The video entries received are judged based on: concept originality; quality of the solution to the problem; creativity and imagination; scientific truth, ability to inspire; and adherence to the contest rules.

More about the contest is here.

One of the greatest benefits to digital technology is also one its biggest drawbacks – ability to learn autonomously. Today, any subject or area of interest can be accessed online with a few clicks. From algebra lessons to yo-yo tricks, the barriers to learning have collapsed thanks to digital technologies at our finger tips (literally).

Unfortunately for our children, the communities in which they are learning haven’t yet adapted to this new paradigm of instruction. Although children are interacting daily with digital media through iPods, tablets, computers, and cell phones, a new report suggests they are lacking the critical thinking and ethical skills to both use the internet appropriately and to experience its enormous learning potential.

The report, Young Canadians in a Wired World by Media Awareness Network, indicates that traditional teaching models, such as “drill and kill” where the teacher  talks at the students and demands all students do the same exercises, do not work well with the type of autonomous learning inherent in digital tools. However, a teacher who is willing to collaborate with their students and share in the responsibility of learning is more likely to use online tools effectively.

Technology use is viewed by many teachers – particularly younger, less experienced instructors – as disruptive to the classroom. It is seen as a distraction to students’  learning, rather than a fundamental tool to navigate a child’s natural curiosity on various academic subjects.

Surprisingly, the report also indicates that students are not as internet-savvy as one would expect, given their comfort with the online world. “They really struggle about what to type in for a Google search, and I’m always surprised at the lack of knowledge that students have about how to search and navigate online,” says one secondary school teacher in the report.

Today’s parents, who grew up having to rifle through library stacks and newspaper clippings to research a topic, inherently understand that a source of information needs to be reliable. We are, therefore, less apt to take what we read online as fact. Kids, however, whose reliance on Wikipedia is abundant, may not ever bother borrowing a library for their school project and, instead, assume that the information written by an “expert” on website 1812WarTheories.ca is as reliable as a non-fiction book with a bibliography of scholarly sources.

There is little suggestion in the report that school boards are racing to restructure the classrooms to better incorporate the self-learning style necessary for effective use of digital tools. Certainly, the changes will come, however incrementally. Yet, we have an enormous opportunity to expose our children to innovative thinking within the digital landscape. That’s why parents need to pick up the slack.

Parents should invest one-on-one time with their kids in front of the screen during which time they can help them learn to think critically about their online experience. Rather than letting a child wile away hours watching YouTube videos featuring moronic twenty-somethings pulling pranks, encourage him or her to research a topic of personal interest (it can be anything). Then spend time reviewing what he’s learned and determining which websites provided the best information.

Much like a parent must spend quality time teaching a child how to read, he or she should invest time teaching that same child (albeit older) how process online information. This is a skill, after all, and many kids are not learning it.

There’s never been a better time to be an entrepreneur than now, and our kids will face even greater possibilities for business startups over the next decade. Digital technologies have broken down barriers that previously prevented many people from pursuing their business ideas. From thirteen-year-olds posting comedy sketches on YouTube to traditional book publishers creating apps, the distance from idea to implementation has shrunk significantly.

The downside is the plethora of bad concepts that have materialized into failed products. However, with the increase in failures comes the inevitable increase in successful products. As entrepreneur Kevin O’Connor said (in a Financial Post interview): “You need to come up with a lot of bad ideas before you come up with the great idea.”

We are doing our kids a favour by helping them realize that their favourite digital gadgets are more than entertainment units. They are incredible tools for creating and sharing ideas and products. Having self-published a book, I learned first-hand the changing landscape of an industry that was always very closed to entrepreneurs. New printing technologies and online promotion enable writers to take a concept from story idea to printed book sold on Amazon. Sharing this experience with my children helped them recognize how empowering digital technology can be. If such opportunities were unavailable ten years ago, imagine how many more possibilities will arise in another ten years.

By helping our children explore the possibilities of online technologies, we can encourage them to develop innovation alongside a sense of empowerment. This will prepare them to exploit not only today’s opportunities, but those of the future. Below are some of the ways I encourage my kids to think like an entrepreneur:

• Talk about digital leaders like Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. Discuss how they changed the face of the virtual and real world.
• Find articles magazines, newspapers and online sites to share with your kids that explain entrepreneurialism in simple terms or celebrate a young entrepreneur.
• Ask your kids to come up with cool invention ideas – it doesn’t matter how crazy the idea. Ask them how their invention would solve a problem.
• Start an Inventor Journal for your kids to keep a record of their ideas, whether it’s a story, video, or product. Pull it out regularly to encourage them to add to it.
• Talk about how virtual technologies relate to “real” world. For example, explain the pros and cons of technologies like debit cards, Facebook, PayPal, and how they represent real people, real money.
• Create a video, story, or invention together.
• Find ways to balance their video game time with online learning opportunities, such as Khan Academy and instructional YouTube videos.

Have more ideas? Share them below.

The message to inject truth and integrity into our digital footprint is a simple one. Yet,  the pressure to increase traffic, go viral, or acquire more “followers” is more often the motivation that drives our online presence.

His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, wrote an inspiring letter for the 45th World Communications Day, impelling the young to use the “unprecedented opportunities (of the digital age) for establishing relationships and building fellowship.” This relevant and timely message emphasizes that the new communications technologies can be used to serve the good of the individual and all of humanity.

Recognizing the challenges that young people face online, the pope asks them to “not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile of oneself.” And, reminds us to build an online presence that derives its worth through integrity, not popularity. To build a cyber space that offers nourishment, rather than a “fleeting attraction.” With the barrage of messages promoting the contrary, this is harder than it sounds.

Certainly, the need to grow popularity is a necessary component of successful online strategies. To ignore this fundamental fact of online business would mean certain failure. However, within this structure there are still plenty of opportunities to share authentic experiences that will build a kinder, more supportive cyber-environment.

In other words, we need to teach our kids a moral code in the “virtual” world that reflects  our “real” world expectations. Can we teach our kids to hold the door open in cyberspace? Hm. Yeah, I think we can. It’s time to start.

Related Posts:

If you have nothing nice to post, don’t post anything at all

Encourage Responsibility behind, and in front, of the camera

A review of e-readers in the January edition of Wired Magazine ranked Chapters-Indigo’s own Kobo Touch as number one. Beating out some of the world’s top-selling competitors, it came out ahead of the Amazon Kindle, Nook Simple Touch, and Sony Reader PRS-T1.

Admittedly surprised by their choice, the editors found the Kobo Touch to offer the “most natural e-ink reader we’ve ever used. Its touchscreen is the fastest and most responsive yet.”

As a fervent reader and long-time fan of Canada’s largest and most stocked chain of bookstores, I admit a sense of pride that Chapters-Indigo is offering tough competition in the e-reader market.  While the company’s bricks and mortar stores are leaning ever more toward non-book merchandise (think tangerine-scented candles, cozy blankets, miniature LEGO), this is a good sign for Canadian readers that the iconic bookstore is maintaining its strong foothold in the sometimes struggling book business.

The young readers in my house are not, yet, ardent fans of the e-reading experience. That’s not to say they’re not comfortable with a pint-sized screen attached to their hands, they’d simply prefer to stare at bouncing animations or burping cats on it than make out sentences. When the day comes, as it inevitably will, the Kobo Touch will be the one they get. It is an easy pick for Canadian readers who are already big fans of the Chapters-Indigo stores and online offerings. Until January 25th, Kobo Touch is on sale for $119.

Imagine how different our eating habits would be if the billions of dollars and bursts of creative genius used to market junk food were employed to encourage us to enjoy healthy food. If a brilliantly funny commercial about salads that had you rushing to your fridge to chop carrots, much the way a goofy representative for Dairy Queen has us dreaming of ice cream Blizzards.

While the idea borders on the ridiculous, that’s exactly what is happening with UK-based food company, Arla Foods. I love that they are making their milk brand,  Cravendale, cool as a result of some very hip, very YouTube friendly viral videos and TV commercials. Check out the funny ad below, warning the human populace of what will happen when cats develop opposable thumbs. And, just see if it doesn’t give you a bit more respect for one of the oldest, most nutrient-rich, drinks on the planet. If more marketing efforts were directed toward getting our picky sugar-loving kids to forgo skittles for a pack of peas, I’m all for it. In fact, plenty of parents would encourage their kids to watch their commercials, in the same way they tell their kids to eat the vegetables.

Get all the handy tips and tidbits right in one spot! The next 26 to 50 tips will start in 2012.

#1 – Show You Care (About Video Games)

#2 – Filter What Your Kids Can See

#3 – No TV in the Bedroom

#4 – If You Have Nothing Nice to Post, Don’t Post Anything At All

#5 – Tell Your Kids the Cost of that Cell Phone

#6 – Get the Kids a Timer

#7 – Take the Kids to the Library

#8 – Get to Know the Video Game Consoles Before Buying

# 9 – Set Rules That Both Parents Can Support

# 10 – Review Before You Go to the Movies

#11 – Get to Know Facebook

#12 – Match Kids’ Screen Time with Active Time

#13 – Parents: Mind Your Own Screen Time

#14 – Interrupt Sitting Time with Movement

#15 – Prepare Your Kids for Gladvertising

# 16 – Update Kids’ Facebook Privacy Settings Regularly

#17 – Encourage Responsibility In Front of Camera and Behind Camera

#18 – Expose Your Kids to Khan Academy

#19 – Offer Guidance and Independence When Kids Research Online

#20 – No TV in the Mornings

#21 – Have the Talk, No Not THAT One, the Money Talk

#22 – Get Comfortable with Saying No

#23 – Talk Reality about the Effects of Reality TV

#24 – Beware of Too Much Free Time for Kids in Screen Time Culture

#25 – Teach Daughters AND Sons to be Critical of Female Portrayals in Media