Here is a quick list to help you all out find the info you need fast.

• Need more info on teen tech safety? Done.
• Wondering what the best teen tech trends video is (other than ours)? Done
• More places to learn about how to make your WiFi work + Phishing advice?  Done.
• Check it all out below.

1. Best Online Safety blog: Read Ann Collier’s blog for a weekly update on trending topics.
2. Best Video of Teen tech use today: You have to watch “Growing up Online” from PBS (Best of all you can watch it all online for free!)
3. Keep your network safe at home: Let the government bail you out on this one.  On Gaurd Online (great site for concise info on a number of pertinent topics).
4. Stats, Stats, Stats: Everyone loves stats.  The Pew Research Group has them. (click on topics and find a wealth of statistically drenched reports for tech).
5. The Best Resource of All: Us!  Remember to check out our video, our quick sheets, and of course our bundles.  Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, or subscribe to our Email delivery of our content.  Help us, help you!

Thanks again for all of your questions!  Keep them coming at questions@ NoParentLeftBehind.net or ninja@ Nplb.net

Playin’ With Fire Trailer from Mark Schreiber on Vimeo.

Playing with fire is our ‘sister’ site for teens.  Take a look at the video trailer and be sure to share it with your kids.

www.playinwithfire.org

Here’s the quick stats:

• 22% of teens check social networking sites more than 10 times a day… only 4% of parents believe kids are checking that much.
• 51% of teens check social networking sites more than once a day… only 23% of parents say their kids check more than once a day.
• 28% have shared personal information that they normally wouldn’t have shared in public
• 25% have shared a profile with a false identity
• 39% have posted something they regretted
• 26% have pretended to be someone else online
• 34% have volunteered for a campaign, nonprofit, or charity via a social networking site

Executive Summary:

This report, once again shows that there is a difference between teens and adults in regards to their Internet use.  The most dramatic difference was in terms of Social Networking use, showing that it is more a main-stay of communication and not just a fad.    One of the most interesting things is the data that shows that parents actually are checking in on their kids profile while kids believe that they are not.  Way to go parents!  Keep it up.

Last Links:

For the full report click here:

For a more pleasant looking slimmed down report click here.

I always wanted to be a Rock Star. Play lots of loud music, stay in the penthouse suite, and play cloak & dagger (minus the dagger) with the Paparazzi. Well now with the help of “Mr. Technology” you can at least Twitter like one…

Twitter?! What the heck is Twitter?! And why do I “Need” it (emphasis added)!? Well, the simple truth is… you don’t. Unless you are a Rock star, Movie Star, or other well known Celeb. But hey, it’s always fun to pretend. So, let me roll out the red carpet for you and explain ins and outs of Twitter… soon you’ll be on your way to fame.

Twitter, pronounce TWIT-ER…I’ve always wanted to do that.

Anyway, Twitter is just a little “micro-blogging” program that lets you tell the world, or at least anyone that is listening, what you are doing right at this… I mean this… no, (wait for it….) this moment. You get the point. So, let’s say you are at work on a break and you meet Bob at the water cooler, he once again is in serious need of fashion advice. You could type in: “{Twitter User Name} Is wondering if velour is coming back into style.” and send it via your twitter account or other on-line ways that we’ll talk about later. Now, 20 minutes later you go to lunch, love the food and from your mobile phone you text a message up to your Twitter account that says, “Billy’s grill on 10^th & Adams is AMAZING”.

Basically you continue to update the people that are listening to your feed all throughout the day. And because you are pretending to be a rock star they are, of course, enthralled!

So, let’s get your Twitter on… or at least you on Twitter.

To get setup do the following:

1. Go to http://twitter.com/
2. Click “Get Started—Join!
3. Fill in your email (your spam email please) Don’t know what a spam email address is? Check out the FAQ or watch the NPLB video.
4. Enter the CAPTCHA word, and then log in!
5. Now you get to start your Twitter.
6. Type in what you are doing and then play around with finding people to follow your twitter feed. (like me! I “need” a following).

Now it’s up to you to develop your rock star image, find your friends (use Find People tab), and make a name for yourself on the twitter community.

Last Links

My Fav! Great, short, easy to understand free video about Twitter from our friends at Common Craft.

Find the Twitter website here.

An informative, yet rather dry, further explanation of Twitter uses from various devices.

Follow me, once you register of course.

Did you know, “1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met online.”

Did you know, “There are 200 million registered users on MySpace… If MySpace was a country it would be the 5th-largest in the world.”

Did you know?

Well, I didn’t. That’s for sure until my teaching colleauge sent me the link to this video called ”

2008 Latest Edition – Did You Know 3.0 – From Meeting in Rome this Year” I put embedded the video for you here on nplb.net, just click on the video tab or check it out here. You can also find it on YouTube, but there are a lot of different versions.

So

My teaching buddy just showed me this video amazing with some of the stats from above. Really makes you think about the whole World is Flat thing. Who are our kids competing with for jobs in the future? What jobs will there even be in the future? And how are we suppose to most effectively educated them for jobs that aren’t even around yet?

Crazy stuff but great to think about! Let us know what you think. Post a comment and lets start a conversation!