Youth and technology

Finally we stop ragging on the future of technology

It seems that the tide is beginning to turn when it comes to internet use and social media. For many years now, the mass media has been saying that social media is destroying us all, something most of us know to be untrue, and it looks as if current research may show just that.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has released its report on Internet-based socialization. The conclusions in The Future of Online Socialization segment of the survey are positive.

The online world, according to most of the Internet specialists surveyed, is going to add to the texture and mood of social interactions, not detract from them.

“The social benefits of Internet use will far outweigh the negatives over the next decade, according to experts. They say this is because email, social networks, and other online tools offer ‘low friction’ opportunities to create, enhance, and rediscover social ties that make a difference in people’s lives. The internet lowers traditional communications constraints of cost, geography, and time; and it supports the type of open information sharing that brings people together.”

It is a pleasant surprise to see information like this beginning to hit main stream and as social media becomes much more localised and useful to us, things can only get better!

Read more The Future is Bright for Online Socialization

Are Teens selfish slackers?

Are out youth the same as they have always been?

I have to say that I get quite irritated when I read headlines like “Are Teens selfish slackers?” and feel that we may be missing the point

This post tells us that the youth are not selfish slackers, OK so we know that they never have been, how is that new? And to then go on and say they are the same as they were in the 70’s raises the question about what we are measuring.

Yes while fundamentally they may have similar attitudes and values, are they really the same? In my mind, they never can be. Social Media and the Internet have opened up a world that we have never seen before.

Growing up Digital has changed them!

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Technology and cheating

Youth Exams and Cheating

More than 4,400 people were caught cheating in last year’s GCSEs and A-levels in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the exams watchdog says.

Figures from Ofqual show a 6% rise in cheating by candidates although the body points out cheating is still very rare, affecting 0.03% of exams taken.

The main way pupils cheat is by using mobile phones or other technology.

Schools are being sold detection equipment to trace devices being used secretly in exam rooms.

But pupils are also being targeted by websites openly selling “exam cheat equipment”, including concealed ear-pieces to receive information.

As mobiles have become more sophisticated – for example, providing internet access – they have become one of the biggest problems for exam invigilators.

Every exam centre must now display a warning poster telling students about strict rules on not bringing mobiles or other electronic equipment into exam halls.

So what do you do if your child is caught cheating?

Social Media gives Youth a Voice

The Youth in the UK are rising up and you better start listening!

As the millennials get older and start to use social media in a different way other than to just connect, we have seen a few things happen recently which, for all the skeptics out there, show that social media does have a place and is giving young people a voice they never had before.

15 year old Tess Chapin

Firstly, there was the story of 15-year-old Tess Chapin of Sunnyside, Queens (New York) starting a campaign on Facebook to convince her parents to remove her punishment. Yet again the adults got involved and turned this into a very public and vicious debate. And while you may or may not agree with what she did, you have to admire the ingenuity of it all.

The Independent reports…

And it looks as if it worked, with the examination board saying that they would take their comments into account in the marking. Something which I fear will not quell the masses.

I think this is a taste of things to come and the voice of the youth will get louder and louder; you had better be listening!

Gen Y and Augmented Reality -Heledd Straker

Through the (AR) Eyes of Gen Y

Augmented Reality is hot stuff right now. Companies like IKEA, Google and Burger King have leapt onto this fast accelerating bandwagon, with AR apps designed to help users buy furniture, figure out where they are, or just to entertain.

AR will definitely be a growing trend in 2010, becoming the next stage in app-evolution. While AR is, to many, an entertaining gimmick, AR apps are increasing in popularity, because they are becoming more useful, helping users merge their online and offline lives. And the generation which will get most excited about this (if they aren’t already) is Generation Y. Not only does this generation thrive on finding ways to make life fun, it is bent on merging all parts of its life: personal and professional, multiple friendship groups, and its online and offline worlds.

Generation Ys already use Facebook to manage their offline relationships, so why not have an AR app they can hover over a friend’s face, which brings up details about them, such as interests, contact details and birthday? For a generation of networkers, how useful would this kind of technology be in managing their soon-to-be vast wealth of professional contacts? Think of the potential for marketers, for an AR app which, when hovered over an item of clothing, informs the user of the best rated stores to purchase that same item or a whole wardrobe of complementary clothing?

The deep potential of this technology is yet to be discovered, but when it does, Gen Y will be out in front.

Find out more about Heledd

Read The RPG (Role-Playing Generation) by Heledd

Facebook ‘cuts student drop-outs’

How can Facebook improve student retention?

With the current wave of students demanding more and the UK reportedly having one of the worse drop-out rates, could Facebook be the answer?

Gloucestershire College has recently stood out from the crowd and said that social networking has improved their retention rates.

Gloucestershire College says social networking is used to keep students informed and in touch with staff.
“There has been a significant improvement in retention,” says media curriculum manager, Perry Perrott.
Using such teenager-friendly communication tools has a “positive effect on motivation”, says the government’s technology agency, Becta.
“We’re embracing it rather than fighting it,” says Mr Perrott. He says Facebook pages for individual courses help the students to bond with each other, work together as a team and maintain their connection with staff.
At City of Sunderland College, a pilot scheme using Facebook has found it useful as a way of reminding students about deadlines.
Lynne Hardy, a lecturer in biology and physiology, says that students can often forget when work needs to be completed and this is a way of “giving them a gentle prod”.
“Students are already familiar with it, they’re very comfortable with using it,” she says.
“Technology is no longer an optional extra – and modern trends such as social networking should not be ignored,” says Jane Williams of Becta, the government’s educational technology agency.
“Virtual learning environments, simulations such as Second Life and social networking sites can have a positive effect on motivation and attainment across the further education sector,” says Ms Williams, executive director for further education, regeneration and delivery.
“With social networking technologies, you can communicate to many students easily and quickly at next to no cost, which is increasingly important in a world where budgets are under pressure.”

I could not agree more. This current generation want to feel connected, involved and important. Colleges and schools that can engage with them in a meaningful and relevant manner are always going to win the game.

It’s not hard; come on the rest of you!

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