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

Olympic Medalists, Wells and Harper, Bring Us All Down

It pains me, when on a world stage, medalists in the Olympics bring fellow-athletes down—especially female athletes.  This is an historic year for women at the Olympics.  Every country has a female representative and the US women outnumber the men.  So why, when Kellie Wells, bronze medalist in the 100m hurdles, and Dawn Harper, silver medalist in the same event, were interviewed by NBC’s Michelle Beadle, did they have to bring down Lolo Jones?  It wasn't just in their words, it was also in their attitudes (see interview here).

"I just felt as if I worked really hard to represent my country [in 2008] in the best way possible," Harper said, "and to come away with the gold medal, and to honestly seem as if, because [the media's] favorite didn't win all of sudden it's just like, 'Were going to push your story aside, and still gonna push this one.' That hurt. It did. It hurt my feelings.

"But I feel as if I showed I can deal with the pressure, I came back, and I think you kinda got to respect it a little bit now."

But if Harper's beef seems to be as much with the media's treatment of Jones as Jones herself, that wasn't the case for Wells.

"I think that, on the podium tonight, the three girls that earned their spot and they got their medals and they worked hard and did what they needed to do, prevailed," she said. "And that's all that really needs to be said."

"Boom!" Harper responded. "Just like that."

One could argue they are jealous of Lolo’s media attention.  Who wouldn’t be?  I’m jealous of Lolo Jones’ media attention and more so, the pay checks that come with it.

However, at what cost does Lolo Jones gain this attention?

She grew up in poverty, sometimes homeless.  She had an absent, incarcerated father.  She’s a two-time Olympian and a World-Indoor Champion--both of which take more work than most of us can even begin to imagine.

This is the kicker--she’s pretty.  The media loves pretty women.  However, rarely do we get to see beautiful women who are also inspiring  and courageous.

Do I wish Lolo would keep her clothes on for magazine photo shoots?  Yes.

Do I wish Lolo would not talk about her sexuality?  My answer is not quite as definitive on that one.  I wish we, as Americans in the 21^st Century, wouldn’t make such a big deal about a person’s sexuality.

I can’t imagine having to perform in the global arena of the Olympics surrounded by so much attention and controversy.  It’s astounding that she qualified for her final and finished 4^th.  It’s even more astounding that this was a comeback Olympic performance after hitting hurdles and losing the gold in 2008.  It takes a lot of mental strength to overcome so, so much.

Yes, Dawn Harper and Kellie Wells both have stories of adversity, too.  And as a survivor of child sexual abuse, I was truly hoping Kellie Wells, fellow-survivor, would win the gold—for us.  But the bronze did not disappoint and I celebrated wildly in my living room.

However, it hurts me, you, them, and us when we bring each other down like Harper and Wells did in today’s interview with Beadle.

It makes me think Harper and Wells do not understand the concept of timing in personal branding.  If I were a potential sponsor, after hearing today’s interview, I would walk away from both of them.  And really, their negativity shines more light on Lolo--contrary to what they seem to desire.

It makes me wonder about how much pain these two accomplished women are still experiencing from the adversity in their past.

It makes me ache for how much pain they are causing.

Ladies, let’s raise each other up, not bring each other down.

photo credit: tomkellyphoto via photo pin cc

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.

Live Out Loud

About me day three.  I am not a film maker. I am a mom. And my baby just turned 13. Here's a media item that contains photos, videos, and music.