#socialmedia

Alan Katzman, Founder of Social Assurity

Dec 20, 2015
2 min

#DigiWishes: Alert, Authentic, Ambitious Social Media Users

We love the term "social media exceptionalism." Read all about it... from our friends at Social Assurity. Headlines attract eyeballs and eyeballs pay bills. Headlines preying on our fears and anxieties attract the most eyeballs. As parents, we fear the much written about dangers of social media: sexting, on-line predators, cyber bullying, sleep deprivation, privacy and depression. Our conversations with our children about social media have been framed by these negatives a

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#Digiwishes: No Parents Who Just Say "No"

Rob Zidar, Co-Founder of ThirdParent

Dec 13, 2015
4 min

#Digiwishes: No Parents Who Just Say "No"

We’re big fans of Cyberwise’s tagline ”No Grownup Left Behind.” We want to see all parents up to speed when it comes to what their kids and teens are doing online, and what kind of guidance best assures safe and responsible online activity. With that in mind, our digital wish is for parents of kids who are coming of social media age is: “No parents who just say no”. “What’s that?” you say. Let me explain. The average American teen gets her first cell phone by the age of 12, a

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David Ryan Polgar

Dec 13, 2015
2 min

#DigiWishes: To Humanize Social Media

It sometimes feels like we rapidly toggle between two extremes in how we view social media. Depending on the day, it seems to either be that: social media will usher in a new age of cross-cultural understanding and explosion of creativity OR social media has devolved into a cesspool of kneejerk reactions, trite zingers, and ugly mudslinging. It is easy to think that the trolls have overtaken the castle. As we know, social media is all of the above--a mixture of the wonderfu

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Suzette Pfanstiel, Fourth Grade Teacher

Dec 5, 2015
3 min

#DigiWishes for My 4th Grade Class

As a fourth grade teacher, I am passionate about inspiring kids to be the best they can be. Even though fourth graders are 9-10 years old, you may (or may not) be surprised to know that many of them are already active on social media and online in general. It seems that each year there are even more students in my class than the prior year who are already active online, despite restrictions via the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that are designed to prevent kids u

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Michelle Cove, Executive Director, MEDIAGIRLS

Dec 3, 2015
3 min

#DigiWishes: More Empowering Content!

As the mother of two girls, I'm particularly excited about today's #digiwish from Michelle Cove of MEDIAGIRLS who wishes girls would "give media the makeover" by creating empowering content... Imagine if girls spent less time worrying about jiggly thighs and more time making content that made them feel stronger… My Digiwish it that we teach girls to stand up to the media's message that their worth is based on their looks and sex appeal. That's why I created MEDIAGIRLS, to lea

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Matt Soeth, #iCANHELP Co-Founder

Oct 20, 2015
3 min

CA Schools: Social Media Help is Here!

We asked Matt Soeth to tell us a little bit about the new help line for schools he and Anne Collier have been working hard on and here is what we learned... Why Was #iCANHELP created? #iCANHELP was started when students created a fake Facebook page about a teacher. After two weeks, a student turned in the perpetrator. The offending student was suspended, did take the content down and apologized for his actions. One year later, a different student created a fake Instagram page

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Dr. Pamela Rutledge

Oct 6, 2015
5 min

5 Reasons Why Rating Peeple Won't Work

If you know me, you know it’s weird for me to bash an app. Usually, I’m one of the people extolling the virtues of technology. There are limits, however, and the new Peeple app crosses the line. Peeple lets you rate everyone from your friends, neighbors and co-workers to ex-romantic partners just like you rate businesses on Yelp. It’s a bad idea and is not going to work out well. The reason I’m generally so positive is that I look at technology based on psychological funda

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Diana Graber

Sep 13, 2015
1 min

See Us in Better Homes and Gardens!

Honored to be included in Better Homes and Gardens' "Media Matters" by Melinda Wenner Moyer along with some of our favorite media gurus including Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, Executive Director of the National Asocciation for Media Literacy Education, and Dr. Debra Lieberman, Director of the Center for Digital Games Research at UCSB. Get the back-to- school lowdown on video games, the Internet, social media, an

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From CNN's Kelly Wallace

Sep 9, 2015
1 min

To Spy Or Not To Spy?

From CNN's "The Real Parenting Lessons of the 'Child Predator Social Experiment.'" #socialmedia #digitalkids #cnn #spyware #onlinemonitoring

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5 Features to Look For In a Parental Monitoring App

Jason France, Co-Founder of PocketGuardian

Sep 8, 2015
3 min

5 Features to Look For In a Parental Monitoring App

Are you interested in knowing if your child is using his or her mobile device inappropriately? If so, there are many parental monitoring apps to choose from with varying levels of control, ranging from disabling device features to borderline spyware. With so many options available, how do you choose the right one for your family? Before selecting a parental monitoring app ask yourself the following question: Which features should I look for when comparing parental monitori

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Diana Graber

Jul 18, 2015
2 min

Is Social Media Causing "Likes" Anxiety?

It’s nerve-racking when you get a call from a news station saying they are going to do a piece on social media anxiety and they’d like you to comment. News is all about ratings after all, and to get ratings in our media-saturated world sometimes you gotta go with the sensational. So I figured this would be another depressing piece about how our kids are basically all messed up because of their digital devices. But I was pleasantly surprised to watch this well-balanced segment

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Digital Literacy Classes Raise Other Scores

Diana Graber

Jul 12, 2015
1 min

Digital Literacy Classes Raise Other Scores

In Part 2 of our interview withe Dr. Jane Karwoski of the Social Network Show, Cyberwise Co-Founder Diana Graber talks about "Cyber Civics" and how this middle school digital literacy program raises other test scores. "When you teach digital literacy, you're teaching critical thinking. And that makes kids smarter," says Graber. Listen to the entire episode to learn more! #socialmedia #digitalliteracy #education #digitalmedialiteracylessons #cybercivics

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Diana Graber

Jun 11, 2015
1 min

CyberWise on Social Network Show!

Listen to CyberWise Co-Founder Diana Graber talk "no grownup left behind" with Dr. J on the Social Network Show. Listen to/read it here. #dianagraber #socialnetworkshow #digitalliteracy #socialmedia #technology

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Texting Acronyms: It's Time To Take These Seriously

Brittany Ohler, Kids Email

Apr 29, 2015
1 min

Texting Acronyms: It's Time To Take These Seriously

When I was a kid I remember passing my girlfriends notes in school, all written in pink ink and folded like a star or triangle, with “code words” mingled in with my sentences like NKOTB, ASAP, or TGIF- not very exciting right? Today’s teens do things a little differently. Texting has replaced doodled note passing in the hall, and acronyms are a much easier way to short hand a message. But… There’re some acronyms that parents should be cautious about, which may be dangerous

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What Is VISR? Our Interview With Founder Robert Reichman

Diana Graber

Feb 13, 2015
2 min

What Is VISR? Our Interview With Founder Robert Reichman

Recently we were introduced to a new tech tool we found intriguing— VISR provides "early detection" to spot threats and safety issues your children might be exposed to on their digital devices -- sort of like an alarm. It alerts parents to potential issues like bullying, violence, sexting, etc., while respecting children's privacy. We also thought Founder Robert Reichmann's story was interesting, we hope you do too! What is VISR? VISR is an early detection technology for thre

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8 Tech Resolutions Your Kids Want You To Make

Diana Graber

Jan 2, 2015
1 min

8 Tech Resolutions Your Kids Want You To Make

Check out our post on The Huffington Post... Please don't shoot me. I'm just the messenger, here to deliver a short list of "tech resolutions" from your kids. Read more. #techresolutions #resolutions #parents #socialmedia #digitalliteracy #cybercivics

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Welcome! This is the companion site to Cyber Civics, our popular digital literacy curriculum.

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