Users of the popular, fairly new Snapchat app tend to like it because a photo vanishes within 10 seconds or less of being viewed by its recipient. That adds something fun, spontaneous and just "real" to photo-sharing that's pretty unprecedented in social media. New parents' guide Here's why: Typically in social networking, "users tend to feel pressure to curate the perfect representation of … [Read more...] about Snapchat: Privacy as perishable as the photos
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Challenging the idea that games can’t be fun AND meaningful
In "Reading, Writing & Videogames," parent and New York Times features editor Pamela Paul seems to be arguing that digital games are just that – games – they should just be fun. They don't need to be educational, and they don't really belong in classrooms. The first part of her argument makes perfect sense – hard not to agree that kids need to have fun and parents don't need to feel that every … [Read more...] about Challenging the idea that games can’t be fun AND meaningful
Designing students: Check out these contests (learning opps)!
These are projects that get young people and classrooms participating in the digital maker movement: Current or aspiring videogame designers and videographers have about a month to submit their creations to three different contests: The National STEM Videogame Challenge, Whyville's game design contest, and Trend Micro's What's Your Story video producing contest. Design a videogame Videogame … [Read more...] about Designing students: Check out these contests (learning opps)!
Connected learning reality check from the UK & US
By the sound of it, there are significant barriers to connected learning in UK schools too – maybe bigger ones. I'm referring to hurdles pointed out by Sonia Livingstone at the London School of Economics in a presentation she gave for the Connected Learning Research Network about "The Class," her ethnographic study of the connected lives of British middle-schoolers. For the past year, Sonia and … [Read more...] about Connected learning reality check from the UK & US
Notes from a ‘Digital Kids’ conference
In case parents are interested in what the toy and digital industries are thinking about and designing for kids... Digital play that's both mobile and tactile was the centerpiece of what all the adults were talking about at the Digital Kids conference in New York last week, but their insights were like "frozen concentrate" compared to those from a panel of kids aged 8-13. Moderated by … [Read more...] about Notes from a ‘Digital Kids’ conference