How to track Father Christmas tonight!

The child of 2015 no doubt has high expectations of her parents’ abilities to locate Father Christmas. When I was young it was sufficient for my Mum and Dad to point to the sky and say “he’s up there somewhere”, nod knowingly and retreat back inside. But with all the digital tracking technology available to you these days, it would be remiss not to appear more knowledgeable 😉

Never fear then, for there is help at hand! As I write Google Santa Tracker informs me that it’s just 24 minutes away from departure time for the great man. You’ll then be able to track his travels on Google Maps and, Google being Google, you can also play games, watch videos and learn about the spirit of Christmas on the web site.

Microsoft has taken a rather more scientific approach and teamed up with NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command). NORAD have been tracking the bearded wonder since 1955, after an ad gave the number for NORAD’s predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command (CONAD), as a way of reaching Santa. Children who called looking for Santa were instead given his ‘official’ coordinates, according to the best radars in the world.

NORAD have continued the tradition for 60 years, and now they claim:

The moment our radar tells us that Santa has lifted off, we begin to use the same satellites that we use in providing air warning of possible missile launches aimed at North America.

Yikes, that’s not a particularly kid-friendly statement is it?!! Anyhow, the site also has videos, games and fun ways to explore the North Pole.

 

 

Is a smart toy a smart option this Christmas?

• Who is this post for? Parents of children
• What does it discuss? The pros and perils of buying a smart toy
• How does it benefit you? Balanced perspective on whether a smart toy is the right choice for you and your child

If you’re a parent there’s a good chance you noticed a story that appeared mid-November about the company Vtech, a major player in the kids’ toys business. Vtech had its database hacked and had personal information stolen from 6.4 million (!) children’s accounts. The stolen information, which was not encrypted, included names, email addresses, passwords, secret questions and answers for password retrieval, IP addresses, postal addresses, download histories and children’s names, genders and birthdates.

If a toy is called ‘smart’ then it’s very likely to be connected to the Internet in some way. IT security, however, is not a traditional area of expertise for toymakers thus leading to some IT security experts calling the ‘internet of Toys’ the ‘Wild West’. There are also concerns that information shared with such toys are ultimately used for advertising and marketing purposes. The activist group Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood recently analysed Mattel’s new ‘Hello Barbie’ toy and said “When Barbie’s belt buckle is held down, everything your child says is transmitted to cloud servers, where it will be stored and analysed by ToyTalk, Mattel’s technology partner.” Mattel did respond by saying that no conversation history was stored and data would never be used for advertising purposes.

We do however believe there are many benefits to smart toys if toy companies can rigorously address their gaps in IT security. The company Elemental Path is soon to release a toy dinosaur that learns the best way to interact with your child and answer his/her questions. For example, if a child asks it “How far away is the moon?”, a five-year-old will get a different answer to an eight-year-old. Donald Coolidge, head of business strategy at Elemental Path said “One of the reasons we built the dinosaur was because kids ask so many questions and we wanted to build something so that they could continue to ask questions and make up stories”

What are your views on smart toys? Friend or foe (or somewhere in between!)?

3 ways to help your kids manage their screen time

• Who is this post for? Parents
• What does it discuss? Helping children to be mindful of their screen time
• How does it benefit you? Focus and peace of mind

Last week we asked you whether you felt your children’s screen time should be limited. It’s a subject that raises passionate opinions on both sides of the fence.

This week we simply want to point you in the direction of a thoughtful piece about helping your kids to think about the amount of time they spend in front of screens and the purpose of doing so. Read the piece from Anna Almendrala Healthy Living Senior Editor, Huffington Post, here.

 

Hear and feel your partner or child’s heartbeat, even when thousands of miles apart

• Who is this post for? Everyone with a loved one!
• What does it discuss? Connecting people through heartbeats
• How does it benefit you? Feel connected, even when miles apart

A product that takes its name from shared moments is hoping to bridge that gap between loved ones. Pillow Talk enables you to feel your partner’s presence by sharing heartbeats via a wristband and speaker and is launched mid-December.

While modern technology has allowed people to connect with loved ones through text, video chat and simply talking on the phone, the founders thinks those connections aren’t enough, especially for those separated by long distances. An iOS or Android app pairs you and your partner together. When you go to bed, you both strap on wristbands that contain heart sensors. You can hear and feel each other’s heartbeats through a speaker you place under your pillow or, using the app, you can plug your headphones into your phone and listen.

The product can be used for connections other than the romantic variety . For example, parents who are often home away from their kids can use it to feel more present.

Pillow Talk isn’t the only device connecting people through heartbeats, though. The Apple Watch’s Digital Touch lets you send a heartbeat to someone so they can see and feel it. The watch’s healthcare app uses sensors so parents can listen to their baby’s heartbeat right on their wrist.

What are your thoughts on this method of connection?

Are tablets reducing your kids’ digital skills?

• Who is this post for? Parents and teachers
• What does it discuss? A report coming from Australia that suggests increasing use of mobile devices is lessening children’s digital skills
• How does it benefit you? Fresh perspective, focus

A new report by Australia’s National Assessment Programme, an Australian educational body, looks at technology literacy among two groups of children – one just leaving primary school and another in its fourth year of secondary school. More than 10,500 students took part. It compared digital literacy scores from 2011 with those from a survey carried out in late 2014, finding that the number of children meeting basic ICT literacy standards in these age groups had dropped significantly.

The report’s reasoning was that tablets and smartphones were making children competent at using many forms of online communication at the expense of those other skills emphasised by the curriculum, skills considered important for employability.  Our favourite quote in response to the report was from Eben Upton, who came up with the idea for the Raspberry Pi computer now used to teach so many IT skills in schools. He said:

“There’s a place for tablets in education, but we need to get away from the idea that knowing how to pinch-zoom makes your toddler the next Bill Gates”

If you’d like to read the report in full, you can download it here

What are your thoughts on this report’s conclusions?

Should we tame our kids’ screen time?

• Who is this post for? Parents of children
• What does it discuss? The merits or purpose of limiting screen time
• How does it benefit you? Possibly better grades for your kids

I remember when my parents used to moan at me for spending too much time in front of that “bloody computer” and not enough time outside. And that computer was a ZX Spectrum so frankly I was spending half my time actually waiting for games to load on a tape recorder 😉

But was that accusation fair and does the amount of time your kids spend in front of screens, be they PC’s tablets or smartphones, have any kind of negative effect on their education? Several recent studies, including those from the University of Cambridge and the National Children’s Bureau Northern Ireland, have claimed a negative effect on GCSE results to be correlated with increasing screen time.

One can probably argue that the nature of the screen time is probably the limiting factor. Research for study is different from playing the latest ‘shoot-em-up’, albeit there are many that vociferously claim gaming promotes its own set of skills (almost certainly true).

At the end of the day, as Mark Twain said, “there are lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Stats and reports can probably make a case for anything if the question is framed in a certain way. Regardless, this latest article on BBC News makes an interesting, balanced case and suggests methods and tools for parents who wish to take a proactive stand on screen time.

We’d love to hear from you if you have your own views on whether or how to limit your kids’ screen time.

How to avoid going to the doctors surgery

• Who is this post for? Everyone
• What does it discuss? How mobile health services are revolutionising healthcare
• How does it benefit you? No waiting for an appointment, quicker diagnosis, reduced travel, reduced time off work

I’ve been a user of the frankly awesome Babylon health service for a few months now. I was getting frustrated just at trying to get through to the local doctors surgery by phone, let alone being given inconvenient appointment times and then having to wait way, way past the appointment time in the surgery itself.

I was talking to a friend about how bad the entire experience is and they recommended I take a look at Babylon Health. As this video explains, you can ask questions, submit pictures etc and within minutes a doctor will talk to you over a video link to discuss diagnosis and next steps. The service doesn’t profess or aim to replace doctors in any way; indeed what it does is find a much better way of quickly connecting you to a helpful, needed, human doctor!

It’s a subscription service which you access via a smartphone app. For a monthly subscription of £4.99 ($7.55/€7.99) you get unlimited medical consultations by text and video. Once you’ve had the online exchange, a doctor can text a prescription to your nearest pharmacy and if necessary, arrange a referral for a real-world consultation.

Take a look at the video http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34900170/embed

and if you want to read an extended article, do so here

Do share your experience of Babylon Health or let us know of any other services that have reduced inconvenience when it comes to healthcare.

 

In Google We Trust?

• Who is this post for? Parents
• What does it discuss? Internet safety
• How does it benefit you? Information for your decision making about online safety

Online safety for children is understandably a subject many parents are passionate about, and this week saw the release of a report from Ofcom that looks into the attitudes of both parents and children on the subject. 

We’ve pulled out the topline stats in the video above and you can see the main report here.

The report highlights that children are becoming more trusting of what they see online, but sometimes lack the understanding to decide whether it is true or impartial. But it does not spread gloom about allowing children the freedom to go online – it shows:

• 97% of children aged 8-15 recall advice they’ve been given, particularly from parents
• The large majority (84%) of children aged 8-15 also say they would tell their parents, another family member or a teacher if they saw something online they found worrying, nasty or offensive.

The report highlights a parents’ role in managing children’s Internet access to ensure safety. As James Thickett, Ofcom’s Director of Research, said: “The internet allows children to learn, discover different points of view and stay connected with friends and family. But these digital natives still need help to develop the know-how they need to navigate the online world.”

If you have concerns or want to learn more, there are a number of good, practical online resources – here are a selection we have found:

NSPCC, which includes crowdsourced views on social networks to get the views of other parents

Google, which provides a number of online safety tools

Internet Matters, which has lots of advice and information

If you have seen any other good resources on the subject of online safety, or have any personal experiences you would like to share please let us know.

 

YouTube Kids app now available in UK & Ireland

• Who is this post for? Parents
• What does it discuss? YouTube’s new app for Kids entertainment and the associated parental controls
• How does it benefit you? Big catalogue of free TV for your kids

A year after being launched in the US, Google has made its YouTube Kids app available in the UK and Ireland.

The app provides content that’s suitable for kids of all ages. The aim is to give parents peace of mind when it comes to their children browsing and watching videos on YouTube.

There will be new content aimed to appeal to a UK and Irish audience specifically, like Octonauts, In the Night Garden and UK YouTubers like Stampylonghead and his Wonder Quest.

To give parents peace of mind, Google has made it possible to deactivate the search function in the app. That means that the only videos available will be the featured ones on the homescreen, which are recommended by YouTube and avoids the possibility of children finding something their parents deem inappropriate through search. There’s also a timer mode that lets parents determine when videos stop playing and it’s possible to set a passcode to prevent children from accessing the settings area of the app.

You can read more on YouTube’s blog here.

 

 

 

Photographer Dad makes his son with Down Syndrome fly

• Who is this post for? Everyone with kids
• What does it discuss? A heartwarming digital photography project
• How does it benefit you? Inspire your children; Get creative

When Utah-based art director and photographer Alan Lawrence found out his son Wil had Down Syndrome, he reacted in the most wonderful fashion. Noticing how Wil would lift his legs and flap his arms whenever he would crawl around, Alan likened it to flying. It was the inspiration for the photo series ‘Wil Can Fly’.

In the series, Alan would hold his son high up in the air, and then would later edit himself out, making it seem as though Wil is flying. After posting the photos online, Alan’s family has been praised for the positive attitude towards their son’s condition.

‘These photos of Wil flying have taken on a special meaning for me as I think about the unique challenges Wil is going to face growing up. I hope to teach him that even with his disabilities he can do anything he puts his mind to’.

Check out the beautiful images here

Have you seen any inspirational digital photography projects that use the editing technology to tell a powerful, positive story?