As geeky as "content moderation" sounds, we're hearing about it more and more these days - in podcasts, at conferences, in books and in hearings. People all over the U.S. and world are talking about how to make social media safer, and content moderation by the platforms is an important part of that. But what we're not hearing or talking about enough is another part of the social media safety … [Read more...] about Twitch, Yubo & online safety innovation with an ancient ‘tool’
video games
Students called heroes in this 6th-grade class
If your child is seriously into videogames – and Pew Internet research has found that 97% of US 12-to-17-year-olds are – it may help to read about New York teacher Peggy Sheehy's heroes, also known as students. The middle school humanities teacher calls them heroes because she co-created the WoW in School curriculum "A Hero's Journey" (WoW is short for the multiplayer online game World of … [Read more...] about Students called heroes in this 6th-grade class
Console gamers’ loyalties getting divided
Parents of console gamers, did you already know this? The Xbox 360 devotees at your house may be switching loyalties for the first time in a long time – to the new PlayStation 4. I knew Sony's system was popular in other parts of the world, but Xbox ruled among a lot of young gamers in the US. Now, though, after several paragraphs of hemming and hawing, a gaming reporter at the Financial Post … [Read more...] about Console gamers’ loyalties getting divided
Point & counterpoint on young video gamers: 2 studies
What an interesting point and counterpoint about videogames have been turned up by two just-released studies, one from Northwestern University in the US and one by University of Victoria in Canada: On the one hand: "Parents assess video games more negatively than television, computers, and mobile devices. More parents rate video games as having a negative effect on children’s reading, math, … [Read more...] about Point & counterpoint on young video gamers: 2 studies
Notes from a ‘Digital Kids’ conference
In case parents are interested in what the toy and digital industries are thinking about and designing for kids... Digital play that's both mobile and tactile was the centerpiece of what all the adults were talking about at the Digital Kids conference in New York last week, but their insights were like "frozen concentrate" compared to those from a panel of kids aged 8-13. Moderated by … [Read more...] about Notes from a ‘Digital Kids’ conference