Kids are finding out that their digital footprint is being created by their parents

Kids are finding out that their digital footprint is being created by their parents

For several months, Cara has been working up the courage to approach her mom about what she saw on Instagram. Not long ago, the 11-year-old—who, like all the other kids in this story, is referred to by a pseudonym—discovered that her mom had been posting photos of her, without prior approval, for much of her…

Classrooms are getting Oculus Rift VR headsets around the world

Classrooms are getting Oculus Rift VR headsets around the world

Although virtual reality may be experiencing slow adoption in the consumer market, one area where it seems to have truly untapped potential is in the classroom where virtual worlds could help students visualize and learn about history, science, and culture in an unprecedented fashion. To capitalize on VR’s increasingly instrumental role in visual education, Facebook-owned Oculus…

The pros and cons of taking notes on the computer

The pros and cons of taking notes on the computer

Computer note-taking was a point of contention at my school. Almost every teacher used laptops. But we varied in how much we allowed students to take notes on them during class. Those in the no-computer-notes camp pointed to how often students were distracted by messaging and social media. Those who allowed laptops for notes argued that…

Because of screen time and lack of hands-on activities medical students don’t have the dexterity to learn their job

Because of screen time and lack of hands-on activities medical students don’t have the dexterity to learn their job

A professor of surgery says students have spent so much time in front of screens and so little time using their hands that they have lost the dexterity for stitching or sewing up patients. Roger Kneebone, professor of surgical education at Imperial College, London, says young people have so little experience of craft skills that…