heraldscotland.com

Social Networking Privacy Tips for Parents

TRUSTe, provider of the leading privacy trustmark, has announced the results of a survey of parents and their teenagers on social networking behaviors – the first national social networking privacy survey to be conducted on both parents and their teens that also measures parental expectations against actual teen behavior.

The study is titled “The Kids are Alright,” as it reflects in many ways parents and teens doing the right things on social networks.

The survey found that overwhelming 98 percent of parents indicate that both their teen’s privacy – as well as control over their own personal information – is important, very important or extremely important when using social media websites.

Social Networking Privacy Tips for Parents

The majority of parents and teens said they feel confident about the safeguards they have in place for their Facebook accounts, although 89 percent of parents want default privacy settings on all teen accounts to limit the amount of information that is public and to restrict advertiser and application access to their teen’s information.

Parents are looking for more direct ways to control their teen’s information and overall want greater control. Not surprisingly, most parents spend less time than teens on social networking and Facebook, although the majority of both groups checked Facebook at least once a day and frequently more often.

Related: Digital Parenting Resources: Teens, Social Media & Cyberbullying

The Kids Are Alright: TRUSTe Survey on Social Networking, Teens & Privacy

TRUSTe, provider of the leading privacy trustmark, has announced the results of a survey of parents and their teenagers on social networking behaviors – the first national social networking privacy survey to be conducted on both parents and their teens that also measures parental expectations against actual teen behavior.

The poll included responses from two thousand parents and teenagers to reveal: their level of involvement with social networks; perceptions and concerns about their privacy when using social networks; and parental monitoring and engagement with their teens on social networks.

The study is titled “The Kids are Alright,” as it reflects in many ways parents and teens doing the right things on social networks. Overall, the survey suggests that parents and teens are doing a number of the right activities to protect their privacy:

• 80 percent of parents and 78 percent of teens feel in control of their personal information on social networking sites;

• 84 percent of parents are confident their teen is responsible with personal information on a social networking site;

• 72 percent of parents surveyed monitor their teens’ accounts, with 50 percent of these parents monitoring weekly, 35 percent daily and 10 percent monthly; and,

• 84 percent of parents are accurate in understanding the amount of time their teen spends on social networks and generally have a good understanding of the activities they are engaged in online.

However, teens are still engaging in potentially harmful activities:

• 18 percent of teens have been embarrassed or disciplined as a result of a posting;

• 80 percent of teens use privacy settings at some point to hide content from certain friends and/or parents; and,

• 68 percent of teens surveyed have at some time accepted friend invites from people they don’t know, with 8 percent accepting all, 34 percent accepting some, and 26 percent accepting rarely.

TRUSTe: Social Networking & Privacy Survey

Facebook clearly dominates as the leading social networking site with a whopping 95 percent of parents and 90 percent of teens with a social networking account using the popular site.

Within households where both the adult and teen reported Facebook accounts, one-third of teens surveyed said they helped open and set up the account for one or both of their parents, and most of those teens are friends with their parents, with more girls friending parents than boys.

Teens also engaged in more social networking activities than parents, such as chatting, playing games, sharing online content and taking quizzes and on average have a larger number of Facebook friends.

Research: Empowering Parents Through Technology

The Children's Partnership works to ensure that all children—especially those at risk of being left behind—have the resources and the opportunities they need to grow up healthy and lead productive lives. They have released a report titled "Empowering Parents Through Technology."

Computers and broadband are becoming essential tools to help parents engage in their children's education which can improve their academic achievement and lives. This report addresses ways to ensure more parents and caregivers have access to technology tools and the skills to use them effectively.

It discusses the connections between schools and families, how technology reinforces existing connections and constructs new ones and how this benefits children, especially those who are underserved by the existing education system. Finally, this report outlines an Empowering Parents Through Technology Action Plan that serves as a roadmap for achieving these goals.

Empowering Parents Through Technology

Related: Social Networking + Digital Media Parenting Resources