The Organized Family: Bento to the Rescue

If you are using Mac OS X Leopard, you'll certainly want to take a look at Bento. It's a personal database with an iTunes-like interface. When you load it onto your computer, it automatically enters your address book and calendar information into its database. Those who have used FileMaker will find Bento much less complicated. That's because it's designed for computer users who just want to get the project done. It comes with 20 ready-to-use templates to help you get organized with just about any type of project. Besides working on your Apple computer, it can be used with iPhone and Mac through the Address Book and iCal. Your information can be displayed in a number of ways such as spreadsheet format or form format. It is a great way to keep a sports team organized, your Christmas card list in order and any kind of collection in line. Why not take a tour of Bento or watch the video to see if this product is for you? For less than $50, it looks like a great way for parents without much spare time to get organized or even for kids to keep track of a collection.

Where Are We in Internet Safety?

It seems as if we've been writing about online safety on the Web forever, and even before the Web became so popular we were writing about safety on online services. Are we getting anywhere with keeping our children safe online? Certainly there are more programs to keep kids safe today, but there are also more problems-probably because so many more people are online and kids have learned to get around the safety nets we put out for them. Like drugs, smoking, and alcohol abuse education, we've tried scare tactics, monitoring, and reasoning. With technology, we've also tried filtering. Through it all, we've learned that we (teachers and parents) are the best Internet filters, monitors, and guides for our children-better than any program. One of the problems we face is that kids think they know so much more than we do about the Internet and think we are overreacting when it comes to their safety online. So what do we do? Because we can't watch our students all the time, we have to educate them and hope that they'll make the right decisions when we are not there to watch. What else can we do? Ideas?

Photoshop Meanders Online

Adobe, the maker of the popular photo-editing software Photoshop recently launched a basic version available for free online. With so much photo-editing going on online, the company is hoping to get its brand out there among young people who spend a lot of time editing, storing and sharing photos online. Never tried editing a photo before? Why not give it a try? A good skill to have as well as a bit of media literacy for parents as well as kids.

Its Mission IS to Help Grownups with Tech Selections

Since 1993, Children's Technology Review (formerly called Children's Software Revue) has been providing monthly reviews of tech products that are targeted to kids. For example, if you are not one who understands video games, the Review will help you decide whether a game might benefit kids at school and/or at home. In fact, this publication, which can be accessed online or in print, takes on all types of electronic media including Internet sites, computer software and DVDs, video games, and interactive toys. Subscribing means you'll get access to a database of over 8200 product reviews and each month will learn about new trends, great Internet sites, and products you might want to investigate for you classroom-or perhaps, recommend for home use. Just download a sample issue to see if the Children's Technology Review would be valuable to you. Be sure to note that the Review doesn't include any advertisements.

Our Overscheduled Lives/Our Childrens' Overscheduled Lives

We worry about how many projects we have going and how we are going to keep up. We worry about our kids and how many activities they have both in school and after school. For the kids there's basketball on Monday, gymnastics on Tuesday, piano on Wednesday, three major tests on Wednesday, a quiz on Monday, a project due on Tuesday.... Sound familiar? Is there ever time for all of us-parents and kids-to relax and think? Probably not, for we are running from activity to activity and project to project, aren't we? MIT's Dan Ariely in his book Predictably Irrational tells us that we simply have difficulty giving up our options. Maybe it's like being hesitant to get rid of clothing we think we might possibly someday, some time wear again? Maybe it's like over-scheduling our kids so that they'll be able to get scholarships for sports or dance or playing a musical instrument? Maybe we just don't know how to let go? We want to keep all our options open. To check into this problem, Ariety had students at MIT play a game in which they could get higher scores if they gave up options. The students didn't want to give them up even for better scores. You and your family can try the game to see if you can fight the urge to keep all your options open. What's the answer to our over-scheduled lives? Perhaps Professor Ariety's book can help.

Free Internet Safety Newsletters for Teachers & Parents

At the iSafe site you can sign up for i-EDUCATOR Times, a free newsletter featuring the latest in information about Internet safety for your students. You'll find articles on ethics, useful tips, the iSafe curriculum, and information about what's going on that you need to know. iSafe also has an i-PARENT Times, which you may want to recommend to the parents of your students. Take a look at the iSafe pages. It's a great site not only for you and parents, but also for teens and kids. Articles on Internet safety are available in the i-Safe Newsroom.

Safer Sounds for iPods

A couple of parents, tired of telling their children to turn down the volume on their iPods and unable to find players or earbuds with a volume control, decided to come up with their own safer version of earbuds. Launched in 2006, Ingemi's iHearSafe earbuds may look like any standard pair, but there is a difference. A small volume-reducing circuit, placed in the length of the earbud wire prevents sounds from exceeding 85 decibels (about the level of city traffic) but still allows the rocking beat to rattle through. Selling for $20 on Amazon or at Ingemi.com the founders are hoping their product will be on store shelves for the holidays.

Facebook Plays Peek-A-Boo

Make sure your child has employed the privacy options that Facebook offers because it now is going to play a bit of peek-a-boo by allowing some information on users' profiles to be visible to major search engines like Yahoo and Google. The function is voluntary -- members can opt out if they want to keep their info accessible only to fellow Facebookers. However, the move has still raised privacy concerns and kids need to understand that this makes their information even more public. Remind them that they should never post anything they wouldn't want every one in the world to see. Need a discussion starter on social networking? See the case study: Social Networking: Don't Give Yourself Away.

Girls Gotta Have IT

The K-12 NCWIT (National Center for Women & Information Technology) Alliance (College Board, ISTE, American School Counselor Association, Girl Scouts, and other organizations) offers a free kit packed with materials for encouraging girls to consider careers in information technology (IT). The kit includes the following publications: Totally Amazing Careers in Engineering, Science Can Take Her Places!, Girls and Information Technology, Computing Degrees and Careers, IT is all about Me, and more. You can download the materials in pdf format from the site.

Monitoring Granny and Gramps

Tools for people who need to monitor elderly relatives are on the rise - sensors, Webcams, GPS devices, and pendants and bracelets with emergency buttons - are just some of the technologies being put to use to give seniors independence and caregivers piece of mind. Looking for a solution for your family? A good place to start is the article Taking your meds? Sensors will know on CNet.