Back to School Apps

While I’ve consistently proclaimed that no student needs a tablet or Smartphone to succeed, handheld internet-enabled gadgets can serve a purpose. From downloading textbooks to syncing notes and reference materials, there are some amazing tools for studying, research and organization. I wish that I’d had them when schlepping back and forth to class oh-so-many years ago. If your back-to-schooler has been lucky enough to get their hands on a tablet or WiFi-capable mobile device, these apps can help them make the most of it.

Save yourself from the backache resulting from lugging around that huge Chemistry tome with Kno Textbooks (www.kno.com, free for iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows), an online text book resource boasting over 200,000 titles. Purchase textbooks through the app and you’ll have digital content available on your computer and all your mobile devices. Engage with interactive graphics, click to view more information on intriguing topics, add notes and use advanced search features to make studying easier. There are even integrated flashcards for when exam time comes around. Textbooks are available for grades K-12, college and advanced degree courses.


Going from one class and one teacher to six or seven can be a leap, one that can lead to missed deadlines and forgotten assignments. While there are many homework tracking tools available, I like the cross-platform syncing capabilities of myHomework Student Planner (https://myhomeworkapp.com/, free for iPhone, iPad, Android, Kindle or Windows, $1.99/year for ad-free experience). Quickly view your course load, see assignments and sort by date due, type (for example, reading, paper, or study), or by course. Due dates are integrated with your calendar and you’ll receive alerts of impending deadlines.

If your teacher uses Teachers.io, myHomework allows you to “join” their class and have course information and whatever the teacher has provided (like the syllabus or assignments) automatically updated to your device. Parents can login to an account that they create for their child to keep abreast of progress on homework and projects, or view notes added by their teacher through Teachers.io. Information is automatically synced across all devices with the myHomework app, or login online to view or update your account.

If your student is getting buried under a sea of paper and losing important notes or reference materials, Evernote (www.evernote.com, free, for iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows) lets you digitally store and organize notes, photos and weblinks related to your course of study across all your devices. Take a picture of a page in a book or the printout of an assignment, and Evernote’s text recognition will convert it into a searchable, easily retrievable digital document. Save, organize and sync everything related to a project, paper or study topic and sync it across all your devices so it’s always at hand. See the video guide here: http://evernote.com/getting_started/

Mobile devices can give you access to a wealth of information:

Never be at a loss for words again with dictionary.com at your fingertips. Download the Dictionary.com app (http://dictionary.reference.com/apps, free, all platforms) so that the next time your professor pontificates about preterition, you’ll know just what he means.

WolframAlpha (http://products.wolframalpha.com/mobile/, $2.99, all platforms) has a silly name, but can answer just about any query from “how far is the Earth from the sun?” to “compare the air speed of a peregrine falcon to the land speed of a cheetah.” There are also apps for data related to specific courses of study, such as Tides, Genomics, Algebra, Corporate Finance, etc.

If you’re tackling a second language, Google Translate (www.google.com/mobile/translate/, free, iOS and Android) lets you type or speak what you want to say and instantly view the translation in over 50 languages. The text-to-speech feature lets you hear the spoken translation for more than 30 languages, or take a photo of non-Latin writing to see the translation in standard American characters.

For anyone who remembers leafing through the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica for well-written and concise information about famous people, places and events in history, consider that wealth of information being constantly updated and always at hand. Britannica offers a subscription-based app (www.britannica.com/, $1.99/month for iPhone or iPad, $4.99/year for Windows) with detailed descriptions, full color images, and all the meticulously fact-checked information lacking from Wikipedia.

Image from Apple

Tech for Students

Tech for Students Reviewed

The best in Technology for Education

If you’re replacing an old, reliable PC that just isn’t cutting it anymore, or you’re outfitting your student with some computing power, the back to school season is a prime time to buy electronics. The wave of shoppers drives down prices as retailers compete for your dollars, so it’s a good time to find a great deal. But with all the choices – desktops, laptops, Ultrabooks and tablets - how do you pick the best device to suit your needs? We’re here to help you choose.

Desktop tower: Even though their popularity is waning, there are benefits to a stationary work station. The lack of mobility is great for younger students. Just set up the family PC in a high traffic area to monitor your kid’s online activities, and you’ll never have to track down the computer under junior’s bed when it’s time to power down at night. They’re also friendlier to clumsy fingers: if Johnny spills his soda on the desk you may have to replace a $20 keyboard, but sticky liquid on a laptop can take the whole system out of commission. They’re more cost effective to upgrade, so the system will likely last you longer than more portable alternatives.

Pick a desktop is you are looking for a family PC and have younger students.

Laptop vs. Ultrabook: The benefits of an all-in-one mobile computer are clear. It takes up less space, can be used anywhere and could accompany your older student to class if necessary (although they’re still a bit big to handle the surface space offered by the typical college classroom desk). While monitors aren’t as large as those that usually accompany a desktop PC, they’re comfortably sized to accommodate the long term use expected to compose a term paper or, say, research the mating habits of alpacas.

While laptops and Ultrabooks are usually lumped into the same category when you’re cruising the electronics store, there are some key differences. Ultrabooks are often referred to as “next generation” laptops. They’re smaller, thinner and similar to a tablet with an attached keyboard and a fully-functional Operating System. While this may all sound good, keep in mind that these systems trade their upgrade capability for lightweight portability. Components are stripped (you won’t find an optical drive) or soldered to the motherboard to reduce weight and size, so the memory and hard drive that you buy it with will need to last you the life of the device.

Pick a laptop for a household with older students that you trust to use the system unattended but where out-of-house travel is likely to be minimal. Laptops are available with larger screens than Ultrabooks, so they can better accommodate multi-taskers who like to split screen multiple applications simultaneously. Also, a laptop is a good pick for students who will be using it for extended periods of time, anyone who needs to connect to a variety of shared peripheral devices like communal printers, or anyone who will need a DVD drive.

Pick an Ultrabook when portability is paramount. If your student will be taking the system to class on a regular basis, travelling with it to offsite study locations, or has an exceptionally small workspace available, an Ultrabook may be the best choice.

Tablet: While tablets are gaining popularity, they are not designed to seamlessly replace a fully-functional computer. Consider them a Smartphone with a larger screen that requires a WiFi signal to work optimally. Tablets typically run a mobile OS which is pared down from the software offered on a laptop or Ultrabook. They don’t offer as many connectivity ports, so many functions (like printing or transferring data) will likely require that you connect over a shared WiFi network. You won’t have a disk drive, so content will have to be downloaded from the device’s affiliated App store, limiting you to software developed for mobile devices.

However, tablets can serve a purpose. If you have a shared family PC and older students that need an additional device to surf the net or check email, or want to stream content from tutoring sites or video chat with their study group, a tablet can be a handy tool. With the addition of a note-taking program and compatible stylus, your student can take notes in class and have them instantly transformed into digital, searchable text, making studying for exams a bit less daunting.

Pick a tablet if you need additional Internet access without a lot of workhorse capability.

If you’re still puzzled about the best device to outfit your student for back to school, drop us a line. We’ll help you narrow down the sea of choices to the computer or mobile device that’s right for you.

Prep Your PC for Back to School

After spending the summer surfing the net, playing video games, and whatever else your kids do when you turn them loose on the computer, your family PC is probably in need of some R and R. Before you enter the season of homework and research projects, whip your system in shape to head back to school.

The first step to resuscitate the family computer is to clean off the deluge of programs and junk add-ons accumulated over the summer months. Wrestle the kids off the PC for a few hours and do some much needed maintenance. How thorough you get depends on what you use the computer for. Best case scenario? If you use the computer primarily for surfing the net, writing papers and checking email and you are relatively tech savvy, back up the data you want to keep, format the hard drive and reinstall the Operating System.


Before you get started, review the tips posted on Microsoft’s site at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/installing-and-reinstalling-windows-7. This may sound drastic, but most Nerds consider it good form to reinstall Windows every year or two to return your system to as close as you can to “factory fresh” (like it was when you pulled it out of the box). It gets rid of junk programs that have been installed, fixes corrupted applications and gets everything (software-wise) running smoothly again. That said, a basic user might find it daunting to have to get programs reinstalled and data back on the PC, particularly if the system is used for more than just Internet and email. It can also be pretty time consuming – like 4-5 hours of attention from start to finish.

If a format-reinstall doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you can still gain significant performance improvement by doing some relatively easy maintenance. Check out add/remove programs for a list of what’s installed on your system. Remove all the junk programs and browser toolbars that the kids installed when you weren’t looking. Similarly, cruise through the extensions or add-on section of your browser (usually found via settings) and remove all the search bars, games and programs that pop up and beep at you every time you go online.

Next, do a manual run of your anti-malware software (we like Microsoft Security Essentials) - being sure to check for, download and install any updates before scanning. Finally, run a registry repair tool and browser cleanup program like CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download, free) to help repair any registry errors left after removing all the junk programs. Once you’ve got your system purring along again, set up separate user accounts for everyone that gets on the computer, reserving administrator privileges for yourself. Limit user privileges so that only the administrator can install or remove programs.

[pullquote]You can limit when your kids can use the computer[/pullquote]

Limit the damage your kids can do in the future by activating the parental controls integrated into Windows. Just open up the Control Panel window and under “User Accounts and Family Safety” choose “Set up parental controls for any user.” You can limit when your kids can use the computer (so they don’t get in trouble while you aren’t able to keep an eye on them), what games they can play and what programs and content they can access. You can monitor and limit the web sites they visit, too, so if there’s a site they frequent for downloading games that you suspect brings additional junk programs with each installation, you can block the site.

Finally, once you’ve got the system cleaned up and locked down, set up a family calendar and organization tool to make the school year easier to coordinate. Cozi (http://www.cozi.com/) offers a great, free family calendar and organization tool. Just set up a free account for your family and everyone logs in separately with their personal email address to view and update the family calendar. Each user can maintain their own calendar or see color-coded events on the master calendar, get reminders or alerts. If your school has an online calendar, you can set it up to automatically show events on your calendar, so you won’t miss another Open House. There’s also task management so that you can set up individual to-do lists for each family member or one for the whole family. Cozi syncs across Windows, Macs and a multitude of Smartphones and handheld electronics.

 

How Your Teen is Hiding Online

What your Teen is Hiding Online: Part 2

According to a study commissioned by Internet Technology specialist McAfee, “The Digital Divide: How the Online Behavior of Teens is Getting Past Parents,” more than half of teens feel confident that they know how to hide what they do online and 71% have actually done something to hide their online behavior - a frightening statistic for parents struggling to keep up with the technology that their teens use every day. Yet half of teens polled said they’d change their online behaviors if they knew their parents were watching. Here’s how to learn if your kid is hiding something with the help of technology and what to do if they are.


The first step to determining if your teen is trying to cover their tracks is to learn the most common methods used to hide online activity. One red flag is if she quickly minimizes the browser window when you approach or rapidly changes pages when you come close (nearly half of teens polled cop to this). It’s helpful if you keep the family computer in a public area so that you can keep a more active eye on Internet browsing, or just ask her to pull back up what she was looking at.

Openly communicating about what sites you feel should be off-limits and what amount of privacy you’re comfortable extending to your child is imperative to setting expectations. This is a good opportunity to discuss why furtive browsing makes you uncomfortable.

More than half of teens polled cleared the browser history after going somewhere online that they didn’t want their parents to know about. This one’s pretty obvious – if you check the “History” option under your browser’s settings, there should be a lengthy list showing every page visited in recent days/weeks. An empty list tells you that steps were taken to intentionally hide online activity.

The easiest answer is to ask your teen why they felt it was necessary to hide where they went online. Begin the dialog about what sites you feel are unacceptable and why. If your kid felt it was necessary to clear the site from the browser history, they probably know they shouldn’t be going there.

Another method for hiding online activity is to use an un-monitored, internet-enabled mobile device (21% of teens polled say they’ve done it). From Smartphones to iPods to tablets, it seems just about everything can access the Internet these days, and mobile devices are particularly difficult for parents to keep tabs on.

Even more challenging, there are ways to hide apps, photos, videos, messages and phone calls by using apps or the hide option coded into Android. Many of these applications have names like Vault or Locker (for example, Vault, AppLock and PhotoLocker), so if you see an app on your child’s mobile device with this sort of name, open it. In many cases, the app will prompt you to enter a password to access content hidden in the folder. Even more difficult to identify, Hide it Pro (http://hideitpro.com/, free for Android or iPhone) appears on the phone under the name “Audio Manager.” When you open the app, it looks like a simple audio management tool, but pressing and holding the title bar will cause the password prompt to appear to unlock hidden content.

If you find your teen has hidden content on their mobile device, ask him or her to unlock the app or folder and show you what they’ve chosen to hide. Talk to your child about why they feel they need to hide things on their phone. Maybe they have photos or videos they want to keep private that may not necessarily be inappropriate, or don’t want friends reading their texts. If you do find that they’re storing inappropriate content or apps, it’s time to have a frank discussion about the dangers of sharing private images or information with others.

It’s best to establish your expectations for online activity early. When you hand your child his first internet-enabled device, discuss your plans for keeping an eye on where he goes and why you feel it’s an important step to keeping him safe. Consider enabling restrictions so that installing an app requires you to enter a passcode to unlock the function, allowing you ultimate oversight over the apps your child can use.

While there are some great parental monitoring software tools available (NetNanny and SpectorPro are some of our favorites), talk with your teen first. Just knowing you are actively involved may be enough to keep your kid off the “wrong side” of the web.

Job Hunting after Graduation: Manage your Online Reputation

Manage your Online Reputation while Job Hunting after Graduation

Once your proud graduate has grown up too quickly and has left the podium with her diploma, she's probably ready to jump into the “real world” of getting a stable job at a big company and starting a career. But we all know that the “real world” has gotten much more complicated than that. One of the biggest complications is navigating the tricky world of social media and its affects on finding a job after college. So many young people spend their teenage years posting content on the internet that can be difficult to manage when they're going to look for a job.


In January 2012, Microsoft released a study of consumer behavior activity online. Out of more than 5,000 polled, they found that 14% of adults reported negative consequences from their online activities. Out of those 14%, 21% were fired, 16% lost out on a job, and 14% were passed over by a college.

In December 2009, Microsoft reported that 79% of hiring managers reviewed online material and 70% of them supported rejecting candidates based on this online material.

With the majority of employers checking the online reputation of graduates and job seekers, it's more important than ever to know the message that's being spread about your online reputation. Your online reputation is easy to check, but difficult to manage. As always prevention is the best protection, but you'll never know how bad it is until you look. Here's the steps to taking control of your online reputation:

Google Yourself: 42% of people in the U.S. Google themselves. While it may often be merely a form of amusement, it provides valuable insight into your online reputation. Whether you like it or not, the first page of your Google results often weighs more heavily on your reputation than the first page of your resume. To get the best view, Google yourself using private browsing mode so that your personalized results don't affect what you see. Then set up a Google Alert for your name so that whenever a new page is published on the web with your name, you'll be among the first to see it.

Build Your Buzz: If there's not much about you on the web, or all the results are people with similar names, you're in luck: all you have to do is build content and they will come. Most people who haven't marketed themselves will be in this category. But even if there's been some stuff posted that you don't want associated with you, the method to improve your results is the same: create content that Google can associate with you. Sign up for LinkedIn, which is a professional networking service that is good for building positive results. It's free and can tell potential employers about your skills, education, and employment. If you already have a LinkedIn account, simply create as much content on the web that features your name prominently, as well as any keywords you want people to associate with you. Over time these links should rise to the top.

Present Yourself Professionally: Sometimes the most damaging content about you or your recent graduate isn't content posted by others. Typos, embarrassing photos, and revealing statuses can send warning signals to potential employers. If you don't believe your friend circle on Facebook is the place to worry about grammar and spelling, make it private. Whenever you post something visible by potential employers, think about how it will come across to them.

The Last Resort: Sometimes you can't always clean up the content by yourself. Many people have found themselves in this situation, usually maliciously, but sometimes passively slighted by online content. There are services for managing your internet reputation like reputation.com. However, these services are expensive.

Most problems can be solved simply by creating enough content relevant to you. Unless you've done something worth plastering all over the web, the content most favorable to you will usually float to the top. Just make sure there isn't any debris floating around in there.

Summer Computer Protection for and from the Kids

Summer Computer Protection From the Kids

Summer is the season for computer mayhem.  The kids are home from school, often unsupervised, and boredom does not bode well for you system's health and welfare.  Your endlessly-curious teenager will inevitably find a million add-ons, applications and potentially shifty files to download onto your system while you're at work.  Before chaos ensues, here are some quick tips to protect your computer from having "too much fun" this season.


Anti-virus/ anti-malware software is an absolute must.  Make sure the software is current by configuring it to automatically update itself when new versions are released.  Set it up to scan your system routinely.  You may want to have it run more frequently during the summer months.  For Windows users, I recommend Microsoft Security Essentials (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security-essentials-download).  It's free, easy to use and install, and helps protect your computer against viruses, spyware and other malicious software.  It supports Windows 7, Vista and XP.

While Mac users are less likely to encounter viruses or malware, it's still a good idea to have some protection.  Avast Free Antivirus for Mac (http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-75451160.html?tag=dropDownForm;productListing;pop) provides anti-virus shields on your filing system, email and the Internet by scanning the pages you attempt to navigate to.  It supports Safari, Firefox and Chrome browsers.

Create separate user accounts for each member of the family.  Aesthetically, it allows everyone to have a sense of individuality with customized backgrounds, desktop icons and folders.  It also gives kids some privacy by keeping prying siblings out of each other’s “business.”  From a practical standpoint, if the administrator account is the default user account on the machine, spyware and malicious software can potentially get administrative rights over your computer.  When you visit a website that is infected, you may be prompted to "allow" a program to run.  Clicking "yes" can allow malicious software to run rampant.  Separate user accounts may help keep it contained.

Every operating system is slightly different, but here's a link for creating separate accounts for Windows 2000, Windows XP and Mac OS X: http://support.hubris.net/knowledge_base/018.html.  Make sure Mom and Dad are able to access the accounts of everyone in the household.  Peruse the restrictions options to limit the ability of users so they can’t install or remove programs.

Use parental control software.  Programs like NetNanny (www.netnanny.com) can help you keep control of your system.  You can use them to set time limits on Internet usage and control the video games your kids are able to play.  You can establish permission restrictions so they can't download and play potentially dangerous programs.  Parental control programs also monitor many sorts of social contacts to protect your kids from dangerous individuals and monitor who they're interacting with.  If you want to be in the loop when you’re away from home, enter your email or text info so that it can send you notifications of which sites were blocked from your kids and why.

Windows users also have access to Family Safety.  If it's not already installed on your computer it can be easily downloaded from Microsoft's website (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-ca/windows7/protecting-your-kids-with-family-safety#section_1).  Once you've set up user profiles for every member of your family, tailor their allowed computer activities and Internet access to their individual needs.  Control categories of websites they can view, put time restrictions on computer usage, specify the times of day they're able to use the computer and receive activity reports detailing what they’re up to while you're away.  The Family Safety Website allows you to manage settings from anywhere and the changes apply to every computer you've set the Family Safety Filter on.  Best of all, it's free.

Finally, don't discount the importance of talking to your kids about your expectations.  Automated monitoring can only go so far.  Let them know you don't want them downloading anything to the computer without your permission and/or supervision.  Talk to them about where they should and shouldn't be surfing on the web.  Set limits regarding screen time that includes all devices they have access to.  This way, you can hopefully avoid any nasty surprises.

Worst case scenario: add your favorite computer repair professional to speed dial and pre-book your September tune-up before all the other desperate parents clog up the schedule.

Xbox One Controversy Has Begun

Xbox One Controversy Starts Over Internet Connectivity

by Andrea Eldridge

On May 21, 2013, Microsoft revealed details of their highly anticipated new game console, the Xbox One, scheduled to be available for sale near the end of the year.  The first major hardware overhaul for the Xbox in over seven years, gamers have been eagerly awaiting details since rumors of the new console began to circulate last year.  Yet in the end, it’s what Microsoft isn’t saying that has many gamers up in arms.


With its new console, Microsoft aims to give users a more complete media experience.  It communicates with cable and satellite, allowing users to watch live TV on their Xbox.  At first this seemed a little strange – you use your gaming console to play games, right?  Actually, Xbox 360 users currently stream movies (though apps like Netflix or Amazon Prime) and TV (thorough apps like Hulu and HBO Go), they just can’t access content stored on their DVR or see live TV without navigating out of the Xbox console and to their cable or satellite menus.  The Xbox One eliminates this, allowing users to access TV and even watch their favorite shows waiting for a game to load or to be matched in a multiplayer game.

The Xbox One will ship with a Kinect sensor and the voice and motion control features were heavily touted in Microsoft’s live press demos.  The idea is that with its integration with your home theater, you can control your entertainment experience without a remote and without ever leaving the Xbox One interface.  Simply speak to turn on and navigate to games, Internet, TV, etc.  Facial recognition will automatically load your saved content so you can pick up where you left off.

However, there were some finer details that Microsoft has been less clear about.  They announced that game play will be tied to your online profile.  When you buy a game and load it in your Xbox, the game will be installed on your device and you’ll register with your Xbox Live profile, making the disk no longer necessary for game play.  If you take your disk to a friend’s house, you can install the content on his/her Xbox and log in with your Xbox Live profile to play.  How about when you’re done with the game and want to hand the disk off to your buddy?  No dice.  Your friend will be prompted to pay “a fee” (the amount remains undisclosed) to register and play, even if the game is loaded on their console.

Microsoft’s Larry Hryb has since clarified that they do plan to allow gamers to “trade in and resell games at retail,” presumably through partnerships with large second hand game distributors such as GameStop (and its affiliates).  Yet concerns linger for gamers who rent titles through services such as Gamefly or Blockbuster, or those who prefer to sell or trade games directly between friends and family.

Many are upset by rumors that the console will require near constant access to the Internet to enable gameplay.  While Microsoft has yet to clearly confirm or deny, one can assume that playing a game – even one you’ve installed on your hard drive – may require online authentication of your Xbox Live profile to play.  This will make gaming more challenging for users without stable broadband Internet.

Hot on Microsoft’s heels, Sony held a press conference on May 20^th to announce sparse details of its anticipated new console, the PS4.  While showing only the controller, they have not disclosed any information about the hardware or what it will be capable of.  Perhaps Sony will use the controversy stirred up by Xbox One to fine tune the details of its own device.

Cyberbullying Infographic: The Facts & Statistics About Online Bullying

We've covered cyberbullying in previous articles, but it can be difficult to slog through technical talk on the subject. Here are some numbers and facts that make the subject easy to comprehend, as hard as it may be to understand. Learn what you can do to protect your child from bullies.

Teen Facebook Usage Declining

Facebook Usage Declining Among Teens

If you use Facebook to keep tabs on what your kids are doing, you may need to resort to more traditional methods…like talking. A report released by Piper Jaffray shows that while Facebook is still the most popular social network for teens, its usage has declined steeply in the last year –by nine percent.


This comes as no surprise in the web world – after all Myspace, once the king of social networking, turned into a wasteland after the hype had worn off. In addition, the site’s popularity has driven everyone to it – including those people that teens may have joined the site to escape from. Whereas the site used to be a haven for young people to congregate, the site has become ubiquitous and it’s hard to find any semblance of privacy. And with many more of the older population boarding the site, teens may be opting not to just ignore the friend requests from their friend’s mom, but to abandon the site altogether.

According to the Jaffray study, teens are moving to a greater number of more highly specialized social sites like Instagram, Reddit, and Twitter. These services focus less on promoting personal details and more on chronicling life events. Twitter for example allows teens to briefly express their emotions or thoughts, and Instagram allows them to capture their life in photos, without all the “other stuff” Facebook comes with. Reddit is a popular site for sharing memes, interacting with celebrities, and discussing news relevant to the users’ interests.

Also according to the study were some interesting facts about teen internet usage: almost 80% of all teenagers shop online – spending almost a fifth of their money on the internet. Three quarters of them prefer online shopping over store-based shopping, a trend which will bring significant economic effects as the generation gains more buying power.

And in order to access this vast web, nearly 91% of teens will buy smartphones for their next wireless device – 60% will buy an iPhone and 21% an Android.

With all this activity happening with the younger generation, it can be hard for parents to keep up. It can be overwhelming to keep up with all the different websites. So perhaps instead of trying to stalk our kids on every website they have a login for, we parents should just spend more time getting to know them – that’s a method that’s sure to work regardless of the social networks they frequent!

Read the Facts about Facebook Bullying

Some Facts about Facebook Bullying and Social Network Abuse

Cyberbullying is a topic on the minds of most parents with Internet-using youngsters.  That’s just about all parents, by the way - 95% of all teens age 12-17 are now online.  But online harassment doesn’t just affect kids and teens.  A recent study in the UK found that 8 out of 10 workers surveyed at several UK universities had been harassed online in the last six months (most commonly being humiliated, ignored or gossiped about online).  Many researchers suggest a link between the relative anonymity of comments posted online as well as the lack of social cues inherent in non-visual communication with a rise in cyberbullying on social media networks.


According to research compiled by the non-profit organization Pew Internet (http://pewinternet.org), participation in social media networks like Facebook and Twitter is greater than ever.  A whopping 80% of internet users aged 12-17, 83% of internet-using young adults (age 18-29) and 77% of internet users age 30-49 use social networking sites.  While the majority of social media users report that “people are mostly kind” on social media (85% of social network using adults and 69% of teens aged 12-17), more teens report unfriendly experiences.  When polled by Pew Internet Project researchers, 5% of adults reported people are mostly unkind vs. 20% of teens.

Among social media using teens, 88% have seen someone be mean or cruel to another person on a social media site.  Of those, 90% of teens who witnessed online cruelty say they have ignored it, 35% reporting that they do so frequently.

Many studies have shown that anonymity increases the likelihood that people will behave badly.  A famous 1950s experiment by Yale professor Robert Milgram instructed study participants deliver supposedly increasingly painful electric shocks to “students” (actually actors) when they answered memory questions incorrectly.  The study was meant to show that everyday people can be influenced to bad behavior when instructed to do so by someone in a position of authority.  What it also showed is that those that couldn’t see victims were more likely to give potentially lethal doses of electric shock.

 

This science can be applied to online interactions.  Even people who know each other are more inclined to be rude, hurtful or thoughtless when they aren’t face-to-face.  In an interview with Health magazine, Lenox Hill Hospital’s clinical psychologist Alan Manevitz, M.D. explained, “There’s a freedom of speech without a fear of consequences.” (http://news.health.com/2012/08/02/troll-psychology-mean-internet/).  It doesn’t help that humans usually respond to visual cues like body language, gestures and facial expressions as well as tone of voice when placing comments in context.  This can lead to online comments being read and interpreted as more aggressive or threatening than intended and cause recipients to respond in kind.

One in four teens reports they are “cell-mostly” internet users, using a phone to access the internet more often than a standard computer.  Internet use on mobile handheld devices increases the likelihood your teen may become involved in cyberbullying.  When there was only one portal to the internet – the family computer – it was easier for parents to monitor their kid’s online activities.  Not only could parents more readily observe where their kid was spending his time online, they could watch for signs their child was being harassed and more easily ensure that their teen wasn’t participating in treating others poorly.  Mobile devices allow teens to be more often online unsupervised.

There’s also a certain “pack mentality” to social media interactions.  A surprising 21% of social media-using teens admitted to joining in when they witnessed online cruelty.  All of this can make Facebook and Twitter a potentially dangerous place for those with shaky self-esteem (you know, just about every teenager) or frankly anyone without a very thick skin.

Luckily, the structure of Facebook at least ties comments to a poster’s profile which removes some of the anonymity.  Publicly acknowledging harassment is often all it takes to cause a bully or someone making unkind comments to back off.  The psychological drive behind a bully is often a desire to feel power over a potential victim.  Politely but firmly telling them to back off is an important first step.

However, before you respond with anger to a comment or status update posted online, take a breather.  Try to imagine yourself in a room with the person and what it would feel like to say it to their face.  If that scenario makes you uncomfortable, better wait until you’re calm and reply with grace.

Finally, I know we’ve said it before (ok, a lot), but talk to your kids about their social media experiences.  Set rules about when they can use social media and under what terms, make sure that they limit their interactions to only close friends and family, and monitor their account privacy settings to ensure that they don’t get in over their heads.

If you or someone you know is struggling with online and/or social network harassment, drop me a note for more tips to combat cyberbullying.

Options on the Internet for Kids

Finding Media and Apps on the Internet for Kids

My two kids can't keep their hands off Daddy's iPad, so it's important that I find age appropriate applications, movies and TV shows that I consider to be educational, or at least a valuable use of their time.  While I love recommendations from other parents with kids the same age, I also have a couple resources at my disposal to track down the gems in the sea of available media.

Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) provides ratings for every category of media: books, movies, TV shows, games, applications, websites and music.  But it's more than just a simple ratings website.  Their rating system is based upon recommendations from child development experts nationwide who provide criteria for what content and activities are suited for each age range.  Their ratings are multi-layered, giving you guidelines for age-appropriate content while also evaluating the "messages" provided by the game and whether or not the application or website has a good "learning potential" for your child.


Browse by the type of media you're trying to find (such as "movie reviews"), or keep up to date with what's hot with their "New This Week" and "Editor's Picks" features.  Reviews are sorted by age range, and you can click on multiple ages simultaneously if you have a couple different ages in your household.  They even have a section for children with special-needs or learning-differences.  Lastly, suggestions are provided for parents to enhance the media experience, explaining how to explore, discuss and enjoy the content, even providing sample questions to get your kids talking about lessons and themes.

OK (www.ok.com) covers all-things movies.  Movies are rated by users, so the data is pooled into the rating system that then gives an age range (OK for 6+, for example) and also a "thumbs up" or "thumbs down," denoting if the movie is worth your time.  Users post detailed movie reviews, much like you see when you use Netflix, but they're generally family-oriented reviews that contain details to help you decide if the movie is right for your family.

Search for movies based on MPAA rating (G, PG, etc.), where the movie is available for viewing (Theater, Redbox, Netflix Streaming or Netflix DVD) and look for the genre you're interested in.  Connect through Facebook to share when you rate movies or write your own reviews.  Follow other reviewers that share your taste and standards, allowing you to build a community of movie reviewers to suit your own family.

Cool Mom Tech (www.coolmomtech.com) provides reviews and recommendations for tech and applications.  Their tagline: "We're not techies who parent, we're moms who use tech in our everyday lives."  Follow them on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, or simply click on "Best Kids' Apps" and you're greeted with pages of suggestions laid out in a blog-like fashion with pictures and links to more detailed reviews.

Mashable (www.mashable.com) has a nice weekly feature called "Top 5 Apps for Kids This Week," found under Lifestyle --> Family & Parenting.  Ratings are given for ease of use, educational benefits and entertainment value of the application, and age appropriateness levels are given as well.  Keep in mind some of their recommended applications are not free.

Children's Technology Review (www.childrenstech.com) has been studying children's interactive media products since 1985.  They provide ratings on products and applications in a similar way to Consumer Reports - extensive road testing and set criteria is used to evaluate each product they review.  Like Consumer Reports, it's a fee-for-service: $30 per year for a monthly PDF newsletter emailed to you.  Each issue contains about 50 reviews of tech toys, websites, apps, video games and more.

Every child is different and learns at a different pace, so not all rating systems will be perfect.  They're intended as a guideline to help you in your decision-making with regards to what content your kids are exposed to.  Ultimately, you know your child best and you will be the best determinant of what he/she is ready for.  Remember, always screen content before you hand over the iPad or turn on the TV.

Can An iPad Replace A Laptop

iPad vs. Laptop: Can an iPad replace a laptop?

As the new school year approaches, the question I get asked most often is, "Should I buy a laptop or a tablet?" Apple's Steve Jobs has asserted that we are living in a "post-PC world". can an iPad replace a laptop?

To test the theory, I traveled to Florida with my 2-year old, bearing my iPad 2 but no laptop. When an article needed editing, I realized that while it would be possible for the iPad to do everything I needed, it wasn't going to work for me straight out of the box. It needed modification.

If you are considering ditching your laptop, whether it's for a trip or for good, here's my guide to making it possible.

Touch screen vs keyboard

Microsoft Word vs iWork
With or without a keyboard, creating or editing a document or spreadsheet on your iPad isn't going to be easy unless you make an aftermarket modification. Microsoft Office isn't available on the iPad, but Apple's iWork suite will give you most of its functionality at a fraction of the cost. Pages, Numbers and Keynote handily replace Word, Excel and PowerPoint , and cost $5 each through the Apple app store. All the content you create in these programs is cross compatible, so if you edit a Word document on your iPad using Pages, you can open and edit it later in Word with no difficulty.

As much as we'd all love to be paper-free, there are inevitably times when you need to print something. You can search the iPad for a USB port, but to no avail. Printing something off your iPad will require accessing a printer wirelessly. To make the process as painless as possible, look for a printer that is compatible with Airplay, Apple's proprietary wireless application.

Universal Acsess
Finally, sometimes I need a particular program that isn't compatible with the iPad, or I need to transfer content to another device. The lack of a USB port or disk drive can make this challenging. But with Logmein Ignition ($30 in the app store), you can remotely access your home or office computer via the Internet. Install the companion app on your laptop or desktop and leave it running while you are away. Now you can access everything on your home or office system from your iPad, from World of Warcraft to your accounting software.

What do you think? Can an iPad replace a laptop? If you're still nervous about unplugging from your laptop or desktop, share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.


[transcript]
Hi, I'm Ryan from Nerds On Call and today we're going to talk about whether you can replace your laptop with your iPad. There's nothing cooler than an iPad, but when you start using it, after a while you start to think do I really need both a laptop and an iPad? Well, one of the first things you're going to notice is when you start using an iPad there's no keyboard, you tap on the screen. Well, that can be fantastic for short emails or Tweets or Facebook updates, but let's say you have to do a long email or a very long document. You'll find that tapping on the screen can get kind of tiresome and correcting is really difficult, but if you buy a keyboard like the one from Zagg.com, you could connect it to your iPad with Bluetooth and it turns it into a laptop.

With or without a keyboard, editing a document on an iPad is kind of difficult. While you get the touch screen so you can move around your cursor and decide exactly what you want to edit. It's not as intuitive or easy to use if you're used to a mouse and a keyboard. Another thing to keep in mind about the iPad is if you're used to using Microsoft Office for Word and Excel, you don't get those on an iPad, but what you do get is Apple's version called Pages or Numbers. So you'll have to learn a new kind of software just to get some of the basic stuff done that you're already used to.

As much as I'd like to live in a paper-free world and have everything go digital, I still have to print things every now and then. Well, with a laptop it's relatively easy, I don't even have to think about it anymore. But with an iPad only AirPlay enabled printers will work. One of the saving graces for the iPad though is a little piece of software called LogMeIn. For $50 in the app store you can use your iPad to access your computer or your Mac and do everything that they can do. So can you replace your laptop with your iPad? Yeah, it can be done, but you're going to have a lot of compromise and if you're willing to take that step, it could be kind of cool.
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