Tweens and Tech Guide: Getting Them to Open Up

This story is part of New Tech City's series on education and technology.

In this episode of our podcast:

• We kick off a month of podcasts on kids and technology! Exciting!
• We talk with listener Dierdre Shetler, a middle school tech teacher in Phoenix, Arizona. Hear how she approaches technology with more than 800 kids in a lower-income, immigrant-heavy district.

...and... best for last...

• We've launched a little classroom activity for schools around the country. We're pretty thrilled about it. If you're a teacher, join us! If you know any teachers, pass it along! Actually, if you know anyone with a flock of kids on hand, send it their way! 

Resources we mention (and a few more we just like):

• Here's the lesson plan and survey for teachers we mention in the podcast. 
• Researcher and author danah boyd writes about teenagers and technology. We've talked with her before.
• The ISTE — formerly known as NETS — standards are a standardized curriculum for teaching tech skills.
• Common Sense Media has media literacy materials for students of all ages.
• A YouTube video on Internet safety for the younger (K-3) set.
• The "To This Day" project on cyberbullying.

Join Our Conversation

We're going to be talking about kids, education and technology for the next few weeks of the podcast. Do you have specific questions? Thoughts? Comment below, or send them our way with a voice memo at newtechcity[at]wnyc[dot]org. And don't forget to pass our classroom activity onto the teachers in your life! Post it on Facebook and tag a few parents, Little League coaches, or Girl Scout troop leaders, won't you?

A look at 12-year-old Ayelle's phone. You'll meet her over the next few weeks.

(Ariana Tobin/New Tech City)