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Articles by Mike Daugherty
The Politics of Middle School Communication: Navigating the Group Chat
The modern middle school playground lives inside message threads, Snapchat, WhatsApp, groups and Discord servers. These spaces are the main stage for early adolescent life, where friendships are made and social power is traded. Understanding them is no longer just about tracking screen time because it is now a necessary step in protecting our children’s emotional well-being. When a child seems glued to their phone during family time, it is rarely out of simple disrespect.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Dinged to Death: The Hidden Mental Load of the Hyper Connected Parent
It is 7:30 PM on a Tuesday. You have just finished washing the dinner dishes, helped with a volcano science project, and finally gotten the toddler to sleep. You sit down on the couch, let out a deep breath, and pick up your phone. Immediately, a wave of notifications hits you.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Raising Digital Empaths
We all feel that specific knot of anxiety when we hand a child their first smartphone. Our minds immediately jump to the dangers we read about in the headlines: predators, privacy leaks, and the addictive “endless scroll.” As parents, we spend hours setting up filters and lecturing about strong passwords. These are the defensive walls we build to keep the bad stuff out. But there is another side to the story that often gets lost.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Unbox the Magic: Top Crates for Curious Kids
Subscription boxes for kids have become a popular way to mix learning with fun. These “crates” arrive at your door filled with hands-on activities that help kids explore new interests, build skills, and stay engaged without screens. Imagine the sheer delight on your child’s face when they spot a colorful package on the porch, ready to transform a rainy afternoon into a science lab or an art studio.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Stop Managing Minutes, Start Curating Life
It’s a typical weeknight. Dinner is over, the dishes are piling up, and a strange quiet fills the living room. It’s not the peaceful quiet of resting; it’s the focused hum of everyone staring at their brightly lit devices. You’re quickly checking work emails. Your older child is furiously texting friends. Your youngest is lost in a video game. We are all here, physically close, yet our minds are spread out across the digital universe. We’ve all experienced this.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Tech For Every Brain: Empowering Neurodiverse Children With Digital Tools
As a parent, you’ve probably had a moment of tech induced panic. You see your child glued to a screen and the internal alarm bells start ringing. We’re constantly bombarded with messages about the evils of “too much screen time,” and for good reason. But what if, for some kids, that screen isn’t just a distraction? What if it’s a key?
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - The New AI Risks for Teens
Parenting in the smartphone era felt like learning a new language; parenting in the AI era feels like waking up to a whole new alphabet. The newest tools don’t just connect our kids, they can simulate friendship, fabricate images, and manipulate voices in ways a traditional web filter won’t catch. One growing concern is AI “companion” bots becoming a teen’s late-night confidant.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - From Likes to LinkedIn: Crafting a Child's Online Reputation
WHAT IS A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT? Active footprint: Anything your child types, posts, shares, or uploads: TikTok videos, Instagram comments, tweets, status updates. Passive footprint: Data collected without direct input: websites they visit, ads that pop up, search history, location check-ins. Both sides add up. A single meme share seems harmless, but months or years down the line those likes and comments can tell a story, good or bad.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - From Bedrooms to Billions: Raising Kids in the Creator Economy
Google the term “Movie Stars.” Go ahead... I'll wait. The result is a scrollable list of individuals who have captured the hearts of people all over the world through their performances on the big screen. Their names range from classic icons like Marilyn Monroe and Marlon Brando to modern powerhouses like Zendaya and Timothée Chalamet. I scrolled through a few pages of celebrities, remembering the various roles they’ve played over the years. Now, Google the term “YouTube Stars.” Again... I'll wait.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - Raising a Digital Citizen: When and How to Give Your Child a Smartphone
Welcome to 2024, where parenting meets the pulse of digital innovation! As we navigate through apps, updates, and new tech, deciding when to introduce your child to the world of smartphones—and perhaps smartwatches or starter phones—is more exciting and challenging than ever. The Elusive "Right Age" for a Smartphone What's the perfect age for a child to get their first smartphone? Spoiler alert: there's no magic number.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Distracted Parenting - Addressing Smartphone Use in Modern Families
Smartphones have become integral to our daily lives, offering countless conveniences and connecting us in unprecedented ways. However, our attachment to these devices comes with a significant tradeoff. Recent statistics show that the dynamics of smartphone usage, particularly among families, have evolved, yet concerns about "distracted parenting" remain pertinent.
Winter Wonderland: Indoor activities to beat the boredom
The holidays are over, and the thrill of new toys and activities has worn off. The cold, snowy days of January can quickly lead to the dreaded “I’m bored!” blues. Boredom is a common problem during the winter months, when outdoor activities are limited and kids are stuck indoors. It’s easy to give in to the temptation to toss them a tablet and let them watch videos for a while, but there are better ways to keep them entertained and engaged.
Your Questions About CETL Certification, Answered
Jan 18 2024 Management As tech plays an increasingly crucial role in K–12 education, many IT professionals are aspiring to leadership roles. How can Certified Educational Technology Leader certification help? People might understand K–12 education, and people might understand IT. But in today’s K–12 landscape, you need to understand both.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Winter Wonderland: Indoor Activities to Beat the Boredom
The holidays are over, and the thrill of new toys and activities has worn off. The cold, snowy days of January can quickly lead to the dreaded "I'm bored!" blues. Boredom is a common problem during the winter months, when outdoor activities are limited and kids are stuck indoors. It's easy to give in to the temptation to toss them a tablet and let them watch videos for a while, but there are better ways to keep them entertained and engaged.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Little Ears, Big Adventures: Discover the World of Kids’ Podcasts
Screens are everywhere these days, and it can be hard for kids to tear themselves away from them. But there’s a new way to entertain and educate kids that’s taking the world by storm: podcasts. Podcasts are like radio shows, but you can listen to them on your computer, phone, or tablet. From cool fairy tale stories to fun science adventures, kids’podcasts are popping up left and right, and they’re packed with entertaining and educational goodies perfect for curious little minds.
Family Fortress - Cybersecurity Checklist for Parents
When it comes to ensuring our family’s safety online, we often focus on the content they are viewing. We ask ourselves, “Is what they’re watching appropriate?” “What are they searching for online?” “Who are they interacting with, and are those individuals really who they claim to be?” However, a more pressing threat to our family’s security is often overlooked: hackers.
Embracing the Future: A Parent's Guide to Generative AI Apps
DALL·E Created by OpenAI, DALL·E is a generative AI model trained to generate images from text based descriptions. For example, if your child describes a “two-story pink house shaped like a shoe,” DALL·E can generate an image closely resembling this description. The more descriptive you are, the better the final creation will be. Try using artistic style options such as oil painting, digital art, or “in the style of Salvatore Dali” for some inspiration.
Ways to Support Your Child's Interest in Esports Broadcasting -
As the world of esports continues to grow at an exponential rate, opportunities for careers within the industry are more abundant than ever. One such career that has gained significant popularity is shoutcasting, also known as esports commentating. If your child has expressed an interest in becoming a shoutcaster, you may be wondering how to support them in their journey. Let’s look at the skills and experiences your child can develop to excel in the exciting world of shoutcasting.
The Tech Revolution Your Children Can’t Afford to Miss (and neither can you!)
A Florida man supported Obama and didn't vote for Trump. Then he stormed the Capitol, pepper-sprayed cops, broke a $2,900 window, and got 4.5 years in prison.
The Tech Revolution Your Children Can't Afford to Miss (and neither can you!) -
Innovations in technology have the power to revolutionize the world. For instance, Google’s search engine debuted in 1999 and was far superior to its competitors, making it easier to find information online. The iPhone was another game-changer, bringing the power of the internet to people’s fingertips no matter where they were. Both of these technologies fundamentally transformed the world.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Social Media & Self Image
Perspective plays a pivotal role in the conversation surrounding self-image and social media. Older generations see a clear separation between their lives online and offline. Back in the old days — you know, the late 90s when Internet adoption first began to take off — websites encouraged you to create an online persona. Most people were wary of putting legitimate information online. News outlets and tech experts preached anonymity.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: The Misinformation Age
Wikipedia defines fake news as “a form of news consisting of deliberate disinformation or hoaxes spread via traditional news media (print and broadcast) or online social media.” In the early days of the Internet, fake news spread like wildfires in the form of rumors and hoaxes. These stories went mostly unchecked primarily because there was not an easy way to check their validity. Technology has evolved dramatically since the days of dial-up Internet access.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: My Child is a Hacker! HELP?!
Hollywood has done a tremendous job at glorifying the mysterious, mischievous life of a computer hacker. A typical hacker is portrayed as a highly intelligent, powerful, tech-savvy criminal who can trick people and systems using a few keystrokes to get whatever they want. Police will be left clueless as these elite computer professionals immediately erase their digital footprints with pinpoint accuracy.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Bad APPles
Apps are arguably the reason many people have a smartphone in the first place. Apps let us all do things like ordering your coffee in advance, checking in for a haircut, passing the time while waiting in line, or mapping your way to a soccer game. It is hard to imagine a world without all of these nifty creations. Not all apps are created equal though. There are apps in the App Store (iPhone) and Google Play Store (Android) that are not as helpful.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS - There's Nothing To Do!
The Holidays are over; however, the pandemic continues. The gifts that were so shiny and new are beginning to lose some of their appeal. The cold, snowy January days quickly lead to the dreaded “There’s nothing to do! I’m bored” problem. Boredom... the age-old problem that inevitably pops up during the winter months. Getting out of the house for some entertainment used to be a fantastic option, but the current state of things means many places are still closed while others have limited hours.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: The Great Roblox Outage of 2021
As I am writing this column, the Roblox servers have been down for about two days. Why do I know this? I know this because all three of my children are explaining their discontentment almost hourly. It’s painful but I’m not alone. My social media feeds are sprinkled with parents who are experiencing similar Roblox complaints in their homes. The rumor was that a partnership with Chipotle involving free burritos for all players led to the system being overloaded, resulting in a catastrophic crash.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Digital Detox
Depending on where your family stands with the pandemic, screen time limits have been relaxed or may have been completely removed during the craziness that was 2020. The initial quarantine that kept us indoors for months encouraged additional household screen time so that everyone could interact with their friends, neighbors, and family members. We embraced it Now, twelve months later, it feels like we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: When Should You Give Your Child A Smartphone?
Raising children in a technology-rich culture has radically changed the types of issues that parents may face. Sexting, cyberbullying, and privacy issues are just some examples of the challenges faced by modern parents. Many of those issues surround a child’s access to technology.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: 21st Century Piggy Bank
Teaching your kids to manage money is an invaluable life lesson. As a child, my parents would physically hand me money for completing chores around the house as part of a weekly allowance. The few dollars I had could only be used when we occasionally drove to a brick and mortar store; an activity often saved for the weekend. I was limited to their supply of toys and their pricing scheme.
Raising Digital Kids: Engaging Learners
Parents rejoice! The “Back to School” season is upon us! It is time to grab the kids and take a trip to Target to pick up all the essentials for the new school year. The supplies list might be shrinking, as more schools take their classwork online. Online calendars have replaced planners. Web-based assessments have replaced #2 Pencils. The classroom looks entirely different now than when we were kids, and the pandemic only served to increase that gap.
RAISING DIGITAL KIDS: Parents' Gaming Guide
We’ve all seen how technology has become smarter, faster, and more accessible over the last few decades. Video games have followed suit. The excitement of leveling up, the rush of defeating a boss, or just socializing with other players has led to increased gaming across the board. According to statista.com, there are over three billion active video gamers annually. Three billion! Let’s take a look at the most popular games with kids and what parents should know about them.
Is the U.S. importing socialist drug pricing policies?
The Trump administration is doing an admirable job of keeping its promise to reduce costs and protect Americans by rolling back excessive regulations. In January, for example, it announced a major reform package to update the “Waters of the United States” rule. It’s rolled back the cost of many other regulations as well.
Connecting parents with edtech
In 2014, Chagrin Falls Schools in Ohio rolled out a 1-to-1 Chromebook initiative with the goal of transforming learning in the district. The initiative was highly successful. Students, teachers and administrators embraced the devices and the G Suite for Education. Chagrin Falls Schools had become the first district in the nation in which every teacher obtained the Google Educator Level 1 certification by the end of 2016.
Educational Science Resources: Best of the Net
Guest Post by Megan Ray Nichols Science teachers know that the Internet holds a wealth of information for both themselves and their students. Lesson plans, background information, assessments, reviews, labs: all this and more. The problem isn’t finding material. The challenge is wading through all the websites to find the best science resources for your classroom needs. To help you with the sorting, here are some top online resources for high school science teachers.
Productivity Through Technology: Microsoft® Outlook®
This FREE course is 1/2 of what Professional Members at GetMomentum.co get in the Bonus Course Productivity Through Technology: Microsoft® Outlook®. You're welcome to go through these lessons for free right here! If you work with Microsoft® Outlook®, take this course and you'll learn more than 5 ways to save 15 or 20 minutes each day. Look, it's not YOU who wastes time, it's the 70% of other people who ADMIT to wasting time (often wasting YOUR time) at work.
7 Characteristics of a Great Technology Director
Recently, I’ve been asked the question “What should I look for in a highly effective technology director?”. I believe there are seven characteristics that define a successful technology director in the K-12 space. Proactive – A good director quickly solves problems as they arise. A great director anticipates those problems and takes steps to prevent them from ever happening in the first place.
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