Media Literacy within Families: 5 Ways You Can Gain Confidence Online

Weather or not you welcome our growing dependence on digital media it is in fact here to stay.  Just like managing nutritional intake and establishing a healthy diet, the task of raising a healthy family must incorporate a media plan too.  It's unavoidable, but everything we do is converging through cloud technologies via internet-ready mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.  Communication, purchasing, entertainment, learning, etc., it's all occurring online.  It has become a crucial component of good parenting to incorporate digital media into everyday family life. Family and child psychologist, Dr. Eitan Shwarz, explains how "...kids need healthy media diets now to create nourishing futures. Otherwise, kids will consume junk media as they do junk food."  You can listen to his ideas about technology and it's importance on family relationships, socialization, values, education enrichment and entertainment here.

Productivity All Around: Be sure to sync your tools!

Experience would tell us that we tend to expect to accomplish more in any given day then what actually gets done.  That's life as we know it.  And there's a great deal of research and advice being handed out with road maps to increasing the percentage of accomplished tasks, this post included. Experts overwhelmingly profess that to be productive you must:

• Rise early


• Start with the most important task


• Do not multitask


• Prevent interruption


• Actually do what you need to

On some days, or even most days, it may be hard to hit all of these.  Strategy is one thing but the day-to-day tools you use are equally important.  The probability of incorporating each strategy into your daily regime increases dramatically when your productivity tools (P-tools) are synced, aligned and communicating with one another.  From hardware to software no matter where you are P-Tools will help keep you on track provided they are working together.  Mobile technology is helping make this much easier accomplish.

That smartphone you hold in your hand should be doing much more than serving as cell phone.  After all, these devices are not cheap, so get more bang for your buck and make them work for you.  Here some great ways you can be more productive by turning your phone into a P-tool.

• Calendar Sync: It’s a hassle to go back to your home or office and have to enter in all kinds of phone numbers, email addresses, appointments — and let’s face it, most of the time we’ll never get to entering that stuff at all. Use your mobile device to keep your information up to date, when you get the info, and the data entry periods will be kept to a minimum. If you use the wonderful Google apps you don't even need a smartphone to accomplish this.  Appointments can be updated on your calendar with a simple text right before you walk out of the dentist office.  Lastly, make your online calendar the homepage on your browser.  So every time you access the Internet it's there and ot out of sight and out of mind.


• Contact Sync:  As with the calendar, be sure your contacts are synced between your desktop and your mobile device.  You should never have to wait to look up a number later.


• To Do Lists:  To be productive writing down your to dos is important to ensure they get done.  If you decide to use technology to manage your daily functions and productivity then use it all the time.  We tend to write things down on paper which is good but that paper doesn't always follow us to the store or throughout the day when we need it.  There are countless ways in which a mobile device can used to make daily lists. There are apps like 2DO for iPhone or MyListy for Blackberry or some may prefer to simple use emails or texts.  You may need to fiddle around at first to find what works best for you, but you'll enjoy having those lists it with you all the time.  It's an amazing feeling to be in a store unexpectedly and know you pull out your mobile device and see what was on your list!


• Bookmarking:  With the multiple computers and internet accessible devices most people own today it makes much more sense to bring your bookmarking activity to the cloud.  You can greatly benefit from a social bookmarking tool like Delicious or Stumble Upon. These tools will automatically sync the bookmarks from each of your workstations using a single login, giving you easy access to all your favorite pages without having to re-bookmark the website on a separate computer.  In addition, you can choose to share your bookmarks with others like your spouse.  Social bookmarking tools are much more robust and effective than the bookmarking features in your browser.  The addition of tags and categories will help you manage and organize them quickly and in a more meaningful way for easy retrieval.


• eReading:  I wouldn't recommend reading an entire book on a phone, but if you are someone who finds it difficult to incorporate reading into your busy life look into an eReader!  These are fabulous devices and easy to bring with you especially if your travel a lot.  In addition, by purchasing book online with an eReader often times you can access the book and even exactly where you left off via an app such a Kindle on your mobile device even though your eReader is at home for those times when you have 20-30 minutes and catching up on that compelling novel you're working on.


• Family: If you have a family P-tools couldn't be more important.  You shouldn't be the only one maintaining the calendar and nagging teens about practice or events to prepare for.  I'll give another shout out to Google for the fantastic calendar app it offers.  This calendar works in the cloud and each of your family members can and should be accessing it on both the home computer and their mobile devices.  Check out how you can use Google Calendar effectively in your life.


• Balance & Boundaries: Being productive is a good thing, but too much of anything isn't.  Balance is important with everything we do and it’s not healthy to be working all the time, wherever you go.  Set times to work, and times to relax, and don’t cross the boundaries. Rarely use your mobile device at the table and limit the use of it on the couch or at a restaurant to quick check-ins with people or places.  Use it when you have down time, when you can’t do anything but wait.  When you are with others, be with them and not on your mobile device, disconnect, put the device away, and relax.

If you don't find yourself to be much of a techy to get started with syncing and setting up these P-tools on your own don't let this stop you!  These is such incredibly useful methods of getting things done and relieving stress.  Find someone in your community who offers services to get you set up, it's worth it!  As a solutions consultant I find the greatest joy in helping others navigate through these sometimes complicated but almost always beneficial features of technology.

5 Privacy Settings You Shouldn't Overlook

Participating in social networking using Facebook can be fun and useful.  And while it can also open an individual up to unnecessary exposure to others it doesn't have to.  If you have a teen on Facebook be sure to sit down with them and review their Privacy Settings and don't forget about your own.  While adults may not need the same level of privacy protection, often times it's what we'd prefer anyways.  Model for your kids how to protect yourself online, they learn best by what they see you do versus by what you tell them to do.  Anyone with a Facebook profile can control who sees their personal information by selecting a privacy level.  Most privacy levels are defined as viewable by:

• Everyone


• Friends of Friends


• Friends


• Only Me


• No One


• You can even customize some features to be viewed only by specific friends

To adjust your Facebook profile privacy settings start at the privacy settings page.  You can find this under the "Account" menu at the upper right-hand side of the page.  Click on "Privacy Settings".  If you then click on the "Customize Settings",  you can view all of the controllable privacy settings of your Facebook profile. For the safest setting choose the option to allow only friends to view all of the settings on the page.

There is a lot you can control, but be sure to set the following to a level you are comfortable with:

1. Personal information you share. Profile information includes such things as photos, interests, videos, friend list, and anything else you may include on a profile. Know that you can control who has access to the elements of the information you choose to share.  For instance each photo album can have a different level of privacy.  So you may share the family vacation photos with all of your friends, but another album you may choose share with a specific group of friends.


2. Personal information Other Share About or with You.  
It's one things when you post photos, but you don't need to allow just anyone to tag you in photos for others to see.  You can control if friends can see photos that other people tag you in.  In addition, teens like to post photos of themselves and their friends, definitely something you don't want a predator to see.  This is a setting you should teach your teen to use, or go in occasionally and do yourself.  Each photo has it's own tag so every time a photo is added, you can choose remove the tag or you can remove everyone's ability to view pictures you are tagged in if not your own.


3. Who Can See Contact Information? Information like your IM screen name, email address, website URL, address and phone number can also be controlled.  Personally, I think it's great to have it as an option, but I'm not sure it's necessary to reveal.  If a friend wants to contact you personally, they can always send a private message to you.  And to help to protect the privacy of your teen I recommend that this never be made public.


4. Who Can Find Your Profile by Doing a Search? Facebook's default setting allows your profile to be found using Facebook's search tool.  You can control people from finding your profile in the first place by changing this Facebook privacy setting.

Teens and Mobile Phones

As smartphones become more of the norm than the exclusive exception, it's increasingly important that parents understand the full capability of the device they might view as merely a cell phone.  Smartphones are more like a computer than they are merely a means to keep in touch with your teen.  In fact, they really are computers possessing the same capability to excess a plethora of information on the Internet and often times with far less restriction.

Recently, I came across a resource guide provided by SafetyWeb which offers a service that generates activity reports and  timely alerts when inappropriate content is posted by your child online by way of their email address.  Monitoring your child's every move online is a personal decision and there are certainly circumstance where this is necessary, so this may be worth checking out. In additon, as crafty as teens are today, don't ever assume they are using only one email address.  However, as it relates to mobile phones, I wanted to share with you their Teen and Kid Cell Phone Use – Guide For Parents.   It provides some useful insight into what you are handing over to your teen.  For instance:

• Definition & background of mobile phones, PDAs, smartphones, etc.


• Data & Research


• Harmful Effects


• Recognizing if cellphone addiction has become a problem with your teen


• What to do if you discover a problem?


• Laws Protecting Your Child


• and more...

As useful and incredibly productive smartphones are, and I'm productivity enthusiast, it's technology used being in a whole new age which means we need to treat it like fire.  A valuable tool that must be used with safety in mind.

So check this resource if you think you could learn a thing or two.

Protecting Your Child From Cyberbullying

I’ve always said that technology is like fire – a powerful tool that really we can’t live without, but one that must be understood, controlled and channeled in a way that adds value to our lives.  And we also have a parental and social responsibility to protect those who don’t know enough to protect themselves, like our children.  We would all love to eliminate bullying but that’s not likely to happen in the near future.  It exists everywhere, offline and online.

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, is no different from the offline bullying that occurs in the classroom, school hallways, sporting events and in the neighborhoods where our children live except that cyberbullying is done using technology.   Cyberbullying is defined by Netzsmartz Kids as:

Cyberbullying - sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices.

(NetSmartz Kids is a national organization dedicated to teaching parents/caregivers, educators, government officials, law enforcement, and youth organizations that want to learn more about the Internet and the possible dangers to children online.)

Like offline bullying, parents can educate themselves to help protect their children against cyberbullying.    What follows are tips for preventing cyberbullying from the Cleveland Clinic.

Parents can take a proactive, preventative approach to cyberbullying by dong the following:

• Learn! Go on a fact-finding mission. Learn what your kids are doing online, which sites they visit and what they post on sites like Facebook or MySpace. Monitor cell phone usage, especially text messaging.  Because much of Facebook is public information anyway, many parents make an agreement with their kids that if they are going to use it, the parent is given the log-in password so that they can review what is happening at any time.


• Sharing isn’t always a good idea. Teach your kids not to share anything that they wouldn’t want the entire world — including their parents, grandparents and teachers — to see.


• Discuss the ethics of Internet use. Encourage kids to develop a code of ethics for Internet use. Start a discussion of “right” versus “wrong” uses of technology. Then clearly set your rules and expectations for cell phone and Internet use.


• Watch for signs of cyberbullying. Kids who are cyberbullied are often reluctant to go online and find excuses to avoid school. If you think your child is a target, take immediate action. If the bully is a classmate, tell school officials. Report online harassment and physical threats to local police. If bullying involves mobile phones, report it to your phone service provider. Tell your Internet Service Provider (ISP) about email or social networking threats. On Facebook, kids can click “report” if they are uncomfortable about what they’re reading.

I think this is a good list and I would add only this, "Lead by example!"   If your kids are on the Internet then they are old enough to learn from your own behavior.  Be aware of how you use the Internet and other technology.  What might be acceptable or appropriate for adult communication may be very inappropriate for your 12 year old.

Regardless of how much you choose to use technology, if you are a parent or a caregiver you do a have responsibility to learn enough to ensure children can be protected.

Here are some other helpful inks:

• Facebook, Twitter and Online Bullying


• National Mental Health Information Center


• How to Stop Bullying on Facebook

Two Keys Ways to Increase Productivity with your Family Calendar

Let's talk productivity!  We all know it takes a lot to manage the calendars, emails and to do lists in your work life and in your personal life.  Sometimes your work life is your personal life, but that doesn't make it any easier especially if you're trying to managing them separately.  Yes, they are separate parts of your life but these are all aspects your one life so why do twice the work by managing them individually.

For those of you who are still working two calendars, and maybe even trying to keep the hard copy version updated on the laundry room wall, here are some options to consider that could reduce some of that complication and work.

USE A COMMON ONLINE CALENDAR

A good place to start is getting everyone (you, your spouse and children and possibly your work) on a common calendar platform.  Yes, that also means doing away with the one on the wall in the laundry room.  Instead, have the home page for the central computer in your house be the family calendar instead of the wall.  That way it's still in a central location where everyone can see it.  In our house we use Google's Calendar and have for years now.  It's our home page for not only the main computer but anyone who has a their own laptop also keeps the Google Calendar page as their main page.  That way it's always top of mind. With Google Calendar, and many other calendar applications can do this as well, you can set up an individual calendar for each of you and for each part of your life.  If you already use a calendar at work than you can usually subscribe to your family calendar at work so you have the option to see your whole scheduled life in one view. This will eliminate your honey saying, "But I didn't know we had conferences tonight!"

When sharing or subscribing your calendar you can also select privacy settings and edit controls.  For example, in Google Calendar I may want to share my calendar with my family who can see the details but only give my spouse and I the option to edit events.  Alternatively, my kids calendars are shared with me and I am able to edit, add and delete events as needed...which is a must for a mom. So take some time to check out what you can do with Google, Apple Calendar/MobileMe, and there are many more.  Or check out this article from About.com and see what they think the top online calendars are.  Some are free and some cost a bit, but all can add some productivity to your life.

PUT CALENDARS TO WORK WITH YOUR MOBILE PHONE!

Let's take this new found management tool up a notch and incorporate our cell phones.  (This will make you feel even better about what you spend every month on your cell phone service plan.)  So, it's safe to say that you have a cell phone and if you have anyone over the age of 13 in your house s/he may likely have one as well.  Using features in your calendar application you can make both tools work better for you and your family and ultimately do more more of the work for you.

There are many features available that may be offered but one you should look into first is notifications.  Notifications or reminders are settings you can select each time an event is entered which will remind you of an upcoming event.  You can select various ways to have notifications sent to you (e.g.  By email or text.  Days, hours or minutes prior to an event.  Number of notifications to be sent.)  We aren't in front of our computers all day and this is a handy tool to keep you on track and on task. And regarding your teen-aged children with cell phones and who have test-pertise, this is a great opportunity to have them take on more responsibility by giving them the tools to manage their own calendar via texting.  It's what they do best so let's put it work for you.  It can alleviate being the nag and give them a great sense of independence.

If you already have a smartphone take it up one more notch.  Consider syncing your calendar application with your smartphone.  I have an iPhone and I sync my Google calendar with it and I LOVE it.  I am able to see what my whole family has on the calendar and make updates too.   This portability is incredibly convenient, especially as my memory becomes less reliable.  The help section of your calendar application will typically have step-by-step instructions on how to do this.  If you are not able to locate that information, just send me an email.  I'd be happy to help find what you're looking for.

Smartphones for Smart Kids - Smart Choice?

Parents, you're familiar with the persuasive efforts of your kids to get you to purchase $100+ athletic shoes and designer jeans that top $150.  You may also have heard the newest persuasive arguments for smartphones. 

So what's a smartphone?  Well, it's the product of two devices, a cell phone and PDA (personal data assistant).   Cell phones and PDAs, like a Palm Pilot, were previously used in tandem with one another.  The latter organized and stored your digital information like contacts, to do lists, emails, etc.  And the former was used for making phone calls.  Then the PDA gained wireless connectivity and two became one - a smartphone.

As parents, it might be helpful to imagine your computer gaining a cell phone.  A smartphone is really a palm-sized computer with its own operating system and applications just like your computer.  And like your home computer is also comes with online capability with built-in browser also allows for email and Web access,. Newer models have a camera which allows you to take still pictures and even videos.  That's a lot of capability at the hands of a teenager! 

We sure are fortunate to have these gadgets available to us, but we may need to stop and think before giving one to our children.  Here are some things to think about before you make this leap and it's a big one.

CONTROLS
Be careful not to just hand over the smartphone to your very eager teenager without taking time yourself learning about how to manage things like Web access and downloading of applications.  Remember, it's just like your home computer and which gives your teen access to many areas on the Web that may want to prevent him from accessing.  Most cellular providers provide information online to help you or speak with a sales representative at the local cell phone store.  In addition, there other third party applications available to help monitored or control your child's mobile.  Mobile Nanny is one such provider. (Go to www.mobile-nanny.com to learn more.)

COST
It's expensive!  Smartphones almost always require a data monthly data package fee of $20 to $30.  That's up to $360 a year in addition to the fees already being charged for the monthly service plan.  And that's for each smartphone!  Is this really a necessary expense?  Did you know that an iTouch has the same capabilities as an iPhone less the cell phone and less the monthly data package fee that goes along with it.  Instead of using the cellualar data package It has wireless Web access if it has Wi-Fi within range which is most places these days.  So another option could be to get your teenager a regular "old fashion" cell phone that doesn't require a monthly fee for a data package and an iTouch. (You'll want to set appropriate parental controls on the iTouch just like you would a smartphone.)  That's huge savings per year.  Another benefit is that kids tend to lose things and if they lose a smartphone they've lost all those applications which are now housed in device (cell, music, email, etc.).

RESPONSIBILITY
Personally, I think this is as much if not more important that cost or parental controls.  Given the powerful capabilities and the cost associated with having their own smartphone this is fairly big privilege, it probably falls just behind getting a driver's license.  So let's think about that for a moment.  Are you taking time to prepare your teen for this responsibility?  Here 5 things you may want to consider before making the next step towards this purchase.

• Care:  Keeping track of the device itself should be a given resposbility but help them understand the implications of losing it or allowing it to be in a postion where it might be destroyed.  If you don't have insurance (and some smartphones can't be insured) replacing it is quite an expense.   Discuss what your expectations are if it is lost and who is responsible for paying for it.

• Self-Management:  Use this opportunity to help your teen become a better time manager.  Since smartphones have access to the Web and email, your teen would have access to a calendar management system like Google Calendar.  Using an application like this you may want to consider having your teen take on greater responsibility for their own schedule.  Since they have this device with them most if not all of time it's always available for them to update their calendar and they can set up alerts such as SMS or email notifications to remind them of the soccer meeting the coach set for Thursday after school.  In addition, if you utilize the same calendar application that can subscribe to your teens calendar you see their calendar and know where they are.  Starting off load some of the calendar management to  you teen will help prepare them for being completely responsible for this post high school and may reduce the amount of nagging you are required to do.

• Security:  Teens tend to be trusting of their peers and can be open to sharing their "stuff".  This is an important conversation to have with them as it relates to their smartphone.  Help them understand that they should think twice before allowing others to use their phones and be careful that it is not being used for pranks or fraudulent activity. Sounds scary and even absurd I know, but this is a very powerful device and transmitting things like inappropriate pictures of their peers is against the law.  And it's not just the camera that can be abused.  There are numerous other ways in which a smartphone and regular cell phone for that matter can be used illegally.  Unintentionally, most likely, but all the more reason for kids to keep their phones to themselves and if they feel they are safe to let someone use it make sure they stay with the phone and know how it's being used.

• Financial:  Based on family values and what parents are financially able to provide there will be differing opinions on this, but I believe along understanding that it's a privilege it's also a financial responsibility.   Money doesn't grow on trees and either do cell phones.  I think it's important that on some level teens, especially those in high school, should begin to share the burden of this monthly responsibility.  Even paying just $5 a month gives them a sense of how this will impact them one day they are expected to take on the responsibility for themselves.

Kids are smart these days and smarter than their parents sometimes when it comes to electronic devices like smartphones.  Though we may not always be as up to-speed on the devices we need to be careful to neglect our responsibility help keep them protected, offer sage advice and set expectations that help them to grow and mature.  So, a smartphone for a smart kid can be a smart choice provided the parents takes some smart steps first.  Consider the alternatives, expect responsible and safe use and take time to know what your putting in the hands of your smart teenager.