They were hacking education over at Facebook yesterday. Well, more like helping to open up the college entrance and completion process for high school students who want to go to college but face hurdles – e.g., low-quality schools, socio-economic struggles, or families not familiar with the college experience. It was a hackathon at Facebook for app developers who – with the support of the Bill and … [Read more...] about Hacking to get students to college
Archives for September 2012
Unboxing learning
Last spring I had the privilege and fun of spending a whole class period with middle school students talking about their favorite uses of technology. Of course there were about as many preferences as there were students, so I'll just zoom in on one student whose interest I felt best illustrated how very individual and diverse digital tech use is. He loves shoes. I can't remember the brands, but … [Read more...] about Unboxing learning
Facebook ‘privacy breach’: Misperception-cum-meme?
The "news" that people's private Facebook messages were appearing on their "walls" spread like wildfire earlier this week, but Slate reports that it's more meme than news. It all started in France, where users complained about finding private messages posted between 2007 and '09 on their profiles pages, but news outlets reported that "the issue is not systematic and affects only certain accounts." … [Read more...] about Facebook ‘privacy breach’: Misperception-cum-meme?
Today’s Net, kids & COPPA: Our comment to the FTC
A US law about children's online services can really only regulate US-based children's online services. It might influence foreign regulators but it has no jurisdiction over sites and services based outside the US and can't stop US users from leaving compliant services and going to noncompliant ones outside the US (or in it, for that matter). So, by the global nature of the Internet, there's no … [Read more...] about Today’s Net, kids & COPPA: Our comment to the FTC
Another high-profile sexting study: Takeaways for parents
Let's just cut right to the takeaway for parents, then some background. The takeaway, which is right in the headline of TheAtlantic.com's intelligent coverage of new data on sexting published in the journal Pediatrics: We need to talk with our kids about sexting, but I would add: that might be in the context of their developing sexuality, of the family's values, of appropriate use of digital … [Read more...] about Another high-profile sexting study: Takeaways for parents