It's amazing to hear a policymaker say this: "We cannot, and should not, put our children and youngsters in a digital glass cage, hoping they will never encounter any harmful or illegal content online. This will simply not work." That was Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice president and the EU's top legislator for digital issues, in a speech marking International Missing Children's Day (May … [Read more...] about Top EU policymaker on trusting our online kids
Archives for May 2011
Convenient videogame reviews, ratings
There's one-stop shopping now for parents seeking ratings info about videogames. ESRB, the gaming industry's ratings organization, and FamilyFriendlyVideogames have teamed up to put each game's rating, content description, and a link to ESRB's rating summary on its "Report Card" page in FamilyFriendlyVideogames.com, according to the joint press release. Here's an example of the Report Card for the … [Read more...] about Convenient videogame reviews, ratings
MS & FB’s help in fighting child abuse imagery
What digital technology enabled, digital technology is thankfully helping to disable. The ability to share photos online revived the child-pornography "scourge that had nearly been eliminated in the late 1980s," the New York Times reports, but technology developed by Microsoft and just starting to be implemented by Facebook – PhotoDNA – may "help to beat it back again." The Times says the … [Read more...] about MS & FB’s help in fighting child abuse imagery
NASSP calls for social & mobile tech in school
We've turned a corner, maybe. "The National Association of Secondary School Principals is looking to change the conversation about mobile computing and social media in schools," TheJournal.com reports. This week the NASSP released a statement encouraging their use in the classroom to help "prepare students to be active, constructive participants in the highly connected world in which they already … [Read more...] about NASSP calls for social & mobile tech in school
‘Do no harm’: Message to educators, parents
This is interesting. University of Southern California Prof. Henry Jenkins didn't put it exactly this way, but I don't think he'd disagree: It's almost as if, at this particular point in history (the history of education, media, and technology, in any case), educators need the same first principle of practice that doctors in emergency medicine have. "Like with a physician, the first statement … [Read more...] about ‘Do no harm’: Message to educators, parents