Frontline on PBS this Tuesday

"Growing Up Online"Channel 10 9:00 pm
A look at the impact of the Internet on adolescence through the eyes of teens and their parents. FRONTLINE explores the complicated new lines being drawn between the real and virtual worlds for today's children and teens, and for their parents, who often find themselves on the other side of a new digital divide.

This could be interesting. If you don't get a chance to watch it go to their website and watch it in segments.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/

Interesting article!!

I came across this article on eSchool News from Monday May 12. It is an interesting article that discusses views from parents that digital media use doesn't benefit a student's ability to improve their social skills. I found it most interesting because I have children myself and I see the benefit of the media in the digital age as well as the apparent downside to it too. I see my son able to use various media platforms with ease but find that he is isolated in using them. I am not decided on the issue. What do you think?

Link: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/?i=53773;_hbguid=06decc0d-abe4-4cf6-a682-b8dc4418f37e

You have to register to eSchool News. It is free and easy.

Why is a good Web design important in/to education? Particularly to your district/school website.

I believe that good website design is important to those in education. This is beneficial to teachers who have students using the Internet for just about any purpose. Many students these days are used to instant gratification and instant success. I see this everyday when I take my kids in the lab and have them use the net for research. Most of my kids expect the information to instantly pop up in front of them and if it doesn't they say they can't find it. I have to literally model the process of navigating a website looking for information that is beneficial to them and their needs. If the website is cluttered and especially difficult to decipher then this compounds the process and will actually hinder them in this process. The sites need to be clean and easy to navigate if I am going to try to instill the value of perseverance and determination into my students. If they are not, well then, most of my kids will attempt to give up. Of course this is a vain attempt by them because I will not allow them to give up. A well-designed, well-thoughtout website will help me in this endeavor.