YouTube is one of the most popular online platforms, and it is used by people of all ages. While it can be an enjoyable experience for kids, there are also some risks involved with allowing young children to use this platform. That’s why it’s important for parents to take steps to make sure their children are having a safe and secure experience while using YouTube.

For those people who use Roku TV it is natural to want their children to watch YouTube Kids on Roku. Unfortunately, currently, Roku is not optimized to use the YouTube Kids app, but we have some tips for parents who want to make YouTube more kids-friendly.

Set Parental Control

With the Parental Control feature, parents can now create various rules and adjust the settings in their child’s account, including which videos they can watch and which YouTube content should be blocked. Parental Control also allows parents to block certain channels and set time limits for watching YouTube videos.

Adjust Content Level

YouTube also allows you to adjust the content level for your child’s account. This setting allows you to choose between “General Audience” and “Younger Audience”, which will help filter out potentially mature or explicit content from appearing in their recommendations.

Monitor Their Activity

Parents should keep a close eye on what their children are viewing and interacting with on YouTube. This includes any comments they make, as well as the type of content they’re consuming. Parents should also consider setting up an account specifically for their child to monitor their activity.

Teach About Safety and Online Etiquette

The more knowledge a child has about how to behave on the Internet, the easier it is for parents to control him or her. Parents should talk to their children about how to stay safe online, how to behave in certain circumstances, and whom to report if any problems occur. They should also teach them about online etiquette, such as not leaving mean comments or participating in Cyberbullying.

Discuss Advertisements

Many videos on YouTube are accompanied by advertisements, which can sometimes be inappropriate for children. Parents should talk to their children about this and explain why certain commercials may not be suitable for them. Even if you have an ad blocker installed or purchased a Premium subscription, not all ads can be blocked on YouTube. Some YouTubers insert ads in the middle of videos, and they may be not suitable for a younger audience. So you need to warn children about the content they may come across.

Use YouTube’s Restricted Mode

YouTube’s Restricted Mode is an optional setting that parents can use to help filter out potentially mature or inappropriate content. To enable it for your child’s account, simply visit the “Restricted Mode” setting under your child’s account settings.

Use Content Filtering

Another way to help ensure your child’s safety on YouTube is to use a content filtering service. These services allow you to customize what types of videos and websites your child can access, which helps keep them from viewing potentially inappropriate or age-inappropriate content. Using such services allows one to up the security level and feel much less stressed.

Pause Watch History

You can also pause your child’s watch history. To do this, simply visit the “History & Privacy” setting under your child’s account settings and toggle the Pause Watch History option to “On”. This will prevent any videos they watch from being stored in their search history. By pausing their watch history, you ensure that any recommendations YouTube provides them are based solely on the type of content that is appropriate for their age.

Disable Search

One of the surefire ways to make YouTube more kid-friendly is to disable the search feature altogether. To do this, simply visit the “Search & Discovery” setting under your child’s account settings and toggle the Search option off. This will prevent them from seeing potentially mature or explicit content that may appear in search results.

Create Custom Playlists

Finally, you can also create custom playlists for your child to help keep their viewing experience kid-friendly. To do this, simply visit the “Playlist” setting under your child’s account settings and click “Create Playlist”. You can then add any videos that are appropriate for your child to watch.

These tips, combined with regular conversations with your child about YouTube safety, will help ensure that they have a safe and enjoyable experience using the platform. Remember, the most important thing is to empower them to make smart decisions while using YouTube.

One bright spot about the pandemic is the increased focus on digital learning. This has increased opportunities for many, regardless of age and location.  This is in spite of the fact that many schools not prepared to move to a virtual classroom setting due to lack of proper technology and systems to properly run an online class.

Still, the advantages of online classes for kids have enabled younger generations to surmount physical barriers to accumulating knowledge. Yet another boon is the proliferation of apps that can help anyone understand the psychology of spending money and help boost financial literacy.  For these apps, “what’s learned with pleasure is learned in full measure.” Do you know someone who can benefit from these financial education tools for children? Then check out these four innovative apps.

Top apps for the future finance wiz

Here are some of the best apps to help secure the future for the next generations:

1. Junior Achievement Finance Park

The Junior Achievement Finance Park app is an enjoyable and immersive way for kids to learn about personal finance. It’s a virtual world where they can make real-life monetary decisions and experience the consequences, just like grown-ups do! What’s more, the app features colorful graphics, easy-to-follow tutorials, and engaging activities that make learning about money management a blast. And, with its dynamic market updates, the little ones can see how the economy can impact their budget, just like in the real world.

Additionally, through the unique “teach-test-teach” approach, children will not only have fun playing, but they’ll also remember what they learned. So, if you want to give them a head start on their financial goals, look no further than the Junior Achievement Finance Park app!

2. Counting Coins

Counting Coins is the ultimate solution for the kiddos to get a grip on money matters. The app features captivating graphics and interactive gameplay, making learning about currency a delightful experience. They can count, identify, and break different coins and bills, such as pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, etc., into smaller denominations. In addition, the app creates realistic purchasing scenarios, allowing children to apply their newfound knowledge and skills in a practical setting.

Not only does the app provide a fun way to learn about money, but it also instills good financial habits, preparing kids for a future of wise spending and savings. Whether playing solo or with friends, Counting Coins offers a unique and entertaining approach to money education, setting the stage for successful money management. With its engaging design, the young ones will be begging to play, making learning about money a rewarding experience for parents and youngsters alike.

3. Money Maze

With captivating graphics and a straightforward gameplay, it appeals to children of all ages, Money Maze can help kids learn the value of money. The app presents a delightfully interactive game format where players navigate through a maze, collecting coins and avoiding obstacles. The aim is to reach the finish line while maximizing their earnings. As they progress, the users encounter various challenges and decision points, where they must choose the most advantageous path (that is, how to best allocate their money during each challenge). These decisions will affect the outcome of the game. In the process, they can understand the consequences of their decisions and develop critical thinking skills about how they use their money.

Thus, the app can teach good money management using scenarios happening in real life. Examples are saving for a big purchase or investing in a stock. This helps make financial literacy both accessible and engaging. The app also includes a parent dashboard, where guardians can track their child’s learning progress. So, turn the tiresome chore of managing money into an exciting adventure with Money Maze.

4. Money Box

Money Box is a revolutionary app for kids designed to instill smart money habits. The app transforms savings into a fun and engaging experience by allowing children to set financial goals and track their progress. It features a virtual piggy bank where the little ones can deposit their allowance, birthday money, or any other form of income. As they save, they can watch their digital savings grow, giving them a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue.

The Money Box app also includes educational content covering budgeting, saving, investing, and more. Parents can set savings goals and monitor their child’s progress while also receiving tips and insights on how best to go about it. These features make  Money Box a unique and effective way for the little ones to develop a healthy relationship with money, helping lay the foundation for a bright and stable future.

The bottom line

Nurturing money-savvy kiddos has never been easier. The digital age offers an abundance of resources, and these four apps are some of those leading the charge. By imparting financial literacy skills through interactive and entertaining methods, these can make a lasting impact.

So, what are you waiting for? The investment of time now will pay dividends tomorrow, when your children have a firm grasp on managing their finances. Don’t let the opportunity to shape their future slip by—introduce them to these cutting-edge tools today.

Children are the future, and the institutions we provide them are crucial to their development. Helping to shape, develop, and educate their minds happens inside a school. Making sure that the building where educators help them grow is well taken care of is detrimental to their development. Read on to learn how to properly maintain school grounds year-round.

Electrical System

Let there be light. Of course, all schools need light, but the electrical system of a school controls more than the lights. The system controls the PA system, electrical boards, equipment in the kitchen, and a lot more.

Professional engineers and electricians should provide you with preventative maintenance tasks and schedules for electrical components. Make sure they work with thermographic scanning devices to identify overheating in connections, motors, bearings, and other electrical switchgear. These inspections need to happen every six months for everyone’s safety.

Fire Drills

The students may not know why they go through so many fire drills, but the administration does. The administration conducts these monthly drills for two reasons. The first is for the students. Showing them how to properly exit the building in case of a fire is vital.

The second reason is the school. The drills will help you see how well the system is working. You need to ensure every classroom hears the alarm and sees the lights. Teachers will report back if something is off inside their classroom. Furthermore, you need to check that every fire alarm works when you pull on them.

Exterior Upkeep

There is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to the exterior of all schools, and every area needs to be well maintained. Focus on the classroom because this is an area people forget about too often.

Conduct a roof inspection every six months. The roofer will tell you the condition of the roof and if they see any potential dangers. Aside from the roofing, pay close attention to the parking lot. Don’t fall victim to the common parking lot maintenance mistakes. Make sure you keep the lot in order for faculty and staff.

Energy Management

Energy management means a lot of ground to cover. Energy management is a computer-controlled system for the HVAC units. The system can turn off the air conditioning, lights, and boilers. Here are specific guidelines to follow for these systems:

• Establish an energy policy with specific goals.
• Find the proper authority for the district’s energy management program.
• Monitor each building’s energy use.
• Conduct an energy audit.
• Adjust your usage based on the audit findings.

Try and conduct these audits before the school year starts and once it ends. Doing so before the school year will show what condition the school is in and whether you need to make adjustments.

Properly maintaining the school grounds is a year-round job. Make sure to do your diligence to maintain school grounds all year.

6 Security Measures to Help Improve School Safety

Purchases made in a hurry are rarely successful. Therefore it is better to prepare for the school or academic year well in advance, choosing gadgets for education with the best value for money. And why not do it after the start of the new year? Especially since you will have a huge choice nowadays.

The market presents dozens of manufacturers competing for customers’ preferences. But so that you don’t get lost in this vast sea of tech variety, read this article highlighting the top 5 modern gadgets that help students in education.

# 1 Laptop / PC

It’s a fact that there is no way to do without a computer or laptop in the modern educational process. But here, a pretty natural question arises: which hardware to choose? Desktop computers have an advantage in power, and laptops — in mobility. So, let’s find out what to select in your particular case.

If you combine study and games, look for a pair of system units and a monitor. In other cases, the choice of a laptop seems more logical. For example, a budget laptop with average productivity is more than enough for creating presentations, writing essays, and using training sites.

Another argument favoring a laptop is its compact size, due to which a device takes up little space. This feature is significant since no one attends lectures or lessons with a desktop PC. That’s why many students prefer models, the key advantage of which is a modest size. And here we mean netbooks and ultrabooks.

Consider also that for humanitarian students, especially philologists, the technical characteristics of laptops don’t play a significant role. On the other hand, students who study professions connected with drawings and graphics processing have higher requirements for hardware. In most cases, the right choice for the study will be a laptop under Windows. MacOS is not the best option because university software can have compatibility problems.

It is also worth noting that intensive tech use during a busy school or academic year can sometimes malfunction. However, it’s pretty standard, and you shouldn’t worry too much about it, especially when you know about the existence of consulting service Howly. On this site, you can quickly get in touch with qualified experts who troubleshoot laptop, and it takes them no more than an hour.

# 2 Headset / Noise-Canceling Headphones

With the advent of the pandemic, online learning has become much more relevant. Therefore, a student needs a headset to understand a subject’s nuances in peace. The sound in the gadget comes from a computer or laptop, so choose an impedance in the 40-150 ohms range.

The sound quality doesn’t have to be so good as to capture the nuances of complex musical compositions since clear audibility will be enough for students. However, using overhead headphones for studies is much better since they are comfortable for a long time. A good choice would be a headset with a microphone with noise reduction. You can’t think of a better solution for learning foreign languages, and for a good reason:

📌 The teacher hears the student, picks up errors in their speech, and immediately shows the correct pronunciation.

📌 The student hears the teacher clearly and can pick up their pronunciation and intonation.

📌 The teacher only hears the student, even if the TV is loud in the student’s room next door. The noise-canceling microphone cuts out extraneous sounds.

📌 The lesson continues without pauses, and participants don’t have to repeat the same thing several times.

# 3 Tablet

A tablet for studies is an excellent alternative to a laptop. It is lighter, more compact, and cheaper than a previous device. However, students should look at more advanced models. The presence of a removable keyboard will allow you to type text lectures quickly, and the stylus lets you enter graphic information. The advantages of the tablet also include the ability to take pictures of learning material. In addition, if the Internet works with a SIM card, the device’s owner will always be online.

# 4 Printer

Students and pupils usually need such devices for printing essays, presentations, term papers, tutorials, and other educational materials. So here we should consider two types of these helpful techs: inkjet and monochrome printers. The pros and cons of them are discussed in the table below:

So if you buy a laser printer, looking at MFP models that can print, scan, and photocopy makes sense. It will be a good option both for students and pupils. Moreover, additional functions will not particularly affect the price tag. The market also presents color laser printers, but they are expensive, don’t print high-quality photos, and maintenance of such a unit will be a blow to the student’s finances.

# 5 E-Book

The E-book is a helpful device for reading enthusiasts. The emergence of inexpensive smartphones with large diagonals has not become a problem for manufacturers of e-books because their screens are specially adapted for reading. For example, it has a perimeter backlight that doesn’t hurt your eyes. In addition, the gadget understands more than 10 of the most common text formats. When choosing such a gadget, focus on the following details:

✔️ Screen diagonal. It’s not necessary to be limited to 6 inches. Younger students are more accustomed to reading large print.

✔️ The way of control. Students will undoubtedly choose touch control.

✔️ The presence of a backlight is a must.

✔️ Internet access can be by cable or Wi-Fi. However, wireless models are more expensive.

Bottom Line

So, in this article, you’ve learned about the top 5 modern gadgets that help students in education. Studying is a complex and time-consuming process, so the presence of such equipment can significantly simplify the life of many young people. However, it would help if you did not forget that these devices should be done in moderation to avoid harming health.

Christine Tomas is a tech expert, consultant, and aspiring writer. She writes for different news portals and thematic blogs for tech experts that helps her stay at the heart of programming, technology news.