The 30,000 Hours podcast was born out of many conversations where the idea of “expert” when it comes to topics like learning or tech seems squishy. Most of us have schooling experience and tech experience, so what makes one person more “expert” than someone else? Academic expertise is often difficult to quantify outside of academia, but the idea of “30,000 hours” gives a sense of the amount of time we have put in to deeply understanding a topic. K. Anders Ericsson estimated that an expert put 10 years or 10,000 hours into their craft, whether a pianist, chef, olympian, or scholar. Beyond this training and mastery are the years we continue to refine and develop our understanding. Dr. Monica Bulger studies children’s data privacy and advises policy both nationally and globally. She is Founder of Literacy Online, research that amplifies children’s rights in a digital world. She is a Senior Fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum where she conducts national interviews of families, school staff, and state and federal privacy officers. Monica has consulted for UNICEF since 2012 focusing on children’s rights in the digital age, particularly data privacy and prevention of online child sexual exploitation. Her research encompasses 16 countries in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, North America, and Europe.
This school year is like no other and of the many stressors facing parents, navigating how much to be involved in their child’s learning is a daily challenge. Education privacy expert Leah Plunkett answers questions about whether it’s ok to video tape your child’s class (short answer: no) or post screenshots of your child’s first day of school (also from a legal perspective: no). Leah offers tips for parents to find answers to tech questions and legal questions, and also advice for how to best engage with your child’s teacher and school.Recommended resources from this episode:How to protect your family’s privacy during remote learning (New York Times)Remote school has kids isolated and stressed. Here’s how to help (Vox)Education monitoring tech soars as a result of COVID-19 (Coda Story)
“It’s hard to think of a more important audience than kids who are developing their sense of self and their connections to their communities all in this fairly messy and quickly evolving media landscape. How can media, public media specifically, play a role that is a reliable guide and resource to those kids, and use that as an exercise also to get public media really engaged in that work as the folks that we’re most trying to serve?” Join Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, to discuss an amazing new project, By/With/For Youth: Inspiring Next Generation Public Media Audiences.
Dr. Jade E. Davis, Director of Educational Technology and Learning Management at University of Pennsylvania Libraries cautions educators against the knee jerk tendency to use videos of violence in classroom discussions: “As much as I think it’s important to bear witness for certain things, when we don’t have the voice of the person saying it’s OK to watch me die in this way, and when we don’t know who else will see or how else it might be used, it’s important to be cautious.” In a moment where teachers may feel compelled to address the recent violent deaths, Dr. Davis says: “We are in the middle of lots and lots of traumatic things right now. And we don’t know where our students are coming from. So even if a student doesn’t see themselves implicated on either side of the video, meaning the person who is doing the violence or the person who is being murdered. It might be too much for them right now.” Listen to Dr. Davis’ recommendations for engaging in compassionate discussions, how to create a safe space for talking through the trauma of this moment, and how, as educators, to practice self-care.
Privacy: We spoke with 301 teens in East Asia about their data privacy. Teens demonstrated a spectrum of understanding that had more to do with age and amount of use than socioeconomic status. While some were sophisticated in their understanding, “Google knows everything about us,” others thought social media companies collected info to protect them. What do teens have to say about data privacy, listen here for their advice to corporations, governments, and other teens. Research commissioned by UNICEF EAPRO and funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence Toward Children.
Gaming: Chat rooms for homework, prizes to share on Instagram, new friends who might not be who they seem, other friends who go to local schools…we spoke with 301 teens in East Asia about gaming & social media, find out what they had to say. Research commissioned by UNICEF EAPRO and funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence Toward Children.
Opportunities: From romance to music lessons to selling clothing, the 301 teens we spoke with in East Asia share the many positive ways they use WhatsApp, Instagram, gaming apps & Facebook. Research commissioned by UNICEF EAPRO and funded by the Global Partnership to End Violence Toward Children.
“We want patients, wherever they are, to get the best possible care.” Responding to a global need for up-to-date professional development training for physicians, Horizon Medical Education, offers low cost podcast-based professional development trainings for primary care health workers in mobile first environments, in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Director Dr. Fran Fieldhouse describes how podcast downloads allow physicians in rural areas with poor data connections to access learning modules, listen offline, and complete quizzes once they are in an area with stronger data connections. Reaching physicians in remote places with little support and little equipment, an aim is to “teach the gold standard and provide alternatives if that’s not available,” providing pragmatic, real world instruction and support. Offering stories and anecdotes from practice, they also offer “myth busters” to counter misinformation. Free COVID materials are updated weekly as new information emerges.For more information, check out their website: http://www.horizonmedicaleducation.com, or follow them on Twitter @horizonmeded
“You have to be skeptical. Storytelling is so powerful, it’s almost hypnotizing and can get us to believe things that aren’t actually true.” Join Executive Producer Stephen Dost as he shares the elements of a good story. We go meta and talk about how understanding the elements of a good story can help us better interpret current news and information around COVID-19.
“If you ask children what the internet offers,” Cathryn Anila says, “One main opportunity would be freedom, the freedom to express yourself and to gain knowledge.” Similar to the U.S., schools in Malaysia have been closed for a few weeks. We are speaking today with child rights advocate Cathryn Anila about why the internet is important to kids and how this moment is an opportunity to focus on relationships and experiences online. We discuss how the online and offline worlds are no longer separate. Cathryn offers tips for staying safe online and using the time at home to strengthen relationships and promote empowerment.
According to UNESCO, 1.5 billion, or 9 in 10 children globally are out of school. How are parents navigating working from home while schooling their children? Between virtual music lessons and Zoom circle groups, parents and kids are trying to create a new normal in a time that’s anything but. Parent and youth digital media expert Mary Madden offers insights into providing space for parents and kids to embrace this moment’s mix of opportunity and challenge. Join her discussion with Monica Bulger about screentime, gaming apps, and time away from tech. Madden recommends flexibility: “This is a time where so many structures we had relied on in daily life are being upended. We’re having to be flexible in our jobs and our communities, it’s important to acknowledge and give ourselves some grace and leeway to be flexible in our families as well.”
Child rights experts Emma Day and Patrick Burton share concerns about the conditions children suddenly find themselves in with school closures. In addition to the learning impacts of school closures, they urge consideration of the risks of increased violence and abuse for children. At the moment, there is no backup strategy to address the sudden loss of health and social services provided by schools for children. Homes may not be safe spaces, making those vulnerable to abuse more vulnerable. The current situation shines a light on the lack of funding into health systems around the world. While child rights experts and NGOs have advocated for more funding and resources for years and have not been heard, suddenly, millions, billions, even trillions are now being made available to strengthen support and response systems in many countries around the world. If child well-being can be brought to the fore in this moment, this tragic pandemic can result in strengthening the social welfare systems and education systems that are part of managing and mitigating this global crisis and keeping children safe.
Join globally renowned education technology experts Dr. Cristobal Cobo and Professor Neil Selwyn in a discussion with Dr. Monica Bulger about the abrupt shift to online learning as schools close globally in response to the coronavirus. Neil Selwyn advises edtech companies to not see this moment as a triumph, “it is an emergency, not an experiment.” Cristobal Cobo discusses the tools we bring to this crisis and recommends considering short-term and long-term approaches.
“The burdens are going to be born by the students who are least capable of bearing them.” Join Dr. Monica Bulger for a discussion with Professor Vikki Katz of Rutgers University as we urge consideration of the impacts school closures will have on students and families. Listen to Vikki’s ABCD recommendations for considering families’ limited resources as schools quickly shift to online learning.
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