Calling it a "hacking scandal," NPR reported that less than a week after receiving their iPads in the Los Angeles Unified School District's $30 million iPad program, more than 200 high school students had already figured out how to bypass the filtering software installed on them. A scandal, maybe, for educators who just want to control students' use of the devices. But this is school not jail, … [Read more...] about Students hacking iPads: Mostly good, isn’t it?
Youth
Cybersecurity where kids are concerned
Today (October 1) marks the start of the US's National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. It's an increasingly important kind of awareness for everybody to have, because, in this very social media environment, security – of our data, identity and property – is just as "crowd-sourced" as media is now. And we all know that kids are doing as much, if not more, sharing and producing as everybody else. So … [Read more...] about Cybersecurity where kids are concerned
Making the future: Why we need to help kids make stuff
Remember when we thought desktop publishing and then blogging were revolutionary (you may be too young!)? Well, now there's desktop "manufacturing," and your children may soon be printing out their own shoes – of their own design or someone else's, depending solely on their own esthetics (pun intended). Or they could be printing out their dinner. We're in that phase of 3D printing and personal … [Read more...] about Making the future: Why we need to help kids make stuff
10-year-old professional DJ
Probably because I'm a baby-boomer, I will never lose my sense of wonder that this is what's possible, now – 10-year-olds able not just to dream about the future but start making it happen while they're dreaming. To wit: 5th-grader Niel Mac is a professional EDM disc jockey in El Paso, Texas, who just started a blended school-plus-home-study solution because he's "about to start traveling" for DJ … [Read more...] about 10-year-old professional DJ
Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story
Rarely do we hear stories about how playing in digital environments in school – much less playing a popular videogame not originally designed for school – can be life-changing in a good way. So here's one (names in the story have been changed to protect everybody's privacy): For four years, starting in 2008, when he was in middle school, "Zach" participated in the WoWinSchool Club every day … [Read more...] about Digital media’s power for all kinds of good: One student’s story