Save It for Later: Manti Te'o, Kids Online Safety and More

This week: Manti Te'o and our kids' safety in social media, expressing emotions, Notre Dame cover-ups, the flu, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Save It for Later is a series wherein I share the best from the Web that I bookmarked throughout the week to read later, at week’s end, when I have time.  Here’s what I found most interesting and useful from this week.

In light of the Manti Te'o scandal, how do we talk to our kids about online safety?

With the fantastic and tragic Manti Te’o story taking the forefront this week, a story about a star college athlete being duped, or victim of an elaborate Catfish scheme, wherein he was tricked into believing a beloved online girlfriend had died then finding out she never even existed, I wondered how I could protect my children, who are a tween and teen regularly using social media, from falling victim to such pranks.  Of course, we discussed the situation and I was stunned at the knowledge they already possess.

Keeping the lines of communication open with my kids is key to keeping them safe online.  Also, online monitoring is vital.  Some of this I do with them knowing, some monitoring happens without them knowing.  Which is better?  Check out these two articles from NetFamilyNews.org:Tech Intelligence for Parents as a start:  

Important granularity on Net risk for teens: Study

The trust factor in parenting online kids

Take some time to explore NetFamilyNews.org.  This site is accessible and intelligent in its suggestions for parenting in the digital age, the age of social media.

Why is a fake dead girl more important than a real dead girl to Notre Dame?

Continuing with the Manti Te’o fiasco, he is alum of Notre Dame.  My beef with Notre Dame is that they have given more press time and more empathy in a situation that involves a fake dead girl when there is a real dead girl that is rarely mentioned.  A young woman was raped by a member of the Fighting Irish football team, bullied into keeping quiet, and later committed suicide.  I have much to say on this issue, but I’ll start by providing you links from several outlets reporting on this horrific incident:

Notre Dame Football Players Rape Cover-up – What’s in the News and What Isn’t

Notre Dame's Reaction To The Te'o Hoax Vs. Its Reaction To Sexual Assault Allegations

These types of stories obviously bring forth strong emotions.  As adult parents it’s sometimes difficult to know how to appropriatly express our anger and sadness in these situations.  Also, we need to  help our children appropriately express their feelings when tragedy, whether major or minor, comes forth via the media.

iPad App to help young children identify emotions

It’s our responsibility as parents to allow our children to have their emotions and give them tools for them to be successful.  This needs to start early in their lives, which brings me to my next great find of the week.  

There is a great iPad app called MoodyMonster Manor that according to Free Technology for Teachers,

“...is designed to help children learn to recognize emotions. Moody Monster Manor features twenty cartoon monsters that represent emotions that children commonly experience.
After meeting all of the monsters in Moody Monster Manor children can help the monsters deal with their emotions in four fun games (more games are in development). Children can help Hungry Hank make a snack, help Worried Wanda with her homework, and help Confused Carl match name tags to monsters. My favorite of the games is helping Scared Sam capture bad dreams so that he can get to sleep. To help Scared Sam capture the bad dreams students have to move their iPads left and right to shine a virtual flashlight on the bad dreams.” (Richard Byrne)

What strategies do you use to help your kids of any age develop tools to express their emotions?

Also in the news, the Flu and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

More things in the news this week include the honoring of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the flu epidemic that is severely affecting children.  Below are some informative links on the protecting your children from the flu and some fun learning activities for MLK Day:

Know What to Do about the Flu

Flu Resources for Parents and Teachers

Learning through Play: 6 Kid-Friendly Activities for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (younger kids)

Martin Luther King Activities (older kids)


What did you find most interesting on the Web or in the news this week?

photo credit: Fanie! via photopin cc photo credit: San Diego Shooter via photopin cc
photo credit: mdanys via photopin cc
photo credit: GiantsFanatic via photopin cc

March Towards Summer

(photo credit)

 In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.  

~Albert Camus

For those of you who have not yet looked at your calendar, it's March 1st. Yes! We survived those two dreaded months wherein we struggle to stay happy amid lack luster sunlight and plaguing guilt brought on from over spending and over eating during the holidays.  I often struggle with motivation and positive thoughts during the winter, it's not new to me.  In my early 20's I lived in Chicago, a beautiful city but harsh environment to wait-out the winter.  I remember crying sobbing with tears of joy and relief each March when I heard the booming crash of thunder brought by the first Spring storm.

I see no rain in the forecast for today to use as cause for celebration, so am lauding the march towards Summer by linking up with Mama Kat's Pretty Much World Famous Writers Workshop:





Prompt:  Remember Summer? The warm air, blue skies, and endless days in the water? Me either. Share a photo from last Summer that brings you back.

Response:  We didn't do much last Summer as far as exotic vacations or educational trips to historic Civil War sites.  But the sun provided us with opportunities to enjoy. . .

 . . .long walks in the Columbus Metro Parks. . .

 . . .two teams making it 

to the GYAA Girls Softball Tournament. . .

. . .U2 in concert in Pittsburgh. . .

. . .and a strange variety of activities and characters that make
 the Ohio State Fair.

Let the March begin!

Save It for Later Saturday: the Election, Conflict Resolution, and Reassurance

In Save It for Later Saturday you’re getting a brief run-down of the stand-outs from my week's "Read Later" list. 

This week during one of our dinner conversations, my daughters fired off questions about the presidential election.  The questions were not difficult to answer.  I understand the electoral process.  But the questions were difficult for me to clearly answer in a way that was meaningful to them.  There’s a lot to the electoral process and they were not aware of much beyond voting, counting, and winning.  How much do your kids really know about the electoral process and how much of the electoral process can you accurately explain? 

photo credit

Scholastic News recently launched Election 2012 which provides answers to all election related questions.  The content is accurate, easy to read, and will capture the interest of school aged kids and adolescents.  The site combines information from Scholastic News with reporting by the Scholastic News Kid Reporters.  You’ll also find election-related games, polls, videos, and an interactive map that tracks the primary voting across the country.  Next time your kids are online, tell them you’d like to explore Scholastic News Election 2012 with them.  Get them involved and excited about this important time for our country.

If you have more than one child, it is certain there will be conflicts between them.  Siblings argue.  It’s normal.  It is wise to let kids figure out how to solve conflicts on their own.  But if they do not have tools in conflict resolution, you can't expect them to effectively settle disputes. 

In the current issue of the NAEYC's Teaching Young Children, Sharma Whitchurch and Jackie Sprague provide a great strategy for conflict resolution within the early learning environment.  The strategy, the daily designation of a student "Problem Solver", can be easily implemented into the home.  And the plan doesn’t need to be reserved for young children.  Older children, adolescents, and even adult members of the family will benefit from it.  I encourage you to look over The Problem Solver Job: Peer-Mediated Conflict Resolution and give it a try at home.

photo credit

Once you have your kids up to date on the electoral process and well-trained at conflict resolution, you will feel reassured that you are one great parent, right?  But then one of your kids asks, “Is Barack Obama running for president?” and the other kid smacks him on the head and calls him “stupid.”  You may feel as if all the time you spent was pointless.  So you turn to your blog to vent, check the stats and see your views are down for the day by 50%.  You think, “Oh well, at least I’ve been sticking to my resolution to run every day.”  You go to your scale, jump on and find you’ve gained one pound.  Where is the proof that you are doing something right?

My advice?  Read Seth Godin's post, The problem with reassurance.  After, give your kids a hug, write your next blog post, and go for a run.

See you next Saturday.

   

My Morning on a Web 2.0 Interactive Timeline

I have been wanting to try a Web 2.0 interactive timeline app, so when I saw that one of the prompts for Mama Kat's weekly writing meme was "Describe the Scene at Breakfast" I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to turn the timeline in my October post, A Morning in the Life, interactive.  I was looking forward to trying Dipity because of its ability to add audio, video, and photos, but the site was down.  I began creating one on timetoast but it did not look as flashy.  Instead I created a timeline of our morning routine using Tiki-Toki.  It has a lot of the same features as Dipity, is easy to use, and looks great. The only difference in the two is that Dipity allows you to embed your timeline into your website for free and Tiki-Toki requires a fee.  I paid up because I wanted to share it with you.

Interactive timelines are popular in educational technology applications. But they can also be used for creating family event timelines for your personal blog.  And your kids would enjoy making timelines of their own based on their interests.  Maybe your child would like to create an historical timeline of fashion or one depicting stand-out moments in her school career.  On Tiki-Toki you can add editors to your timeline. So for your cousin's next birthday have the entire extended family add photos and videos to a timeline celebrating his life! If you don't have a website or blog to embed the timeline, don't worry, you can simply view it on the site and share the link.

In my haste to complete my A Morning in the Life timeline, I see I would have liked the final outcome more if I had added more media and more details to the stories.  I will continue to edit and add as time permits.  So check back to see progress.  And be sure to click on the Mama Kat widget below to read some amazing blogs.

My Family's 2012 Plan for Giving

It's Time, by Maria Z.

Response to the 2012 Family Plan for Giving link up at Sperk*:

My family took a road trip to see friends for the New Year holiday.  It was great to welcome 2012 with special people that we do not often have the opportunity to see.  And the car ride provided an opportunity to discuss our 2012 Plan for Giving.

My daughters have different ideas of how they would like to engage in volunteerism.  Antonia would like to volunteer at an animal shelter because she loves dogs.  Sophia would like to volunteer at a senior living center.  My significant other is interested in helping both animals and seniors, so we will make the volunteer opportunities occasions of family time.

We seasonally clean out closets and drawers and donate gently used items to charity.  This is done by loading the van with several plump-filled garbage bags and dropping them off at the giant free standing bin next to the grocery store.  Honestly, I have no idea who gets the clothes we donate. 

My girls understand that although it is difficult to part with a pair of favorite jeans, those pants can become a favorite to a child in need.  But, as the old adage indicates, “Seeing is believing.”  This year, instead of leaving the bags at a drop-off bin, we will take items directly to organizations that are in need.  I want my daughters to SEE that their clothes actually go somewhere and are worn by actual people. 

   

Every group that we want to help may not need what we have to give. We have some research to do.  The internet makes it easy.  Most charitable organizations, homeless shelters, and community service centers have informative websites that allow me to discern if they are a good fit for my family.   I have confidence that we will find the right places to give our time, talent, and unused belongings.

 I have been using the GenerationOn website as a resource for finding the charities that fit with what our family can provide. There are also tips for organizing a complete community project if you are interested in a larger endeavor.  I particularly like the list of project ideas, big and small, that refresh and revitalize the ways in which a family can engage in giving to the community. 

“Family projects that involve giving to those in need during the holidays can be turned into powerful lessons that teach compassion, empathy, and meaning to children.”

  ~Dr. Marilyn Price-Mitchell

2012 Family Plan for Giving Link Up Update


Create and share your family's 2012 Plan for Giving at the link up here: Sperk*  Or leave your ideas in the comments!

Why should you participate?

Our children are coming down from a holiday high brought on by receiving great gifts. But remember, it is in the act of giving that children and teens gain the most satisfaction (Dr. Price-Mitchell, 2011).  By creating and linking up your family’s 2012 Plan for Giving you are making a significant impact your child’s development of compassion and empathy.

• Because the New Year was celebrated with such exuberance and many of my fellow bloggers have been on hiatus, I extended the deadline for linking up your family’s 2012 Plan for Giving to Thursday, January 5^th.  Voting for the “Choice Plan for Giving” will start on Friday the 6^th with the winner being determined on Saturday the 7^th.  The winner receives a $20 donation in their name to the charity of his or her choice.  
• Remember your plan does not need to be complex. 
• Your family may already be involved in volunteering and giving to your community.  Great!  Tell us about it.  This is about sharing ideas, lending support, and cheering each other on.  It is possible that we can make this a global movement!
  

Reference

Price-Mitchell, M., Ph.D. (November 21, 2011). The gift of giving: How holidays shape children's 

      identities. Roots of Action. Retrieved from

      http://rootsofaction.com/blog/the-gift-of-giving-how-the-holidays-shape-
      childrens-identities/




This post is linked up with lovelinks #38!

Celebrate Family with Web 2.0

We have plenty to do.  There are more cookie recipes to try, presents to buy and the tree has been up with just lights and no trimmings for three days. But after the gifts are opened and bellies are full, what do you do?  You can gather around your technological devices and remember 2011.  Here's some ideas:

Make a family infographic.  I got the idea from My Life as Prose.  Each family member can make their own infographic based on 2011, then you can share and compare.  Find infographic ideas at visual.ly, a site I came across in one of my daily reads Free Technology for Teachers.  Other Web 2.0 tools for creating infographics can be found at MakeUseOf.  (Always preview internet content before browsing with your kids or you may end up discussing things you haven't planned).

I quickly made a family themed infographic at Wordle.  My kids have used this application at school and love it.  The one below was done hastily but still turned out visually appealing.  You can copy and paste text from blogs, journals, and newletters written throughout the year or input words that identify meanigful people and events of 2011.  Once the text is entered, the app generates the infographic for you.  If you like, you can customize the layout, colors, and fonts.  

Get out the popcorn. Make a family film. Last year during the holiday break we made our own video.  We simply used our digital camera's video app and editing tools in Windows Live Movie Maker.  As an alternative, I know you can make some great video slideshows at Animoto.  My daughter made one for her dad of photos and videos from her birth to now and it brings tears to everyone's eyes.  This would be a great way to celebrate 2011 either by creating a video slideshow together or each family member making their own and comparing different perspectives of the same events.  Or you could film a "Year in Review" news broadcast, a cooking show demonstrating how to prepare the family's favorite meals of 2011. . . the possibilities are endless.

I haven't decided how we will make our family film this year, but it is fun to look back on the one from 2010:

Create a family treasure hunt based on family events that transpired in 2011 using the QR Treasure Hunt Generator.  This looks incredibly fun but I just stumbled upon it today via @russeltarr on Twitter and have not tried it.  It is definitely something I am planning to do for our New Year's Eve celebration.

Don't be afraid to incorporate Web 2.0 applications into your family time during the holiday break.  It's a great way to support your children's media literacy skills, which are vital to today's tweens and teens, along with sharing memories of 2011.  There are many more tools out there and if you have some to share, let me know!  Remember Ed tech is not just for teachers.