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Kids

Digital Drugs? Is it April Fool’s Day?

Aug 18th, 2008
by pollyalida.
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When I saw this column in the paper today Digital Drugs: A new worry for parents, I immediately wondered if I’d been whisked around the calendar to April Fool’s Day. But, no, it’s not April and a quick search showed that this has been carried by many of the major news sources over the past few weeks.

These ‘drugs’ are sound files that are supposed to create some sort of brain reaction. I listened to a few and only found them annoying. But the article wildly (in my opinion!) concludes:

At the very least, digital drugs promote drug use. Some sites say binaural beats can be used with illegal drugs.

That’s quite a claim!

As Linda Braun points out in her YALSA blog post Time for More Hype, if it’s in the media, you’ll probably be getting questions about it from parents, colleagues, etc. Do read Linda’s post on YALSA and the other material she’s linked to and be ready for this latest techno-drama.

Games in Education Symposium – Aug 19-20

Aug 17th, 2008
by pollyalida.
1 comment

This looks really interesting. Wish I could attend.

The second annual Games in Education Symposium, free to middle and high school teachers, is scheduled for Tuesday & Wednesday, August 19-20th and will take place at the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium.

StoryTubes Gearing Up for Next Year

Jul 31st, 2008
by pollyalida.
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One of the projects I really enjoy being involved with is our statewide summer reading program. And that’s how I found out about the awesome StoryTubes project. Children from all over the country created short videos about their favorite books. What fun! We had 7 terrific entries from NYS this year. Let’s have more next year!!!!

Interested in joining in the 2009 program? Check out the StoryTubes site for more information.

StoryTubes – Reading Energy

Kindernet – Children’s Search Engine

Jul 30th, 2008
by pollyalida.
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Just heard about Kindernet, a new children’s search engine. Though the layout isn’t the jazziest at the moment, the search results look useful and age appropriate. The developer left a comment on Phil Bradley’s blog indicating that they’re working on a new look for the site. Looking forward to seeing how this project develops.

From their “about us” page:

Core Values

  • Safe
    A pre-researched set of great sites for kids.
  • Relevant
    Helps kids, teachers and parents find what they are looking for sooner.
  • Global
    Children are able to participate and communicate with other children around the globe.
  • Friendly
    Designed to be user-friendly for all children 12 and under.
  • Free
    The Kindernet search engine is free for all people to use.

(via LIB and Phil Bradley.)

Penguins

May 14th, 2008
by pollyalida.
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Ok, I can’t resist one more of these fun widgets. This one is for Greg & Jean and all the penguins at the California Academy of Sciences.

Source: http://abowman.com/google-modules/penguins

When Web Time Is Playtime

May 8th, 2008
by pollyalida.
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An interesting article in the NYTimes tech section today detailing some of the many online social/game/play services for kids. Spore (mentioned towards the end of the article) is due out in September sounds like great fun and educational too.

Spore, from Maxis, a division of Electronic Arts, is more a game than an online service, although it does offer ways to interact with others online. The game, which will be of interest mostly to older children, is the brainchild of Will Wright, creator of the Sims, and is due in September. It can be played from a computer, Nintendo DS or phone.

In the game, you design life-forms that grow into tribes and populate a planet, which you can also design. Things get interesting when you connect to other players’ worlds to see if your creatures can get along with theirs. Finally, Lego Universe (www.legouniverse.com), coming next year, will offer a new way to play: in a world consisting entirely of virtual Legos.

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