13 Apr 09 News Flash: Online Distractions Can Lead to Lower Grades
Research at Ohio State University has found that Facebook is not studying. Or as researcher Aryn Karpinsk put it “Our study shows people who spend more time on Facebook spend less time studying,” Shocking, I know.
The researchers used a sample of 219 undergraduate and graduate students to collect data on study habits and internet usage with a focus on Facebook usage. Among the findings was the statistic that 65% of Facebook users will check their account at least daily and usually more often than that. The study also notes that Facebook users have a significantly lower GPA than non Facebook users. Which can mean only one thing. Facebook, like Hulu and television, is emitting brain rotting pathogens designed to make out grey matter fit for alien consumption.
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Tags: distractions, GPA, study, time management
08 Apr 09 An Instruction Set For Family Fun
DIY projects can be a great way to spend time with your kids and having a good set of instructions to work from can really help. And there is no better place to find piles of fantastic DIY guides than at Instructables. So we here at Dadmins were very excited to hear that Make has partnered with Instructables to release The Best of InstructablesVolume 1 in print form, because DIY doesn’t always happen around a computer. but it gets even better than that. The whole set of howtos from the book are all online and linked together so you know exatly what is in the book before you buy it! Content online for free! The sky is falling.
Seriously, this is some good stuff. Buy a copy and go build something (and some memories) with your kids. (more…)
06 Apr 09 Help The Next Generation Master Robots Before Robots Master Us
When the day comes that the robots rise up and execute their cold and efficient plan to kill all humans there will be two kinds of people on the planet. There will be those that know the innermost workings of robots and can use that precious knowledge to target and exploit weaknesses in their brutal clockwork to stand and fight back and there will be those that are doomed to spend their days running. When that day comes, Chicago will be a fortress of humanity, chock full of robotics experts thanks to Bots 4 Tots.
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Tags: bots 4 tots, charity, chicago, Robot
30 Mar 09 Kids Don’t Do What They Are Told, Science Suggests Why
There are many reasons for kids of every age to not do as they are told. But in the case of toddlers there may be a developmental reason for it. Research conducted by psychology professor Yuko Munakata and colleagues at the University of Colorado at Boulder suggest that children around age 3 operate in a more reactionary state rather than predictive.
With a group of children aged 3.5 to 8 years old the researchers measured mental effort during a game they designed. The game was simple Blue (of Blue’s Clues) likes watermelon, when a watermelon comes after Blue press the smiley face. Sponge Bob (of the Square Pants) does not. So if the watermelon comes after Sponge Bob then press the sad face.
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Tags: development, psychology, thought process
27 Mar 09 Learn Netiquette the Singalong Way
The South Koreans have a plan for instilling good netiquette in their future generation. They are using the power of song! Enjoy my precious internet friend!
Tags: cute, manners, netiquette, polite, song, South Korea
26 Mar 09 Helping Kids Learn to Take Credit, For Other’s Work
It was second or third grade, and I built a ‘robot’ for the school science fair. It wasn’t so much a robot as an upside down trash can with two motors to make the arms spin, two motors to make the wheels spin and a cassette deck head with an electrical tape smile. And yes my dad helped me with it. Would you let a second grader loose on a soldering gun and a jig saw? Maybe a light soldiering iron, but that’s not what we had back then. No sir, we had a soldiering gun that weighed about 5 pounds and made the lights dim when you pulled the trigger.
So yes my dad helped me by soldiering the wires and cutting the plywood base. But as he went we talked about circuits, how the wires went from the motor to the switch and then to a battery so that when the switch was closed the electricity would go to the motor and make it spin. Every step of the way I was there with my dad exploring, learning, and building. Four motors, four switches, and a weekend at the workbench with my dad. I feel no moral qualms for having presented that as my science fair project. But sometimes the question of “whose project was this” is a little murkier.
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Tags: cheating, help, parent project, Robot, science fair
19 Feb 09 I just want him to say it correctly
Last night my oldest was playing Halo 3 on the 360. He’s getting quite accurate with his shots, and feeling somewhat cocky playing against the computer – so I puff up my chest and offer to play him head-to-head.
Oh boy.
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30 Jan 09 More insides for your perusal
Going along with our “take it apart to see how it works” culture as a dadmin, I found this little photo set quite intriguing. Seems the blogger attended a photo trade show in Japan, and wandered over to the Nikon booth – where they had on display a neatly cut-in-half Nikon D3.
I only wish I could get a high resolution photo of this.
Oh – and I wouldn’t mind playing with the tool they used to do the cutting.
Tags: camera, exploded view, how it works, take apart
24 Jan 09 What’s new is old again
“Back when I was your age…”
I can’t believe I’ve uttered that phrase to my kid. Where does that come from? Why should my child care about what I did 35 years ago to accomplish <whatever task we’re discussing>? It’s an interesting question for which I have no answer – and would love to hear comments.
The following mind-wrestling session I had last night is what brought this about.
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Tags: Art, Graphic Tablet, Music, Piano, Right Brain
11 Jan 09 Teaching kids the basics of programming using physical props
A few years back I was asked to lead a “problem solving” session once a week for my first grader’s class. With my education and employment in engineering, I felt that this was a natural fit for me, so I agreed and started 2 days later.
For two 45 minute sessions, I would “entertain” two different groups of kids (about 8 of them each) – divided by gender and picked from the class based on some criteria I was not privy to. I was given guides and a problem to solve (based on some curriculum I can’t recall). The goal of each session was to encourage group cooperation to reach a solution to the problem presented.
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Tags: Lego, Mindstorms, Programming, Robot, Scratch
Polls
Friended by your Kids?
- My child doesn't have a facebook page (I think.) (33%, 1 Votes)
- Nope, and I've asked. (0%, 0 Votes)
- No, because I haven't and don't intend to ask. (33%, 1 Votes)
- You bet. We're a facebook family. (34%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 3
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