Speakaboos Blog » 2009 » February

Kids read to kids using technology at Chicago Elementary schools

Andrew — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 19:01:13 +0000

Speakaboos is still putting the final touches on our upcoming “Record Your Own” feature, but it seems that some enterprising kids are few steps ahead of us!Students at Prospect School in Clarendon Hills recorded themselves narrating books on CD to help students at Chicago’s William Penn School learn to read.For more about this unique and inspiring program, click to read the full story here.

Young children and the internet – uses and safety

Andrew — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:09:34 +0000

Here at Speakaboos we grapple with the challenge of creating helpful and valuable internet media for kids that may be too small to use the internet on their own. We’ve always envisioned Speakaboos as a site that parents and kids should enjoy together, but a new article from Babble.com calls attention to the phenomenon of very young children using computers on their own. The article outlines some good tips for safety, and ultimately recommends what we should all already know–that technology should not be used as a substitute for real world experiences. Here’s the full article:How young children use the internet, and how to keep them safe. By Camille Sweeney for Babble.com.If only it were as simple as Mircrosoft says:

Education Week: Stimulus Package Gives Boost to School Technology

Andrew — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:02:06 +0000

The Federal Economic Stimulus Package, signed into law last week, provides $650 million in new funding for the Enhancing Education Through Technology Program. This may be one of those government expenditures that opponents of the stimulus package gripe about, but it is a much-needed and much-welcomed boost to a program slated for elimination by the Bush administration.Detractors may say that money for schools should not fall under “economic stimulus,” but this funding means more money for educators to keep their jobs and/or get new ones, plus dollars for schools to spend on technology products.This is really a no-brainer as far as government spending goes. Schools get computers, tech companies make sales. Isn’t that how stimulus is supposed to work? Besides, who else is going to buy new computers for our public schools?Though the $650 million is more far less than the $1 billion proposed in the original stimulus package, an article from Education Week details how educators are looking for creative ways to find new money for technology.Education Week: Stimulus Package Gives Boost to School Technology.

Woman in labor calls radio station to find husband

Andrew — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:33:46 +0000

So get this–there’s this amazing technology that converts sound into invisible signals and “broadcasts” them into the air, and anybody within a certain distance can listen to these signals with a device called a “radio.”Last week a woman in Portland, who had no other way of contacting her husband, called a “radio station” which he listens to every morning and asked them to send a message over the air letting him know that she had gone into labor with her first child and he should go to the hospital immediately. Isn’t technology awesome?Read the full story from Fox 12 Oregon

When to send a sick kid to school?

Andrew — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 12:14:08 +0000

You hate the parent who sends a noticeably sick kid to school… but it might not be that parent’s fault when your kid comes home sick.An article by Dr. Perri Klass in the New York Times challenges popular notions of contagious illness–just because a kid is showing symptoms of illness like runny nose, cough and sneezing does not necessarily make him more contagious than one who seems perfectly healthy.She argues that schools are so filled with germs from kids who didn’t get sick or are already over being sick that it doesn’t make sense to focus only on the noticeably sick children.So what is a concerned parent to do?Lots of handwashing. And of course, keep your kid home if he/she has a fever or is generally not feeling well enough to go to school.Dr. Klass admits herself that as a working parent, she is much more motivated than some to send her kids to school, but also the Times is on a big “expose your kids to germs” kick lately as per this article. Stay tuned for news about schoolyard epidemics in NYC…Full story from Dr. Klass:The Cough-and-Sniffle Question – When to Keep a Child Home? – NYTimes.com

Kindergartner Saves Diabetic Dad from Coma – Strollerderby

Andrew — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:49:52 +0000

When five-year-old Jude Stephen found his dad in bed semi-conscious, he forcefed him enough juice, honey and cupcakes to save his life. Here’s the article from Jeanne Sager at Strollerderby:Kindergartner Saves Diabetic Dad from Coma

Update: Anansi, Valentine’s, and more new stories!

Andrew — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:46:15 +0000

Hey everyone, please enjoy brand-new storybook videos for February!Anansi Tries to Steal All the Wisdom of the World read by Nick CannonWon’t You Be My Valentine? read by Hannah HellerThe Selfish Giant read by Mark ThompsonLittle Red Riding Hood read by Tim Daly

Oldest public library in US faces budget cuts, and may close this year

Andrew — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:27:40 +0000

The only library in Darby, PA opened in 1743, and might close this year, along with numerous other public libraries around the country.See USA Today for articles about the Darby Free Library and other libraries closing due to dwindling tax dollars. That’s something to think about next time you hear a complaint about taxes or “pork-barrel spending.”