PTA Technology Corner

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/20/facebook-for-parents/?pagemode=print

If you’re still trying to figure out your kids and all that fancy technology stuff they enjoy, then take about 10 minutes to listen to a really interesting podcast with the author of Grown Up Digital, Don Tapscott.  Don was interviewed by Leo Laporte and his partner Amber MacArthur, on the Net@Night podcast.

Click here to listen online or download to iTunes

Back in the late 1990’s Don wrote Growing Up Digital: The Rise of the Net Generation - a fascinating look into the future of the coming generation and their use of technology.  His new book, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World, continues the journey of trying to understand the impact of technology on today’s young people.

And listen on the podcast how he describes the recent Presidential election.  He proclaims that this generation has elected its first President - and did so online.

With the recent news of the mom who participated in cyberbullying at the terrible expense of a young lady, I thought this recent article in a local magazine would be beneficial for parents to read:

Mean girls, Mean boys
Text messages. Chat  rooms. IM. MySpace. Kids can be pretty brave (and cruel) when it’s so easy to hide behind the latest technology.

http://www.sjmagazine.net/articles.aspx?aid=459

Recently, I’ve had many parents approach me in-person and online asking if they should allow their teenagers to have a Facebook account.  I’ve been told that some absolutely forbit it, and my guess is that these parents also never have been on Facebook or know why kids today want to have an account.

It’s been a standard practice of mine to encourage adults who do not understand some of today’s technology that their kids are using, to learn about them first, before placing judgement.  And lately I’m amazed how many of my high school and college classmates are jumping online and reconnecting on Facebook after over some 25 years or so.

Here are two sites I found recently to help you check out Facebook so you can make an informed decision.  Get yourself a free Facebook account, look up classmates, colleagues, neighbor and friends.  You may be surprised how many people are sharing family stories, pictures, thoughts and simply reconnecting with people they haven’t seen in years.

Social Networking in Plain English

Facebook Etiquette: Five Dos and Donts

I’m doing a presentation for a PTA organization this week focusing on K-5 children’s use of the Internet and how parents can protect them.  Perhaps more importantly, my twist on this topic isn’t based necessarily on security, but rather parent’s involvement in their child’s online habits.  It’s going to be more a conversation than a presentation.  Below are links I plan to provide to the group to support the discussion:

What is Webkinz?
What is Club Penquin?
How to change Google search settings
How to change Youtube search settings
Top websites for children
Top Child Protection Software
Webwatcher Software for Windows
Parental Settings on Mac OSX

UPDATE: Found this interesting Parent’s Guide to Video Games, Parental Controls and Internet Safety that might interest you (Adobe PDF File)

At our house, we’ve been knee-deep in a Fall cleaning.  Perhaps now is the time to do a quick check up on our technology as well.  It’s become all too easy for viruses and spyware to infect our computers and some are feeling a sense of getting behind in the constant change in technology.  Here are a few suggestions to protect your data and your family online and stay ahead of change:

Encrypt Your Wireless Network - I’m always surprised how many people in Haddonfield leave their wireless routers unprotected.  That’s an easy way for a neighbor, or worse a stranger driving down the street, to get into your home’s computers.  Get out your router manual and setup WEP or WPA encryption.

Update Your Operating System - Whether it’s a Windows or a Macintosh, always keep the system up to date.  Change the settings to alert you when a new update is available and do it as soon as possible.  Many of these updates include security fixes to plug holes in the system from outsiders.

Check in on the Kids - Do you know what they are doing online?  As a parent, it’s your responsibility to protect them - we can all agree on that.  How you do it is up to you and your values.  Are they downloading music illegally?  Are they posting pictures they probably shouldn’t be?  Are they giving out personal information?

Get a New Email Address - A lot of people are switching Internet providers between Comcast and Verizon Fios. One thing you should avoid is using the email address they give you - that locks you in to their system and presents problems should you decide to switch.  Get a free email account from Google, Yahoo or AOL instead.

Learn Something New - Before you know it you’re young child will be IM’ing and on Facebook. While the kids are now back to school, you should learn something new too.  Get a Facebook account (and request to be my friend).  Download a podcast on iTunes (check out Jumping Monkeys or your favorite NPR show).  Start to IM with friends.

As always, if you have any questions just let me know - I’m happy to help.  And if you have a suggestion for additional tips, add a comment below.

Just today two parents asked me for my opinion about what they should allow their children to do. I’ve always told folks that I can give you my opinion, but that’s not necessarily what you should do.  You first have to determine what your own values are and what is important to you in raising your own child.  So, here I’ll give you my own opinion on these two questions, but you have to decide for yourself:

The first parent, a mom in my town, just purchased computers for the house specifically for the kids.  The older one - 13 year old - wants to get on Facebook after attending a camp over the summer where all their new friends were on Facebook. Many parents in our town are completely against letting their children have access to Facebook (I suspect in reaction to a MySpace incident in town a couple of years ago).

My suggestion - let them, but require them to let you be a friend so you can track what they are doing to protect them. This also gives you a chance to better understand what Facebook is and what kids today like to share.  Many times I find parents against such social networking tools have never used them either.

The other parent question came as an email from a dad in California who seems to be having a problem at home where, from what I can tell, his child would like to have a cellphone.  He didn’t mention the age of his child but did mention that their school embraces a “if I don’t see the cellphone, then there isn’t a problem.”

My suggest - I think it’s unrealistic to think that kids won’t bring phones to school and many parents like the idea of having access to their children right after school.  But the school has the right to require them to be stored in a locker, for example, while they are on school property and should enforce such a policy strongly.

What do you think?  Post a comment below with your thoughts.

The school year has officially started for our kids and it’s time to get back in the swing of things with technology and parenting.  I’m looking for topics that interest you - from computers to music to the Internet.  You name it.  I’ll share with you products that are commonly available, podcasts we listen to and answer questions you may have.

Speaking of which, please email me questions or topics you have that you’d like me to cover here this year.  I look forward to hearing what you’ve got in mind!

I ran across a company, Common Craft, that produces these really awesome introductions to different technologies - but in plain english (and really cute paper cutouts).  Interested in what RSS is?  Twitter?  Or just social networking?  They’ve got some really neat short videos to help.  Here are three you might be interested in watching:

SOCIAL NETWORKING

RSS

TWITTER

I was asked yesterday by a reader of the PTA Tech Corner how I create this and other websites.  Good question.  While my business (TargetX.com) - aka “the full time gig” - manages electronic campaigns and does a little bit of web work for colleges and university, those are much more sophisticated than many organizations need.

I built and currently manage many websites that utilize the same setup:

• Central Elementary School PTA
• Haddonfield High School PTA
• Wedgewood Swim Club
• The Gymnastics and Cheerleading Academy
• MichaelVitez.com
• Haddon Field Club
• First Baptist Church of Haddonfield

These are all either organizations my family is involved in (my step-son’s and daughter’s school PTAs, the gym my daughter went to, the swim club we hope to join some day, the place my wife plays tennis some times, etc.) or for friends (the great Rocky storyteller and journalist, a friend’s church and employer).  I normally set these up and then give them the keys to the kingdom along with a “hit by the bus” folder (usernames, passwords, contact information, etc. in case something would happen to me).

So how do I set these up?  I use the same hosting company for all of them - not only do I like them, their prices are right and dealing with one company is a lot easier on me - and since I don’t accept payment from any of these folks, making it easier for me is a high priority.  There are many hosting companies out there but I’ve been using 1and1.com since around 1997 - later they conveniently setup operations near me in suburban Philadelphia.

To run the site I use a free blog software called Wordpress.  Now you need a little technical help to get it setup on your own hosting company and to manipulate the template to get it to look just right.  So Wordpress setup a hosting service at Wordpress.com to make it a little easier.  You don’t get all the capabilities if you were to host it yourself, but it’s a good start.  

The reason I use Wordpress is that it provides a very user-friendly interface for folks to update the website. They don’t have to learn HTML and they don’t need to know such things as FTP, PHP, etc. - Wordpress handles all of that in the background.  Also we can setup different user access permissions - so they don’t mess up the site!  There are also tons of templates to choose from that people have created and offer for free on the Internet for Wordpress.  

Hope this helps get your organization started.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by submitting a comment to this post.  I’m glad to help.  And if you have any suggestions for folks reading this, by all means, contribute to the discussion!

Yesterday I saw a very interesting story on CNN about the “Tween Angels” network, started by the owner of Wired Safety.

She started the program to help tweens (and the sister group “teen angels”) and parents deal with safety issues online. Issues ranging from fraud, cyberbullying and cyberstalking.

I was especially taken by the young children in this video:
Tweens Push Online Safety

We TV is broadcasting an important new series that has been in development for the past four years called “High School Confidential.” It’s the real stories of 12 high school girls. It was created by Sharon Liese, a single mom of a 12-year old daughter who saw the challenge girls have in creating their own identity while dealing with the pressure from friends.

The first episode starts tonight at 10pm/9 central on the We Television Network (check your local listings or cable provider for the channel on your system)

To learn more, visit their website:
highschool.wetv.com