Kids will now be able to use Everloop directly from their mobile phones by texting status updates to the network. Parents can moderate the number of texts a kid can use by selecting a monthly limit, ranging from unlimited to 250 texts per month. Everloop automatically sets the limit at 100. Once the child reaches their limit, parents will receive a note.

The first moderation filter is technology-based, and filters out words, phrases and content deemed dangerous to kids, like URLs, someone's address, profanity, or any words that would condone negative, hateful behaviors, or reveal the location of one of the user. The second more interesting filter works on the level of patterns - if a pattern is detected, such as phrases or words that could seem like cyber-bullying, the user's account will be freezed, and then the human moderation element kicks in.

"If you think about kids today, they're all digital natives, they don't know any better, and the majority of parents are raising under 13 kids are digital natives themselves," Everloop's COO Tobin Trevarthen told us in an interview. "As we evolve into social space, we saw an easy opportunity to educate younger generation of digital natives."

Everloop was originally founded in 2010 by three moms who wanted a secure social network for their tweens. It was originally named GirlAmbition and targeted only at girls until the founders, who had sons, realized that boys needed a safe space, too. The name comes from the idea of "being ever in the loop."

The other social network for kids, Togetherville, does not offer an SMS feature. Targeted at kids under 10-years-old, this site serves as more of a space for parents to teach kids about online communication, community building and being a good digital citizen. Parents are far more involved in their kids' social networking on Togetherville than Everloop, which allows kids to go off on their own into the land of social networking.

Everloop and Togetherville both serve as sort of "training wheels" sites for the grown-up Facebook which, according to Trevarthen, is not a safe place for kids ages 13-and-under. "It gets sketchy when you're a child and Facebook is asking you to put your real name on there," Trevarthen says. "We have built the site for kids without parents in the site, really a kids site where kids are able to be kids in a safe, well-lit environment."

Launched in November 2010, Everloop went public in February 2011; approximately 40,000 kids use the site every month.

That's an experience that children all over the world have had. Flat Stanley calls itself the longest-running literacy and community building program on the web. The program encourages participants to carry, mail or otherwise send a cardboard cut-out figure called Flat Stanley to faraway places and interesting circumstances. When the same Flat Stanley that was in a classroom in South Africa shows up in a photo perched on a snow bank in the United States - something magical happens in the minds of the children who sent it across the world. It's as if those faraway places become more real, now the child has a connection with the place and the prospect of making that trip themselves feels more possible. Anything that expands a person's understanding of what's possible is a good thing. Now the Flat Stanley experience is available in a new mobile app, making it easier than ever to use.

Flat Stanley is a little bit like a chain letter, a little bit like having a pen pal and a little bit like putting a folded paper boat in the river. It's simple, but it seems to touch some deep human themes.

There's something about mom or dad taking a Flat Stanley photo while away on a trip that says to a child, "I am here and I am thinking of you." Whether that same feeling gets communicated and whether a virtual Flat Stanley caries that same psychological payload as a cardboard one remains to be seen.

To send a Flat Stanley, I think, is to use a virtual object (either very thin or entirely digital) to write something on the real world. The Flat Stanley phenomenon makes that writing more accessible and appealing to children than anything else I've heard of before. The interaction between self, avatar, place, distance and other is a fascinating opportunity for young people to become more global in their understanding of the world. I think it's beautiful, and I hope the iPhone app helps many more children around the world connect with each other and enjoy the Flat Stanley experience.

The study asked more than 200 kid-innovators across the world, ages 12 and under, to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?"

Part 1: Kids are the Road to Tech Innovation
Part 2: From the Mouths of Babes: The Future of Tech is Robots and Real World Integration
Download the study summary (PDF) here.

By and large, kids indicated that they'd like future technology to fulfill three primary functions:

1. Serve as an extension of themselves, with more fluid and intelligent modes of interaction

"Help Computer: it knows what you are thinking and does it for you - both touch and voice controlled." - Male, 8, Brisbane, Australia

2. Seamlessly integrate digital objects, places and experiences with the real, physical world

"I'd like it if my computer could convert images or food and make them real." - Female, 10, Pakenham, Australia

3. Empower users by conferring new knowledge or abilities and unlocking new experiences

"I want to video kids on the other side of the world using a different kind of language." - Female, 7, Warwick, RI, United States

"These three expectations are especially powerful when viewed together as part of a larger framework, because they speak to the way that kids are perceiving themselves in relation to the world - and what's possible in it. Essentially: if devices are an extension of one's self, and these devices are increasingly integrated with the physical world, it follows that technology is a gateway to expanding our own experiences with and confidence in the world at large," says Neela Sakaria, Senior Vice President at Latitude.

"Technology is no longer an end in itself - instead, it becomes a path to more meaningful experiences with our surroundings. Kids are naturally intuiting this, and we as adults are following closely behind," she adds.

To illustrate the study's high-level findings and how they interrelate, Latitude created this infographic:

View larger size here. Infographic created by Latitude in collaboration with FFunction, (cc) some rights reserved.

Latitude is proud to have partnered with ReadWriteWeb on phase 1 of "Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet." Latitude is an international research consultancy helping clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. To learn more about working with Latitude, fill out this form or contact Ian Schulte (ischulte@latd.com).

Image credit: Marcus Kwan

Latitude recently completed a multi-phase innovation study, Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, which asked kids across the world, ages 12 and under, to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?" In our last post, we highlighted three themes that recurred across kids' ideas for new technologies.

1. The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing (Tech = World)
2. Why Aren't Computers More Human? (Tech = Me)
3. Technology Can Improve and Empower Us (Me = World)

We also pinpointed three key recommendations for creators of new content and technology experiences (for both kids and adults):

Download the study summary (PDF) for Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet.

"I want to travel to another place as if I was really there--like a virtual reality thing where you can move around in the environment as it exists in real life." --Female, 10, Melbourne, Australia

1. Don't think robots are just for schools. The majority of kids (77%) imagined future technologies with human-level responsiveness, often in the form of robots or virtual companions that could assist them with real-world tasks and abilities like doing chores or troubleshooting homework issues, suggesting that humanoid robots are a promising area of opportunity, as they can teach while feeling like a mentor or friend rather than an electronic console. (Check out Latitude's Robots @ School study here.)

   

   "My son wishes the computer was a robot he could take everywhere with him--to play chess with him or soccer outside... in other words, he wants it to be a friend he can share with his other friends." --Male, 7, Barranquilla, Colombia

   For kids, learning systems equipped with networking functionality and real-time, natural language processing - such as a robot that can look up and recite Wikipedia entries - can create a greater sense of independence and control. Robots such as LEGO Mindstorms offer kids the thrill of creating while helping them to understand algebra, while some robots are being piloted in schools to help with language-learning. However, there's a clear opportunity to move beyond school environments, bringing robots into the home to motivate independent learning and to foster new interests.

   

   "I would like a ballet teacher on the computer." --Female, 5, Kankakee County, Illinois

   "Kids are not only learning computer programming, they are also learning how to participate in a peer-production environment where they collaborate with others by remixing and exchanging ideas." - Andrés Monroy-Hernández, researcher and designer of the Scratch online community.

   For adults, robot interactions can offer encouragement, increased motivation and progress-tracking to help them achieve their personal goals. Robots can be used to practice physical therapy, play sports and even provide training and track fitness goals. For example, Autom is a humanoid health coach by MIT's Personal Robots Group that becomes part of the user's social support network. Over long-term evaluation, Autom was shown to be more effective at keeping people engaged than a stand-alone desktop computer running the same software and a traditional paper log.

   

   Photo by MIT Media Lab.

2. Bring "grown up" skills within reach. One-third of participants invented technologies that would empower users by fostering knowledge or "adult" skills, such as playing a musical instrument, making Web sites, or learning how to cook. Tech developers should focus on products and services that transfer knowledge or skills to users without the burdens traditionally associated with self-improvement--and which allow them to flex their mastery of these advanced skills in the context of creation and creativity.

   Story Patch is a smartphone app that enables users to create their own illustrated storybook--essentially, the child version of Blurb, a site that provides a quick and easy means to design and publish a book. Other current "creatitainment" games along the lines of Guitar Hero and Rock Band answer a huge demand while serving a similar need. Moreover, when building apps and other tools that enable "advanced creations," ensure that users also have the ability to instantly show off what they've made.

   

   "You should be able to record a video of yourself singing a song without having a video recorder or audio recorder attached to your computer. You should be able to put different backgrounds on, and make yourself wear different things. And share the videos with your friends if you want." --Female, 9, Canberra, Australia

   MIT's Scratch is a programming language and online community that allows kids to produce their own interactive content and games and share their creations with others. "People often think of programming as an activity reserved for expert adults. We think programming, like reading and writing, is for everyone," explains Andrés Monroy-Hernández, researcher and designer of the Scratch online community. "Kids are not only learning computer programming, they are also learning how to participate in a peer-production environment where they collaborate with others by remixing and exchanging ideas. In the future, I hope to see a broader range of socio-technical platforms that empower amateurs to be active participants in a world increasingly mediated by social computing environments."

3. Offer games and entertainment with real-world outcomes. Kids expect their online activities to have real-world impact and vice versa. Web, mobile and game developers are bridging online and offline experiences for both kids and adults through sites like Nickelodeon's The Big Help and Recyclebank which assign real-world rewards for eco-friendly actions. Healthcare companies and Web services like Health Month have also been working to extend games into traditionally "offline" spaces--specifically, games that motivate personal wellness through tech-enabled tracking and tangible, real-world rewards like saving money, meeting personal health goals and forming new social connections.

   This is Part Two of a two-part series. Read Part One: Study: Kids are the Road to Tech Innovation

   Looking beyond basic Web and mobile apps, there are significant opportunities for networked objects (e.g., The Internet of Things) to reinvent gaming in the real world. Just last week, Angry Birds announced its integration with the physical world using NFC (near field communication) technology, which is currently built into some mobile phones. Users will be able to advance in the game and unlock virtual achievements by tapping two NFC-enabled phones together or by tapping their phones to objects bearing NFC-enabled tags. In a similar vein, GreenGoose is another "real life" game that allows user to place stickers (affixed with tiny sensors and accelerometers) on everyday objects to automatically record positive behaviors and track them online--transforming healthy and socially responsible behaviors into a tech-driven game.

   

   "I want to play a 3D game while earning real money at the same time." --Female, 9, Sydney, Australia

Download the study summary (PDF) for Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet here.

Study lead: Jessica Reinis

Latitude is proud to have partnered with ReadWriteWeb on phase 1 of Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet. Latitude is an international research consultancy helping clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. To learn more about working with Latitude, contact Ian Schulte (ischulte@latd.com).

Image credit Kai Schreiber, (cc) some rights reserved.

Over the course of 2010, Latitude Research completed a multi-phase innovation study, Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet, asking kids across the world to draw the answer to this question: "What would you like your computer or the Internet to do that it can't do right now?" This study is part of a larger research initiative by Latitude that positions younger generations as a window into the future of technology, capable of informing tech experiences that resonate with people of all ages.

Download the study summary (PDF) for Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet.

More than 200 kid-innovators, ages 12 and under, from North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa, South Asia and Australia, submitted drawings of their imagined technologies. By and large, kids wanted their technology to be more interactive and human, better integrated with their physical lives and empowering to users (such as by assisting new knowledge or abilities).

"Teleport through the screen to another computer at the place of your choice." --Male, 9, Perth, Australia

"I want an interface where we can search, not by text, but by drawing--and get image results with that particular shape or pattern." --Female, 12, Mumbai, India

Researchers scored kids' inventions on the presence of specific technology themes, such as type of interface, degree of interactivity, physical-digital convergence, user's desired end-goal and so on.* The following infographic displays some of the top attributes present in kids' created technologies across world regions. (Download the full PDF report summary to read more about cross-cultural differences.)

To view a larger version, click here. Infographic created by Latitude in collaboration with ffunction, (cc) some rights reserved.

The following are key insights to come from an analysis of children's future requests for technology:

1. The Digital vs. Physical Divide is Disappearing (Tech = World)

   Kids today don't neatly divide the "online" from the "offline." For them, these two realms continue to converge as technologies become more interactive, portable, connected and integrated with "real world" activities. Nearly 4 in 10 kids imagined technologies that integrated the virtual with the physical, such as more immersive experiences of physical spaces (e.g., real or simulated travel) or devices that assisted physical activities (e.g., playing sports). At a time when 3D movies are still a novelty and 3D televisions have just begun to hit the market, a full 9% of kids explicitly built 3D effects into their own imagined technologies.

   

   "I'd like it if my computer could convert images or food and make them real." --Female, 10, Pakenham, Australia

   

   "I'd like to go through the computer to the places that are inside it." --Female, 4, Medellin, Colombia (translated from Spanish)

   For kids, technology is no longer something that mediates experience, but something that pervades it. "There's a real opportunity to create new experiences where the technology seems to disappear, where we experience the web directly - and almost magically - in the world," says Steve Mushkin, Founder and President of Latitude who's speaking at ReadWriteWeb's 2WAY Summit today on the topic of kids as tech innovators.

2. Why Aren't Computers More Human? (Tech = Me)

   Kids expressed a desire for more intuitive modes of input as well as higher degrees of responsiveness from technology. Only half of kids envisioned technologies that used the standard keyboard/mouse interface, while 36% went for more fluid interfaces: touchscreen, verbal/auditory, gestural and even telepathic in some cases.

   

   "Help Computer: it knows what you are thinking and does it for you--both touch and voice controlled." --Male, 8, Brisbane, Australia

   The majority of kids (77%) illustrated a technology with more dynamic, human-level responsiveness. Children in Africa, South Asia and Latin America were much more likely to anthropomorphize computers in a direct way--to imagine them as friends or teachers that could share their experiences or help in the accomplishment of a goal. Additionally, 43% of all children drew themselves or another person interacting with their creations, highlighting the shrinking gap between gadget and user: the "iGeneration" understanding of device as merely an extension of oneself.

   

   "A robot that would help me pick out fashion clothes everyday and dress me." --Female, 8, Potchefstroom, South Africa

3. Technology Can Improve and Empower Us (Me = World)

   Instant access to people, information and possibilities reinforces young users' confidence and interest in self-development. One-third of kids invented technologies that would empower users by fostering knowledge or otherwise "adult" skills, such as speaking a different language or learning how to cook.

   

   "I want to video kids on the other side of the world using a different kind of language." --Female, 7, Warwick, RI, United States

   "Kids want technology to either act as a companion - a friend they can enjoy various activities with - or as a tool that empowers them to grow and express themselves," explains Jessica Reinis, a research analyst at Latitude who led the study. "In some cases, we saw the fusion of these two with kids envisioning tech as teacher."

   In addition to self-development, kids expected technology to enable and empower them as creators. One-quarter of kids' inventions - the same number which favored gaming - centered on art or design. "Technology is a fully integrated part of kids' lives and this makes their creativity and their drive to create with it boundless because tech is really just an extension of themselves," says Vanessa Van Petten, founder of Radical Parenting and author of Do I Get My Allowance Before or After I'm Grounded? Nearly 1/3 of all children went beyond simple creations, envisioning more flexible platforms for creating games, Web sites, action figures and so on. Kids' interest in a wide range of design fields--industrial, landscape, fashion, game, Web and more--reflects the visual richness of the online world, as well as the can-do creative drive that tech encourages.

   

   "I want to make up my own video game." --Male, 8, Kennewick, WA, United States

This part 1 of a 2-part series. Check back later this week for the next installment including opportunities for creators of technology experiences for both kids and adults.

Latitude 42 Study: Children's Future Requests for Computers & the Internet

*Note: Reported frequencies may be based on total number of submissions that were possible to code on a given variable, rather than total number of study participants.

Image credit: Marcus Kwan, (cc) some rights reserved.

Latitude is proud to have partnered with ReadWriteWeb on phase 1 of Children's Future Requests for Computers and the Internet. Latitude is an international research consultancy helping clients create engaging content, software and technology that harness the possibilities of the Web. To learn more about working with Latitude, contact Ian Schulte (ischulte@latd.com).

According to the FTC, several Playdom sites that were aimed at young audiences illegally collected and then disclosed personal data in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). These sites included Pony Stars, 2 Moons, 9 Dragons, Age of Lore, and My DIva Doll. The FTC complaint says that some 821,000 children registered with Pony Stars between 2006 and 2009 and another 403,000 signed up for Playdom's other online virtual worlds. These sites collected children's names, ages, and email addresses and allowed them to post that personal information publicly online -- including their real names and locations. The FTC charged that the company failed to get parents' consent before collecting or disclosing this information.

A Disney spokesperson said in a statement that it was "pleased that Playdom and the FTC have now resolved this matter amicably."

The announcement of the settlement coincides with the introduction of legislation by Representatives Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) that will update online protections for children. Indeed, the legislation that governs children's online privacy, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, was first passed in 1998. 1998 - that's eons ago in Internet years. A world pre-Playdom, pre-Facebook, and even pre-Google. (Well, the search engine was actually incorporated that year.)

The updated COPPA legistation, called the "Do Not Track Kids Online Act," would require online companies to explain the types of data that's collected as well as how it is to be used or disclosed. It would also update language to include mobile applications, and it would ban companies from using children and teens' personal data for targeted advertising.

The federal government is examining a number of new measures to protect consumers' privacy online, but no surprise, particular attention is being paid to the children's privacy online - not just on those sites like Disney's aimed at directly at those under 13, but at others such as Facebook that, despite Terms of Service rules that dictate otherwise, are full of children.

"The publishing industry is moving rapidly into the digital age," says DiTerlizzi. "I see the integrated use of AR as an ideal bridge, enhancing what readers love best about story and narrative while tapping innovation and imagination, to bring forth entirely new experiences associated with the book."

Exploring the World of WondLa

To access the experience, users need to install Total Immersion's D'Fusion plugin and wait for the applet to load within their browser. I found the experience was loading slow on Chrome, and it didn't load a whole lot faster after switching to Safari.

A few minutes later, when it was up and running, I realized some interesting decisions had been made in the development of app. The interaction one can have with the 3D maps by moving the book around infront of the webcam is very limited. You can move the experience up and down, and can zoom a bit, but that's about it.

This is because the app was designed to be a one-way experience. Once the webcam recognizes an emblem, you can set down the book and let the app take you on a tour of the 3D map. This is mostly a good decision, because it makes it easier for young users to quickly understand what is happening (not to mention the fact that the book is rather large, and kids may grow tired of holing it up).

It is slightly disappointing, however, that more interaction was not built into the experience. In this case, as augmented reality is introduced to a new audience of young adults, it makes sense to simplify things a bit. It's great to see a major publisher like Simon & Schuster get behind augmented reality, as implementations like these could change the way young adults read in the near future.

The app, which is obviously geared toward a younger audience, reminded me of some interesting AR apps aimed at children (I wish I could remember them all). One that comes to mind is whistleBox's "Do Crew" augmented cartoons - a series of video stories that include interactive AR games. The games aren't merely "lean forward" experiences on the desktop, they actually get kids up on their feet moving around and being active (much like the Nintendo Wii, or Kinect on the Xbox).

Other great augmented reality examples have been aimed at younger markets as well, including LEGO's in-store project. A kiosk equipped with a camera and a screen lets shoppers (read: kids) hold model sets up to the camera in order to see a 3D representation of the finished project live on their box. Additional projects have brought augmented reality to baseball cards and game cards - bringing athletes and mythic creatures to life.

While at Qualcomm's Uplinq conference in San Diego earlier this summer, I met Andrew Cheeseman of Mattel who was on hand to demonstrate an augmented version of a classic game - Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. Cheeseman told me that Mattel believes augmented reality is going to be a huge hit in the toy industry - and I agree. He also made the very good point that new technologies like AR help introduce fresh generations of kids to older games (like the aforementioned Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots).

So is playtime augmented reality's ticket to bigtime? It's likely that the younger demographics are certainly going to play a big role in the proliferation of the technology, but it probably won't be the only successful sector. Hi-tech as already been making great use of the technology in automobile factories and in the military, and the healthcare industry could certainly be a terrific platform as well.

But never underestimate the power of needy kids when they set their sights on fun new toys. Just ask George Lucas how that's going.

"Cell phones," warns the company, "can be a great way for children to keep in touch with family members," but they can also "serve as facilitators for cyberbullying, sexting and other dangerous behaviors."

That claim may be true to a point, but is reading each and every text message the best way to counteract these behaviors? For that matter, should parents be spying on their kids to this extent at all?

WebWatcher cites data from the Pew Research Center that states some 75% of those aged 12-17 now own cell phones, and half of teens send over 50 messages per day. One in three sends more than 100.

(Hope you parents have a lot of free time on your hands, because that remote snooping is going to take you awhile!)

More importantly, the data point that's skipped over when touting spyware like this... err, I mean remote monitoring software... is that teens text instead of calling their friends in many cases. In fact, Pew says than teens are 10 times more likely to text someone than call them.

That means, for many teens, text messages are the primary form of communication among a child's friends.

And parents reading those texts? Well, that would be the equivalent of a parent in days past surreptitiously picking up the extension (you know - the phone attached to the wall with a cable?) in another room to eavesdrop on a child's conversation.

Parental Spyware: For Those Who Can't Handle Tech?

The WebWatcher Mobile product complements the company's standalone suite of monitoring tools, but it's hardly alone here. A whole crop of parental spyware applications have risen up to serve the needs of parents who can't figure out (or can't be bothered, or don't have the time) to understand the modern Web. The PTA-endorsed SocialShield product, for instance, is another recent entry into this field. Like WebWatcher, it works across a number of sites, including Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Photobucket and others. SafetyWeb does the same. And of course there are the old standbys like Net Nanny, SpectorSoft and CyberPatrol, just to name a few.

Is this level of spying the right way to parent, though? There are alternates of course: Parents could educate their children instead, do spot checks to keep them on their toes, friend them on Facebook and elsewhere across the Web, and keep the computer in a public area of the home.

That said, there are some parents for whom monitoring software may be the right choice: the technologically un-savvy, for example. If the intricacies of Facebook and Twitter are confounding or if you still haven't figured out exactly how to type a text message yourself, you may be a good candidate for remote monitoring software.

A Warning to Parents Behind the Times

But keep in mind that your inability (or refusal?) to keep up with the times in terms of technology while allowing your children to outpace you by leaps and bounds is not only doing you a disservice - it's doing one to your children as well.

Sure, they may know their way around the social Web and cell phones better than you, but they haven't fully developed their interpersonal and social skills in a way that allows them to handle the issues that will inevitably come up.

As a new parent myself, I believe my job is to help my child learn and grow on her path to independence, which includes staying informed on all trends, both tech and otherwise. Parents who can't be bothered to figure out what that "tweet thing" is all about or what "sexting" is should not think this is a badge of honor to wear proudly, as if it makes them more mature somehow. It should be a signal that the world has surged ahead and they've been left behind in its wake.

And please, let's not make this a socio-economic issue, either. If you can't afford a computer or cell phone, then neither can your child. However, he or she may have access to them at friends' houses or at school. You have have access to them via your public library. Many public libraries offer free computer classes, too. You and your child could even take one together. Let your lack of technology comprehension guide you to a learning experience that helps you both, instead of being an issue where you child is left unparented because you don't know what you're doing.

Parental spyware, however, should be a last resort at best.

But that's just my opinion. What's yours?

As our world becomes more tech-oriented, educators are faced with not just teaching children how to use computers, but how to build and program them as well.

Fortunately, there are a number of great tools to teach programming to K-12 students, along with a lot of resources for computer science teachers:

1. Scratch

Developed by the MIT Media Lab, Scratch is a graphical programming language for children age 8 and up. Since its release in 2007, over one million projects have been shared on the site. That sharing aspect is important as projects posted are available to others to download and remix. Scratch is available free of charge, and runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. For those working in Scratch, the new Scratch Wiki is a good resource.

2. App Inventor

In July, Google announced the launch of the Android App Inventor. App Inventor uses building blocks, of sorts, to help you design your own Android applications. Like Scratch, the App Inventor has roots at MIT, as the project was led by Professor Harold Abelson, quoted in a New York Times interview as saying that the goal of the App Inventor "is to enable people to become creators, not just consumers, in this mobile world."

App Inventor is still in closed beta, but it was mentioned in our survey of teachers' most anticipated back-to-school tech tools. If you're interested in App Inventor, the Google Group is very active.

3. Alice

Alice is a free and open source 3D programming environment designed to teach students object-oriented and event-driven programming. In Alice, students drag and drop graphic tiles in order to animate an object and create a program. A variant of Alice, Storytelling Alice was developed by Caitlin Kelleher as part of her doctoral work in Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. By emphasizing animations and social interactions, this approach was found to greatly increase the level of student interest in programming.

4. Lego Mindstorms

Lego was recently voted the "most popular toy ever," and despite all the wounds from stepping on my son's Legos while barefoot, I am still remarkably fond of the toy. Add programmable robotics to the mix, and you have Lego Mindstorms.

There are numerous other programs aimed at the K-12 level, including Small Basic, CHERP, Kodu, and of course BASIC.

Whether or not computer science becomes a baseline subject like Math or Writing or Social Studies remains to be seen. But the lessons learned from computer science - logic, critical thinking, problem solving - are crucial. So teach kids to hack while they're young.

Parents are taking an active interest in their children's safety online, going as far as to checking their search habits, using parental controls and filters and setting limitations on the amount of time their kids spend online and on cell phones. Yahoo learned that 71% of parents have implemented one of these tactics in an attempt to keep their children safe online.

Another popular way for parents to keep an eye on their kids' online footprint is to run a search on their name and see what comes up. Dads seems to be more protective of their children online, as 53% said they search for their kids' names 2 to 3 times a year, while just 38% of moms do so. Dads are also slightly more likely (71% versus 63% of moms) to take action to help their kids understand the ramifications of posting information online.

Personally I find these numbers encouraging. Online privacy has been a hot topic for discussion lately with the highly-publicized concerns over Facebook - the social network of choice for the majority of Internet users. Overall, Yahoo gave parents a rating of B+ in terms of how well they are doing to protect their children. In other words, parents are doing okay, but there is still more they could be doing. Parents sometimes don't want to become a nuisance or a nag to their kids, but when it comes to online safety and privacy, it's a good thing to be annoying about.

The problem though, as any good parent will tell you, is that young children need to be taught how to use these types of services appropriately. They don't instinctively know what details should and should not be shared, who is safe to friend and who isn't ("don't friend strangers" is the new "don't talk to strangers," it seems), and they certainly aren't prepared for the real-world dangers of using larger social networking services like MySpace and Facebook where issues like digital stalking, harassment and cyberbullying are a sad consequence of public socializing.

Enter Togetherville.

Togetherville is Safe

In the press release, the site creators call Togetherville a social network with "training wheels" and the description couldn't be more accurate. The network has been designed from the ground up as a safe place for children to try out social networking.

Here, parents can be highly involved with their children's online ventures. They don't have to demand the login from their kids - they're given their own login where they can access their child's account and activity, as well as interact directly with what the child is doing.

One of the most interesting aspects about the new service is how it establishes online friendships. Instead of leaving it up to the child to friend others, Togetherville uses the parent's Facebook account (by way of Facebook Connect) to instantly build communities of trusted, real-world friends the child's parent already knows. These communities, dubbed "neighborhoods" in Togetherville's terminology, are made available to the parent who can then pick and choose which adults and children their child may connect to.

Facebook Connect allows the parents to discover other Facebook friends who have already established an account on Togetherville. It streamlines the process so parents don't have to "re-friend" their friends, they just "discover" them. When a child logs into Togetherville, the approved parent and child combos are seen as neighborhoods where "kids" are separated from the "grownups." There is no way for other, unknown users to contact a child outside of this process.

Another important element to the site is the lack of anonymity. On Togetherville, children use their real name and an actual photo. That may be startling to some adults who have traditionally been told that posting your child's picture online is dangerous, but in Togetherville's safe, stranger-free environment, it's not a concern.

...And It's Fun!

Beyond the stringent safety measures, which should assure parents, Togetherville is actually fun to use. Site activities include posting "quips" (pre-screened status messages like "Aced the test! Oh yeah!"), playing games and creating art projects via third-party, pre-approved apps, watching (age-appropriate) funny videos and cartoons, sending virtual gifts, earning badges for positive behavior and earning a virtual "allowance" that can be spent on goods, games and gifts. (Virtual goods and the allowance launch later this summer.) Games, videos and creations made on-site by the child can also be liked and commented on by parents, and can be easily shared back the parent's Facebook account for "instant bragging rights."

Growing Up Digital: Some Concerns

Togetherville is one of many new social networking sites aimed at introducing kids to the concept of digital identities in safe environments. Everloop, for example (still in private beta), is similar but is positioned towards older kids, tweens and young teens.

The idea of using sites like these as safe training areas where children can learn best practices and good online behavior is brilliant. The only downside is that a child's history of interactions, creations and friend lists don't come with them when they move from site to site as they get older. Although Facebook Connect makes the set-up process easier, we wish the exiting experience could somehow be improved so that the child's creations are archived off-site for later access. At the very least, it would be nice to export the child's art projects as digital photos.

One day, when these sites are no more (or simply forgotten about), so much can be lost. Unlike Crayola-made drawings hanging on the fridge, digital art and expression is harder to archive. Status messages that fade away into oblivion are more ephemeral than pen-and-ink diaries that are a kick to re-read after years have passed. But perhaps that's just how it is these days. Impermanence is par for the course on grown-up social networking sites like Facebook; it's best to prepare kids early on for that fact of digital life.

Best of all, with games like these, kids will no longer be passively glued to their sofas as this new AR project encourages the kids of stand and use their body and arms to control the games. The Do Crew developers state that their mission with the game is help combat the growing epidemic of child obesity.

"Children will not stop watching television, and parents will not stop feeling guilt about that fact. So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a rare opportunity to acknowledge this epidemic and treat it at the most basic level," the site says. "The Do Crew team is dedicated to making all passive media active, and we believe that with a little technology and imagination we can reimage the personal computer or console video game system as effective electronic exercise equipment."

Going after the children's entertainment market could also be a boon for the augmented reality industry which has yet to find the public spotlight. Time Magazine named AR as one of the top tech trends to watch in 2010, and by engaging children, AR may be able to make significant strides towards mass public adoption and acception.

Actually, AR experiences aimed at kids are not a new concept; a LEGO Store installation that helped kids see 3D reprensentations of model kits right on their boxes, and a web-based Topps baseball card experience that made the players on the cards come alive in 3D are two of the most well known AR roll-outs to date. New projects like Do Crew are not only great for kids, but also for AR as a whole as it strives to gain credibility and traction with as wide an audience as possible.

Now prepare yourself for POGS' return - POGS 2.0, if you will. Except this time around, the chips have been wired for the digital age. And today, the "game" is a social network called FaceChipz instead of a old-fashioned variation on marbles.

FaceChipz is a new social networking site designed just for kids. Intended primarily for the "tween" set who's outgrown children's websites but hasn't quite aged into Facebook yet, FaceChipz merges real-world networking with an online component. After purchasing a starter set of five chips, the child has their parent register an account for them on the FaceChipz website. Then the game begins.

The child registers all their chips online using the unique identification code found on the back of each token. When all the chips have been registered, they can be distributed to friends. In return, the child's friends will hand them their FaceChipz. When the exchange is complete, the child returns to the computer to register the new codes from the chips they've collected. The end result is a social network of friends with a physical counterpart in the real world - a brightly colored collection of FaceChipz that can be toted around just like POGS were decades ago.

Social Networking Training Wheels

Parents will appreciate the fact that the FaceChipz network offers a more secure and private environment for their kids than traditional social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. No strangers can solicit friendship requests here - the child's only online friends are those they've connected with in real life. There isn't even a search mechanism for friends to find each other without first trading chips. While that design decision is obviously meant to keep FaceChipz sales steady, the company claims it has another goal as well: to prepare children for the online world of social networking. Reads the company website, "FaceChipz wants to help kids stay safe, but also enable them to communicate using today's technology platforms...If your kids are savvy enough to make appropriate real world friendships, we believe that those relationships will be suitable and appropriate for the digital network they create."

Other privacy protections are offered too. For example, the code on the back is only valid upon first entry. Afterwards, if a lost chip ended up in a stranger's possession, they couldn't use the code to connect to the child. Also, FaceChipz profiles are designed so kids are only permitted to post a limited amount of information and their email address is not stored. FaceChipz makes sure that none of their site's pages are indexed by search engines. Finally, when the child is ready to graduate to a more adult network, their account can be permanently deleted.

Will FaceChipz Become the New POGS?

All the elements are there that could make FaceChipz a success: collectible tokens, an online element and parent-friendly company ethics. There's another bonus, too: the chips are cheap. A five-pack is just $4.99 at ToysRUs and the one-time site registration fee is only $1.00. If anything, the fee is only there so mom or dad get involved and are made aware of the child's online activities.

However, in this day and age, FaceChipz may be too innocent a portal to attract tweens. On a web filled with insane YouTube videos and the (often disturbing and occasionally pornographic) webcam-hopping service, Chatroulette, will a "your first social network" site even have a chance? Will today's youngest generation take to a modern equivalent of POGS or have they seen too much already? Only time (and sales figures) will tell.

Thanks to Springwise for spotting this.

Using the new setting found at the bottom of any YouTube video page, you can switch Safety Mode on or off. And while parents will certainly be tempted to do so in an attempt to enable parental control mechanisms for the site, they should be warned that even the least tech-savvy youngster can easily shut this new feature in a minute or less.

According to a post on Google's YouTube blog, Safety Mode is enabled via a setting found at the bottom of any video page. To switch it on, scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and look for the new option listed directly under the "current location" and "current language" settings. (Note: this is apparently still being rolled out, you may not see it immediately).

If this is the first time you're accessing the setting, the link will read "Safety Mode is off." Simply click the link to set Safety Mode on by selecting "on" from the bulleted choices provided. Then click "Save" to close the configuration dialog box.

This will switch on Safety Mode for your current browsing session, but it will not make the change permanent. In order to "lock" in Safety Mode, you'll first need to sign into your YouTube account with your password and then enable the setting. From that point forward, the option will remain enabled whenever you are logged into your YouTube account.

Designed for Parents

While on the one hand, it's nice to have an option to keep the more offensive content out of sight, the majority of YouTube users aren't likely to be offended by the service's current crop of videos. YouTube already has relatively stringent guidelines to keep pornography, images of drug abuse, graphic violence and other objectionable material from being hosted on their service.

Instead, the YouTube users who are going to be most interested in a content filter like this are parents. Since YouTube is home to a number of kid-friendly videos including everything from the Muppets to the odd, yet strangely addictive YouTube character called "Fred", the site has remained one of the top destinations on the net for children.

However, the new "Safety Mode" does little to prevent kids from seeing the content parents want to hide. Although once on it does a reasonably good job at filtering YouTube's vast array of material, it's only a button-click away from being turned off again. And if you think your kids can't find the button in need of clicking then you just don't know kids very well. If anything, today's youngest generation of Internet users are more tech-savvy than their parents, often having to help mom and dad navigate around the Web, not the other way around.

Yes, It is Meant to be a Parental Control Mechanism

Some may argue that "Safety Mode" isn't really intended to be a parental control mechanism - it's just meant to be a handy filter for those of us with more delicate sensibilities. But YouTube's own demo video states otherwise. "Safety Mode is an opt-in setting that helps screen out potentially objectionable content that you may prefer not to see or don't want others in your family to stumble across while enjoying YouTube," says the narrator. Who do you suppose those "others in your family" are? Granddad? Uncle Bob? No. Clearly YouTube is positioning the new setting as an option for parents.

In fact, in April of last year, Google informed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that they had begun work on a new content filter for precisely this purpose. The document (viewable here) states that Google was providing the information to the government agency in response to the proceeding initiated by the Child Safe Viewing Act of 2007, a policy created to examine the blocking technologies available on the Web. In the document, Google states:

YouTube engineers are working on a number of initiatives designed to give users and families greater control to moderate their YouTube experience, including the ability to filter video comments they find inappropriate. This new feature, which is currently being tested in the United States, gives users control to set their own comment preferences by enabling them to choose whether to see all video comments, no comments, or filtered comments.

This seems to show that Safety Mode, first and foremost, was designed to be a sort of parental control mechanism and not just another handy setting. But allowing anyone to click a button to enable or disable the filtering mechanism simply isn't good enough protection. Even if it's switched it on for a particular user account, the user can switch it off again just by scrolling to the bottom of the page.

It may have been better if YouTube had introduced special "kid accounts" which forced users on a particular computer to sign in in order to see YouTube videos. Once enabled on a PC, visitors to youtube.com could have been presented with a sign-in box, not the YouTube homepage. The accounts could then be managed by parents who could enable and disable the filter at will. Instead, the "Safety Mode" feature looks as if it's an attempt to placate the FCC and worried parents while not actually providing a anything the average web-savvy kid couldn't figure out in 30 seconds flat. So parents, enable the filter if you must, but remember, no technology - and especially not this one - can serve as a replacement for actual parenting.