Net Family News - kid-tech news for parents

Net Family News - kid-tech news for parents: "So how about digital media for school? Students' dream set-up would be to have...

* A connected virtual textbook and reference library (a small, voice-activated computer that's multifunctional for research, communications, info storage, calendar, etc., like a tech version of a Swiss Army Knife). It would also serve as a...
* A virtual locker and backpack, so that research library, info storage, and calendar would always be at these multitaskers' fingertips for keeping track of friends, assignments, school events, etc.
* Access for all is essential, the study's respondents said - high-speed, 24x7, wireless, and safe. I thought that last item was especially interesting and a wake-up call (to parents, educators, and online-safety advocates): Kids want safe access to age-appropriate content online, they said.
* Virtual guidance is also something they'd like, 24x7 - a virtual tutor, via Web site, IM, or cellphone, particularly for math.
* Virtual study groups (so they can discuss assignments and projects with peers) and virtual guidance counselors for 'life decisions.'

Clearly, these are highly interactive people - they expect a lot from interactive technology for both academic work and career development, not just for socializing, which is the part of their lives that gets so much media attention.

The students had a lot of other very creative ideas in the survey from educational features for phones to talking pencils to collaborative tools. Consider these ideas: 'a home hologram teacher' for help with something you didn't get at school or 'a special network for all schools across the country that allows students from all different schools to talk and discuss [their assignments] with each other….' Check out the report (in pdf format) for more in both students' and researchers' words."

Web site arms parents, schools against online child predators - Ruth-Ellen Cohen

"Parents would never allow a sexual predator into their child's bedroom, but they don't think twice about having the computer in the bedroom with no supervision," she said. "And that's the same thing."

According to the NetSmartz Web site, a recent national survey of children ages 10-17 shows that:

. Approximately one in five have received a sexual solicitation or approach over the Internet in the last year.

. One in four had an unwanted exposure to pictures of naked people or people having sex in the last year.

. One in 17 was threatened or harassed.

. Less than 10 percent of sexual solicitations and only 3 percent of unwanted exposure episodes were reported to authorities such as a law-enforcement agency, an Internet Service Provider, or a hot line.

SAFETY NET FOR CHAT ROOMS

Woking News & Mail Online - British Newspapers - Woking Newspapers - Surrey Newspapers: "ST JOHN’S resident Alison McCoy is launching a breakthrough internet safety programme for children throughout England after its successful introduction in her native Scotland."