Posts tagged ‘Pew Internet and American Life Project’
Spread the Word to End the Word
Across the United States and around the globe, young people have joined a movement of mutual respect and human dignity called Spread the Word to End the Word. The goal: get people to stop and think about their hurtful and disparaging use of the word “retard” and pledge to stop using it.
Spread the Word to End the Word was created by youth with and without intellectual disabilities who participated in the Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The motivation for the campaign was driven by a united passion to promote the positive contributions people with intellectual disabilities make to communities around the world combined with a simple call to action – a pledge to stop using a word – that also symbolizes positive attitude change and a commitment to make the world a more accepting place for all people.
We found that almost all youth have heard the r-word and most have heard it used by a friend or a student at school. We also found that youth react differently to the r-word if it is directed at a person with a disability or if a friend says the word.
Half of youth (51%) said that they felt bad or sorry for the person being picked. Some responded that they either laughed or didn’t care when they heard the r-word and many (39%) said that they did nothing. Some youth (33%) took a stand and told the person it was wrong to say the r-word.
What YOU Can Do
Join he cause and the Spread the Word to End the Word’s Project UNIFY movement in schools around the U.S. Motivate your friends to get involved with a variety of fun youth activities. You can even contribute five minutes to take the Spread the Word to End the Word pledge.
Get in the game by joining Special Olympics Unified Sports®, where people with and without intellectual disabilities train and compete together on the same team.
Know someone with an intellectual disability? Refer them to a Special Olympics program nearby, and for more information, go to http://www.specialolympics.org/.
Mobile Integration Key as Wireless Net Usage Surges
In a study released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, they share wireless internet usage has “increased sharply in 2009″ with more than half of the adult population having accessed wireless internet via laptop or mobile device. Mobile device usage has grown “73% in the 16 month interval between surveys.” Implementing a strong mobile integration strategy has always been part of our plan for PlumbBrain, and Pew’s study reinforces that increasingly youth and adults will be accessing content via mobile devices.
Research Reinforces Social Media Key to Reach Kids
Forty-two percent of teens use social networks daily. This statistic, and a slew of other useful ones, come from the most recent presentations released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project: Teens and Social Media (pictured above), Social Network Usage in Teens vs. Adults and Cyberbullying. Check them out; they tell us the teens + tweens continue to increase in their interactive connectivity. EMarketer also shares that 15 million teens + tweens are going to be in virtual worlds by 2013. To reach kids parents, organizations and companies have to meet them where they are — in social media!
Also, Danah Boyd makes a case for why teachers should be able to connect with students in digital spaces saying,
“Most of what teachers hear from students outside of the classroom might be answerable by students’ parents if only youth felt comfortable asking them. Teachers get asked about learning in general (e.g., “Why should I care about Shakespeare anyhow?”). They get asked health and sex-ed questions (e.g., “When will I get my period?”). They get asked for relationship advice (e.g., “How do I ask Alex to go to prom with me?”). They get asked about the future (e.g., “How do I get into college?”). Teachers get asked about the serious and the mundane, the personal and the abstract. But most of it has nothing to do with harm or abuse. Youth turn to teachers because they trust them, because they need advice from an adult and because they think that a trusted teacher might be honest with them. While some teens have other adults they can turn to, this isn’t the case for all teens. And for those teens in particular, it’s absolutely crucial that teachers are able to be there.”
As someone who has had valuable interactions with my own students through social media, I agree with Danah. Unfortunately, there are kids who also don’t feel like they can talk to their parents or teachers. We’re excited to provide a safe space for these kids to come to find accurate information about the big deals and little deals in their everyday lives.
What Kind of Tech User Are You? Take the Quiz.
From Pew Internet & American Life Project:
“Is Facebook your window to your social world? Is your mobile device the last thing you put aside before shutting the light out at night? Or does the deluge of digital information leave you flat and the ring of your cell phone leave you cranky? Take the quiz to find out where you fit in the typology of technology users.”
Curious, I took the quiz and discovered that I am a Digital Collaborator.
“If you are a Digital Collaborator, you use information technology to work with and share your creations with others. You are enthusiastic about how ICTs help you connect with others and confident in how to manage digital devices and information. For you, the digital commons can be a camp, a lab, or a theater group – places to gather with others to develop something new.”
I’m interested to see what other people are! I’d love for you to take the quiz and share your results below. Having only seen my results, I’m curious what other titles and divisions there are. I’d venture to guess my classification is typical of my age group; particulary those of us seeking out Pew’s content. I’m also wondering if the younger, tech-savvy tween crowd generally falls into the same category?
(Image found here)
