I keep hearing from parents that the kids know so much more than they do about technology. Adults hand over the computer whenever they need something done because they feel inept in the fast paced world. So we've got kids setting up email accounts, uploading photos, and even paying bills because the adults are just too slow or too busy.

Maybe it's time to take some of these activities more slowly. Let me give you an example. I uploaded about 64 pictures into an online web album to show off to my family. Very typical kind of activity that parents allow kids to do. But even I noticed how easily it was to overlook some of the settings. I returned to the album a few days later to see that I had made the whole thing "public"; as in, the whole world could see pictures of my kids. To an adult, this is a scary thought that any creep might have downloaded photos of my children. However, to kids this is what the Internet is for.

Let me go even further to express my concern. I was teaching 4th graders how to shoot and transfer photos from digital cameras. I allowed them to take pictures of each other to ensure they could compose a shot, focus, and steady their hands. Although their lack of inherent knowledge about digital cameras did not stun me, their behavior did. Girls were posing within minutes as divas at a paparazzi shoot. Just the thought that these digital files were going to be put on a computer actually lowered their inhibitions rather than made them nervous. This is the lesson that I will address throughout the year. Digital means endless, forever, permanent, and in a freaky way, something that can be altered and used to your disadvantage.

Children today relish the opportunity to go online as another person, in another reality and let their hair down. But it is just this misconception about the web that is causing danger and trouble down the road for them. We teach children not to play with fire. Photos online should be the territory of adults and not kids too. It is fine to allow your child to take photos, even transfer them to the computer. But under no circumstances should kids be allowed to make decisions concerning online postings. There are too many options at each website, too many ways to make mistakes even for folks like myself that use these online tools everyday.

So you must make some adjustments to computer usage at home. If you child has an email account AND takes photos/videos, they are already in dangerous territory. If you load programs such as Picassa, Flickr or use any cell phone for photos, these are also available online with a single click and therefore not secure. Imagine sending a normal picture to a friend who within days is no longer a friend. It is like chain mail only worse. And don't forget, YouTube is vulnerability times ten.

I'm not advocating a locked down system, merely education and thoughtful execution by all parties. First as a parent you must educate yourself as to how digital photography is transferred from location to location and which software or accounts are used. Then discuss with your child the public and private aspects of your family's lives.

Oh, and giving the kids the credit card to pay bills online: I think not.

More about broadcasting online.

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Not too many years ago a monopoly swept the nation. Every business rushed out to buy a set of tools known as Office. It was considered the standard, the perfect working environment for all tasks on the computer. By the year 2000, nearly every business produced documents, spreadsheets or presentations using either the 1995 or 1997 version. Even Mac users were in the game by 1998. But Microsoft continued to change their product, making those using an older version feel inferior. In fact, the “upgrade crusade” marched on in 2007 so that backward compatibility was more difficult than ever.

The home user has been left behind. With the price tag of a new version of Office hovering around $200, most PC owners would rather try to get by without a new version every 2-3 years. Not only that, but learning the new tools and interface is time consuming.

So what do we do? First of all, there are plenty of other options with all the basic productivity of the the big name. Listed below are some options for students, parents, and anyone else that will produce equally acceptable results. Maybe you’ll never buy software again!!!
Open Office: An open-source suite that has no license and therefore is free. It is open-source so that improvements are created continuously. It flows easily from any Microsoft version. Most people find it much easier to learn.
Google Aps: Highly successful at most everything on the web, Google is now setting a new standard for online productivity.  Although you will need to create a free account with Google, you will have access to your work wherever you can access the internet.  Many high schools require students to have gmail addresses and calendars.  By using the documents portion, you will have also spreadsheets, presentations and websites that are super easy to create.
Zoho: New online but similar to Google, the idea behind Zoho is to take our normal office suite and make it collabortive. You will need a log in but after that it is smooth sailing.
PowerPoint Alternatives: Sure there are many ways to write a simple report, but what about the big time, a presentation.  This link lists 13 online options for making the smoothest, coolest presentations without having PowerPoint.  One nice option is that these are available online for other people to view your presentation, making sharing a breeze. No more worries about version compatibility either.

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I've been watching technology advancements over the summer and decided to write a quick overview - just in case you spent the whole summer at the beach. So in one quick read, you'll have the gist of what happened while you were relaxing in the sun. You'll also get my slant on it.

IPhone/ITouch upgrade. The latest 3.0 operating system brought out some new features that users had been aching for, cut and paste, voice recorder, landscape keyboard. But I must point out the new oil resistant screen is the best improvement yet. Now when you attempt to wipe those embarrassing oily fingerprints, they don't just smear all over the screen but actually wipe clean.

Cyber Command. You know that when something actually merits a White House appointment, it must finally be important. The new command will deal with digital terror and from what I've heard it could be worse than nuclear. If the electrical grid is compromised, we will all go through Twitter/Facebook withdrawal. That will be the end of civilization as we know it.

Bing. If you ever felt that Google just wasn't a good search engine (you would be wrong but that is another blog.) then you might as well give into Microsoft once again and try out Bing. It is very web 2.0 pretty and seems to come up with Wikipedia just as often as Google. At least now you have a choice, like Coke and Pepsi.

Netbooks. Just in time for the recession, cheaper, less useful, computers. Now you can purchase a mini version of a real laptop with a slower processor, less RAM and one that most likely won't be able to run MS office. Bandwagon effect aside, if you need to surf the internet with something lightweight and portable, you might look in your purse. I believe you'll find a cellphone.

Cellscope. I've been wondering how I can quickly analyze microscopic organisms on the go and now there is an answer. The cell phone microscope known as the Cellscope. Developed as part of a student project at California Berkeley and not really all that high tech, the microscope attaches to a cell phone and works phenomenally well. It is actually for diagnosing disease in rural areas where medical facilities are not available. I liked the idea that every kid in science class would have their own scope for dissections - and text those photos to friends.


URL Shortners: This summer has seen a boom for shorter URLs. Twitter has perpetuated this trend because no one can type a URL; it just isn't humanly possible. Most web addresses now look like http://tinyurl.whoa. Yes, everyone likes nicknames and these are just cuter. Sort of like down south everyone is named Bo.

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