Internet Safety - Creating a Safe Screen Name

We must start young teaching kids how to be safe online.  

Children are starting to use the Internet at a younger age to play games.  Many of these games require that the parent set up a screen name for their child.  Parents will often use their child’s name and simple words that kids can remember and spell when they set up their child's screen name.  

Not a good idea!  This often leads to a very insecure username that can identify their child to strangers. The number one danger we want to teach kids to avoid.

Screen Name creates the online identity of the child.  Often parents emphasize the importance of coming up with a strong password. This is the OPPOSITE of what we need to focus on with our kids. Passwords can be recovered, and passwords can be changed very easily. It is your child's screen name or user ID that needs to be protected. Especially for children who use these screen names in their games and as their online persona. 

The goal is to give kids a step by step plan for coming up with a unique screen name that they can easily remember.  Just as important is to teach your child never to share the screen name..

Kids across the country enrolled in Discovery Kids Puterbugs Program are learning how to be safe using technology.   Creating a safe screen name is just one of many lessons they will be learning

Your 3 year old wants to use your computer - What's a mom to do!

You are working on your laptop and your 2.5 year old is poking at you and wants your computer.  You decide it’s time to show her on one of those kid friendly sites your friends have been telling you about.  So you just pull it up and push the keyboard in front of your child. Your child starts out very cautiously tapping the keyboard, but then in front of your eyes she begins to hit and bang all the keys to get a response.  As most parents your immediate response is to yell, “NO” and take the computer away from the child.  Tears erupt.

What’s a Mother to do?

Of course your little one will want to use a computer.  It looks like a big toy for grown- ups and she wants what grown-ups are using.  You should never give your child a piece of technology without setting expectations on how you want her to use it.  Set a special time to sit down with your child. Let your child know that she is about to do something really, really special – something only “big” people get to do.  . 

Let them value the privilege of using the computer.  For example, you may say to your child, “You are sooo good. Guess what? You are going to get to use the computer!”

(Get to – powerful phrase makes child feel special)

Teach your child right from the start your EXPECTATIONS and set specific rules when they are using the computer. Discuss respect.    Make it simple for the young child to understand. 

Using Imagine Tomorrow Stages of Development for Discipline applies to technology

Say, "Do you think you should bang on the computer?”  Shake   your head and say an exaggerated ‘Nooo!’  We must RESEPCT the computer.  

Do you think you should tap the keys with one finger?  Yes!”  Shake your head and your child will imitate you. 

First, let’s pretend.  Have your child pretend to tap the keys in the air using the pointer finger then do it on the keyboard. 

Final Step to achieve SUCCESS is for you to give genuine praise to your child for her achievement.   Give the child a high five!

Kids & Technology: 3 MYTHS!

MYTH: Kids who use technology miss out on 'good old fashioned' play.TRUTH: Kids who use technology still have ample time for tea parties, hide and seek, and tag. Parents must be the ones who encourage balance. Just as you would want an avid reader to sometimes put the book down and go out and play, the same applies to the child on the computer. Children need balance between independent activities and social activities, and between quiet activities and physical activities. Parents must help them manage their time and achieve that balance.

MYTH: Technology prevents children from having the social interactions they need.TRUTH: Technology connects us! Children see that at an early age. They see they can communicate with others by emailing, texting, skyping... If the concern is too much texting or screen time, then limits need to be set by parents to achieve the proper balance. Children can learn at an early age how to use technology as a tool to communicate and collaborate with others--anywhere in the world! That is something they will need to know to be successful in their future.

MYTH: Technology and multi-tasking hurt children's ability to focus.TRUTH: Technology is not what affects focus. Content and method of delivery affect focus. When content is made fun and interesting, children focus better. A child in a classroom might focus better on a hands-on experiment versus a boring lecture on the same topic. Technology creates a multimedia experience that reaches children through multiple senses - sound, touch, and sight. Studies have shown that engaging multiple senses can help children learn and better retain what they have learned. Multi-tasking is a great skill when performed effectively. Knowing how and when to give something more focus and attention over another distraction is a useful skill. Children are developing these higher capabilities at a younger age. What is described as "lack of focus" can simply be a sign of boredom and the failure to challenge their growing minds.

Teaching - What works!

I know what works. I have used an approach in my classroom and now that same approach is being used in 1000s of locations nationwide.

My approach is based on how kids learn.

Think about how kids really learn. I mean really learn. Watch any baby learn to speak. First the child begins to babble, and then the child begins to form some recognizable word. The parent gets so excited. The child then makes the connection between the word and the object.

 OK.. so what's the big deal!

Well it isn’t happening in most classrooms around the country.  We may talk the talk, but hardly happening.  Kids need to be engaged or immersed in the learning process. In the case of the baby, he was hearing language all around him. He was immersed in the language. The person speaking has knowledge of the content, in this case the English language, so the child is learning English. The final step is to intervene with positive reinforcement.  Otherwise, the baby would just continue to babble and have no clue he was actually saying words that had meaning.

OMG…so simple.  It works. Immerse children in the learning process, so they see a reason for what they are learning, have high expectations, lead them to achieve success, praise them for their accomplishments.

These steps are the basis of the Imagine Tomorrow Approach being used in the Puterbugs Literacy based Technology program.  Our teachers are all trained and certified on how to implement the Imagine Tomorrow Approach.  Many have told me that the same techniques work for their own children at home.

Training doesn’t end with the Imagine Tomorrow Certification.  Our teachers are not left on their own in an isolated classroom.  Our network of teachers share best practices and receive on-going mentoring and support through our proprietary online system.  

Steps for successful Teaching:

1.      High expectations for each child

2.      Knowledgeable teachers who love what they are doing

3.      Make learning meaningful and challenging

4.      Positive feedback

5.      Mentor and support teachers

We see the results from around the country.  The Imagine Tomorrow Approach works!

Imagine Tomorrow...Today!

The name of the company I founded, after resigning from teaching, is Imagine Tomorrow.  The mission of the company is to have a postive impact on the lives of children, while preparing them for their future.  The tool I use is technology, the most powerful tool for learning.

I was imagining tomorrow when I  opened the first Computer Learning Center in 1991 and this is what I imagined:

I imagined a place where children would come and there would be high expectations and respect for every child

I imagined a place where children would have so much fun while learning, because that is how children learn 

I imagined a place where the youngest of children would get to use the latest and coolest technology, not just to play games, but for learning, creative self expression and problem solving.  Kids who understand the power of technology will be the ones who will be successful in school and in life.

What I only could have imagined in 1991 is more than a reality today, being the largest provider of computer classes in the United States.   Today when I imagine tomorrow, I envision the content we develop, Discovery Kids Puterbugs, being used by millions of children worldwide.

Put down that Book - Pick up Technology

Have you ever told your child NOT to read a book or he can only read no more than 25 minutes a day?  Yet same remarks are being placed on kids using technology.

How about all those expert?  I haven’t been able to find one study that shows that kids who sit to read books are anti-social, can’t communicate with peers, less creative and will lead to childhood obesity.   Sounds absurd!  Yet it would be true, if kids found reading a book as engaging as using technology.

What is more isolating than watching a child sitting by himself reading a book?  How many times have you ever heard a kid telling another kid to get this great book?  Rarely!  I know moms this summer are not limiting their child’s reading time, but they are trying all kinds of bribes to get their kids to read. 

Yet they have the tool right at their fingertips.

Parents will hand their kids computers, tablets, smart phones for the purpose of playing games.  Then we have all these “experts” chiming in on how bad technology is for our kids, yet when used properly it is the best learning tool we have.

It doesn’t have to be a struggle to get your child to read.  Your kid is part of the digital generation and will read what is interesting.    Using technology is fun and kids really are naturally inquisitive.   Check out Shark Week on Discovery Website - http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/.  Have your child watch the videos and read about sharks. Yes! Watch the videos and listen to the audio.  Really amazing what is at our fingertips and how much we can learn.  Reading and Listening Comprehension are literacy skills kids need to be successful learners.  For younger children, be sure to practice at www.discoverykids.com/puterbugs for the most innovative Shark Week learning experience for your kids! 
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Kids are putting down their book, but picking up technology.   Just as we nag our kids to read a book, when you hand over technology to your kid, do it with a purpose.  A quote from a child from one of our computer classes, “This is almost like learning.”  

Teach our Kids to Think

I heard that Suri Cruise will be attending a private school that costs about  $40,000 a year.  It made me stop to wonder about my own grandkids and other children: Will they be able to compete with kids whose parents who spend this much money on their child's school?  Then I realized, it was always that way.  People send their kids to exclusive private schools for many reasons:  for security from paparazzi and other crazy people, for a better education, or to meet and mingle with the “right” network of people. 

Most of us are not in this league -- so what can the rest of us do?  Teach our kids to THINK!
And expose them to the healthy uses of technology – not to play games but to use it as a tool for learning new things, creative expression, and solving problems.  

Technology levels the playing field.

When you hand over your computer to your young child for the first time, watch how he is mesmerized by it. It is such an engaging tool with such potential to unlock your child's genius, but only if used properly.  Teach your child to respect it: Show your child how to tap on the keys. When showing your child how to use the mouse, have him put his hand on top of yours.  He will think he is in control of the mouse. This is so empowering.

Bring up paint program. Have your child create and explore using the different graphic tools. Be specific when talking about your child’s creative picture such as, " I love how you painted the sky green."  Watch your child beam. He will want to continue to create new things and share it with you. 

Let's say your child wants to print his picture. Don’t just tell him, "click here," pointing to the printer icon.  Instead, ask your child, “What do you think you should click?”  If he doesn’t see the printer icon, give clues until he finds it for himself.   Even though it is so much easier to just do it for him, you are teaching your child to THINK and that he can solve problems.

After it is printed, display it, share it with grandma - make a big deal out of your child's creation.  Sounds so simple, yet it is critical for young children to believe he can do anything if he tries.

You are building the foundation for your child  to be a creative thinker.  No matter what he does in the future, there is no doubt he will be using technology and will need to be able to THINK critically and use creative solutions to solve problems.   

You have the power to give your child the skills she'll need to compete in the world tomorrow, not matter how much you spend on her education.