Ideas to Inspire

Are you MySpace saavy?

Dateline NBC has created a great resource to help parents and teens be more aware of what they should watch out for when creating an online site like My Space or Facebook. The link is above and it shows a typical MySpace type of page and when you click over the highlighted areas, it explains why the information could be dangerous for your teens.

So is it better to just not allow students online? NO. In this new technology age, our kids really need to know how to use this new read-write web as a way to learn how to learn and share globally. They need to be computer and web smart. The point of this article is to know the dangers and help guide your teen.

There are sites for young people to make positive changes in this world while learning and networking. Making a positive footprint on the web will also help teens with their “googleability” factor, which colleges and employers now look at.

Taking IT Global (TakingITGlobal.org) is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities.

25 Day to Make a Difference is a blog by a girl named Laura who lost her grandfather to brain cancer. He was very influential in her life, and in December of 2007,  she decided that the best way to remember her grandpa during the holiday season would be by living her life like he did, by making a difference and being a leader. She decided to honor her grandfather’s memory by trying to make a difference every day for twenty five days. She wanted to be able to do little things, like kids her age typically do, instead of HUGE things that are sometimes hard for kids to do. She wrote a blog asking for ideas and the ideas poured in and she’s been writing about her adventures ever since. After the 25 days, she was so successful in helping others that she has continued to make a difference. When Laura’s finally old enough to go to college, she will have an excellent google reference of her work versus a teen that uses a site like FaceBook or MySpace to just post pics of her friends.

Parents, if you’re saying “read-write what?” and your main use of the computer is to email and type, call or email me. There may be enough parents out there to do an ohana workshop on Web 2.0. Remember, keep the lines of communication open. Allow your kids to be on the computer for set amounts of time, but guide them. They’ll need the experience.

1. Watch it

NBC Olympics is a site that rocks! The column on the left shows what is showing live, but for me, the best part are the human interest stories on this site. I remember wanting to be a sports newscaster when I was in high school because I wanted to write those human stories that showed the personal struggles and triumphs of these athletes.

2. Quick overview

Google has an Olympics widget for your igoogle page. This widget, an electronic gadget, lets you check medal counts, and get up to the minute breaking news right on your Google homepage.

3. Read about it

The Google Olympic news page is a fast and clean way to keep informed about what’s going on at the Olympics. We can’t all be GWB and watch multiple events from VIP seats.

4. Find out what people are talking about in Twitter

For the latest buzz, do a twitter search for the word Olympics

It’s a grassroots way to keep an eye on the Olympics that also includes many major news outlets.) And you don’t have to be part of twitter to follow it!

5. Instant Replays

For the latest instant replays, watch YouTube for the latest in the summer games. On the downside, the start page itself is NOT for young eyes as I turned up a bit of profanity there.

(I wish that more people understood that poor behavior really limits access to many valuable services. It is not just a decision that they make personally but it affects us all.)

Just subscribe to this channel into your youtube account and you can bypass the trash on the page.

How is this useful?

The Olympics is a small event for those people who are not sports fanatics like me, however, it is a great way to highlight cutting-edge technology and the changing face of the internet from the archaic read-only web to the read-write web 2.0. This new technology shrinks the world, flattens our world and allows us to be a part of history and join in the spirit of the games. Peace be the journey.

(Thanks to Vicki Davis, Cool Cat Teacher, for her informative and tech forward blog)