KQED’s “Do Now” helps youth build civic engagement and digital literacy skills by discussing social issues in real time on Twitter. This summer, with the help of the National Writing Project, they’re training teachers, too.

When it comes to teens and technology, social media researcher danah boyd thinks parents and educators should nix the anxiety and embrace the possibility.

If you’re a part of the Spark network, you know that we’re always on the lookout for innovative tech tools. Last week, we showcased five unique tools that helped students and adults get creative in some seriously inspiring ways. This week, we’d like to shine a spotlight on four more new digital devices. From wireless […]

Like super powers or gadgets designed by Lucius Fox, social media sites are tools that can be used for good or evil. In the wrong hands, they become weapons for bullying, platforms for hate, or, at the very least, black holes that easily swallow the most productive hours of your workweek. In the right hands, […]

Many of today’s parents think of social media sites the same way adults viewed the Beatles in the 60s – as harbingers of doom for the American adolescent. While issues of privacy, cyber bullying and online predators warrant a bit more merit than fearing a British rock band has the power to turn your child […]

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that a social networking website for children agreed to settle charges that it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The site collected the first and last names, the dates of birth, and the cities of origin of its 5,600 underage users. All of this is illegal under the […]

Check out these interesting articles on kids and technology! Parents will enjoy these iPhone and iPad apps (Parents.com) Mom’s Facebook Community Helps Diagnose Her Ailing Son (Mommyish.com) New regulations for food, beverage advertising toward children (Healthkey.com) Using touch screens and apps to treat autism (mercurynews.com) The Internet Is Making Your Kids Think Differently, Not Less […]

Usually a classroom full of students tapping away on phones is a clear sign that the teacher has lost control. Not so in Enrique Legaspi’s high-tech history class where children are encouraged to use their phones, ipads, and laptops–as long as they’re using them to access Twitter. Legaspi began integrating Twitter into his teaching earlier […]

The parents we talk to are excited by the doors technology can open for their children. Wether their kids are navigating the depths of the PPG Aquarium’s Big Ocean Tank with Reefbot or exploring their own back yards with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s Digital Discovery Room one thing is clear–a dose of the […]