Just as many first generation teens have spent a lot of time translating the English language and American customs for their immigrant parents, it makes sense that digitally adept teens are also translating for their parents-translating technology, that is-because most adults are technology immigrants who are in unfamiliar territory.
Some teens might roll their eyes and make fun of their parents for needing help, but like immigrant teens, it's part of a whole host of lessons they get to teach their parents about how and when to use technology.
The challenge is, how to monitor technology use effectively when you don't understand the jargon or know the rules. Here are ten tips to help you jump the digital divide with your children. For more information read Anastasia Goodstein's blog, "Totally Wired."
1. Ask them where they hang out online: Have them show you their favorite sites and games. Then have them help you build a profile, create an avatar, play the game.
2. Ask them about their privacy settings: Find out if their profile or blog is public for the world to see or just for their friends.
3. Be their guide: Help them evaluate and find credible Internet sources for homework as well as to be critical of sites they go to for fun.
4. Set limits: Tell them when to turn it off. Limit multitasking when studying.
5. Teach teens cyberethics: Emphasize what's different about bullying online, the public nature of the internet, plagiarism and cheating
6. Keep the computer in a central space: Even if they have a laptop up until they are 16 or you feel like you have built enough trust for them to compute in their bedroom.
7. Ask if you can be their online "friend" so you can see who their "friends" are: Some parents make it a condition younger teens (13 and 14) who may be on social networking sites for teens 13 and up.
8. Know their buddies: For younger teens, ask them to go through their IM buddy list and tell you who everyone is. If they ever want to meet an online friend in person, insist on going with them.
9. Encourage them to tell you when something bad happens: Promise you won't "take the internet away."
10. Talk about appropriate use: When to put their phones on silent, not to use text messaging acronyms in papers for school, not to record and post "hidden camera" images of their friends.
A 2007 survey revealed that creating content and connecting with their peers online is nearly ubiquitous for students ages 9 to 17 who have internet access. Only one in 20 teens and "tweens" surveyed said they have NOT used social-networking technologies such as chatting, text-messaging, blogging, or visiting online communities such as Facebook, MySpace and Webkinz. Read on for more.
There is a poster in the MPA Tech Center, "Things You Learn From Video Games", that perfectly describes the all connected all the time digital natives that (mostly) comprise the Upper School student body. In particular, the maxims, "Piloting any vehicle is simple and requires no training" and "A thousand-to-one odds against you is NOT a problem" completely sum up modern technology for these young people. Unlike adults, teens rarely need training to operate gadgets AND they have the ability to create their own universe at the click of a trackpad.
"It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with new media, whether it's on MySpace
or sending instant messages," said Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the recent MacArthur
Foundation study, "Living and Learning With New Media." "But their participation
is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to
succeed in the contemporary world. They're learning how to get along
with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home
page." More on this study....
This a very powerful and seductive time in which to grow up and navigate through the myriad of choices. It is no longer possible to predict job choices or education paths because most of the jobs that teens will hold during their adult lifetime DO NOT YET EXIST.
Tony Wagner, co-director of the Change Leadership Group at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education consults for public and independent schools, districts, and foundations across the country and internationally, said his visits to some school districts have highlighted why state standards need to change--and why teaching to the test is not the way to achieve success. "When I asked employers whether or not they needed students to know the latest version of software, they said no," he added. "They told me that technology moves so fast that it's hard to keep up with. [From] the time students graduate to when they get the job, it's usually changed anyway. . . . [Employers] . . .don't mind training employees in technology--but you can't teach someone how to think." Read on for more...
One source of advice and help for parents is Common Sense Media. Their philosophy, that "We share a common goal: raising kids who are safe, smart, and responsible media users," is depicted by these ten beliefs:
Ten Common Sense Beliefs
- We believe in media sanity, not censorship.
- We believe that media has truly become "the other parent" in our kids' lives, powerfully affecting their mental, physical, and social development.
- We believe in teaching our kids to be savvy media interpreters -- we can't cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.
- We believe parents should have a choice and a voice about the media our kids consume. Every family is different but all need information.
- We believe that the price for free and open media is a bit of extra homework for families. Parents need to know about media content and need to manage media use.
- We believe that through informed decision making, we can improve the media landscape one decision at a time.
- We believe appropriate regulations about right time, right place, and right manner exist. They need to be upheld by our elected and appointed leaders.
- We believe in age-appropriate media and that the media industry needs to act responsibly as it creates and markets content for each audience.
- We believe there should be one independent and transparent universal rating system for all media.
- We believe in diversity of programming and media ownership.
Who is right? Or, more importantly, how to negotiate this environment? In an era when a virtual dimension can illustrate a critical point or give students access to alternative resources, laptops have caused dissension in some classrooms. As one professor at the University of Memphis wrote to her students, "The wall of vertical screens prevents me from seeing your faces and hampers the flow of discussion in class." Few parents have direct experience with that "vertical wall" and it might become a point of discussion when deciding whether to use a laptop or a desktop at school.
Students at MPA have spent four years "practicing" using a laptop in a school environment. They have first-hand knowledge when it comes to decisions about how and when to use a computer in class. The real techology question should be, "What do I need and do I want to carry it around with me?" Unless they actually take notes, many students opt for a desktop when they realize that they probably do not need a laptop in their classes. An alternative laptop is a tablet computer that allows students to write directly on the screen, avoiding the "vertical wall." It is also harder to game or surf the web when you have the screen folded flat for writing:)
It is our suggestion that students ask about what is recommended at the specific college or university. Often colleges have "really good deals" for student computer purchases or strong suggestions about what type of computer would work best on their campus. Some colleges are "laptop schools" and welcome the addition of computers in classrooms. Most are configured for wireless access campus-wide.
Media Wise
The following statement from Media Wise is frightening...
Our children are in trouble. Kids from preschool through high school are laying building blocks for success in school and life. They include self-discipline, the ability to delay gratification, perseverance, imagination, and respect. Study after study shows that poor media habits undermine every single one of these building blocks. Instead of being given the tools and experiences they need to succeed, more and more kids are shaped by a media culture that promotes more, easy, fast, fun, violence and disrespect.
And check out these stats and these tips.
As parents it is difficult to evaluate the myriad of experiences available to teens and preteens and this is compounded as a child becomes more mobile. Dr. David Walsh and his Media Wise group have developed a website full of suggestions and ideas to help parents navigate through this difficult time. Read on....
Download Parenting in the Media Age, the Media Wise Guide to Social Networking.
In January, PBS presented a Frontline film, "Growing Up Online," that investigates the private worlds that kids are creating online and the risks, realities, and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the Web. Watch it at PBS.org or later this spring check out the DVD from the MPA library.
Additionally, the newest version of Apple's operating system, Leopard, has easy-to-use built-in parental controls. For more information on how to use them...click here.
My daughter is graduating from high school this year. It has been a long, difficult journey with many challenges. She applied and was accepted to college and asked for a speech to text translator for her computer as a graduation present. An odd choice? Not if you have dyslexia and spend most of your day convincing people that you are not stupid because you have trouble reading. This technology has made it possible not only for everyone to do projects quicker and faster, but has also made it possible for people with learning issues to meet their challenges head on.
The technology that powers this system is the Dragon Naturally Speaking engine that has been available for years on Windows PCs. For younger people, though, it is cumbersome to use and not as accurate. In January of 2008 Apple released MacSpeech Dictate for OS X. David Pogue tested this software and discovered that it was over 99% accurate. Read on...
Imagine, a person who takes 3 or 4 times longer than everyone else to write out an essay, can easily dictate into a computer their thoughts and ideas and that computer will translate them into words with a high degree of accuracy.
Mind maps are an alternative to outlines for students with learning differences as they provide a visual organization tool. NovaMind Express is an entry level product, providing excellent mapping capabilities. It has the ability to edit a single mind map at a time, as well as having a built-in outliner.
Kurzweil 3000 is the premier reading, writing and learning software for struggling students. Because Kurzweil 3000 is content independent, teachers in elementary, middle and secondary schools alike use it to help students succeed in the classroom regardless of their curriculum.
Some features include:
- On a Macintosh with a PowerPC processor, or the more recent Intel-based computers, Kurzweil 3000 for Macintosh Version 4 runs at maximum speeds.
- Reading on the go has never been easier with the Create Audio File feature. You'll have a number of options for file conversions, including AAC, Apple Lossless, or MP3; a choice of reading voice and reading speed; and the option to save audio files to a folder or to an iTunes playlist for effortless transfer to your iPod.
- Kurzweil 3000 enhances audible and visual access to Web pages with Mozilla Firefox, opening the Internet to all users while providing the same reading and reference features that users enjoy within Kurzweil 3000.
There are some websites that provide LD advice or resources. LD Online is the leading website on learning disabilities, learning disorders and differences. Parents and teachers of learning disabled children will find authoritative guidance on attention deficit disorder, ADD / ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, dysnomia, reading difficulties, speech and related disorders. For more info....
