Google is helping kids to be Internet Awesome! Through fun interactive Google games, kids can learn how to be better digital citizens by learning important lessons about online safety. Access to this amazing world can happen at home or in school. These Google games take kids on a journey to “play their way” to being awesome people on the internet.

We all need to be prepared to make smart decisions while online. It doesn’t just happen. It takes education on how to safely explore the world.

The Google Be Internet Awesome program makes learning fun while playing. Simple common sense lessons are learned, such as how to focus on positive online activity, instead of negative comments and hurtful attitudes.

Deciding not to engage or contribute to the hate that divides us is a choice. The milti-level Google game teaches kids what to do instead and where to safely do it. Kids can start their exciting journey now to Be Internet Awesome.

Apart from kids playing the actual game itself, Google has provided helpful resources for adults to join in the adventure to re-enforce what is being learned online. These include downloadable guides for families and printable classroom activities for teachers. We’ve provided a link to these Google resources at near the end of this article.

Learn the Internet Code of Awesome

Here are the five educational focal points kids will learn throughout their online quest to be internet smart, alert, strong, kind and brave.

How to be Internet Smart

It starts with learning how to ‘share with care’. Toys in the offline world are shared with friends we trust. So why be careless about sharing our personal information and pictures on the internet? These can easily end up in possession of those we don’t know if we are not careful.

Be Internet Alert

Don’t ‘fall for fake’ by becoming aware that things online are not always as they appear. Information needs to be ‘fact checked’ from reliable sources. Social media is a powerful resource to connect us with others, but can just as easily be used to spread incorrect information.

Be Internet Strong

Are your secrets secure? Exactly what personal information is at risk with anyone that is interacting online? It’s an important lesson in protecting personal privacy. Knowledge in safe practices translates in the power to protect oneself. This is just as important for kids as it is for adults.

Be Internet Kind

Google games helps kids learn responsibility online while instilling a valuable belief that it’s ‘cool to be kind’. It not only benefits others and makes them feel good, positive benefits come back to make our own lives better as well. Collectively, kindess makes whole world a better place.

Be Internet Brave

Talking to someone we trust can often be the most brave thing of all when facing a difficult situation online. It may be cyberbullying or a simple problem of how to react to something a child comes across online. We operate in a digital world but the most valuable conversations happen in person, whether at home or at school.

Google Internet Awesome Resources

The Google iterative game consisting of four levels of learning take place with Interland. Kids will learn digital safety while having fun.

Educators can download the Be Internet Awesome Curriculum. This includes lesson plans and the ISTE Seal of Alignment and activities that reinforce what kids are learning through the Google game.

Parents can download the Be Internet Awesome Pledge. This will begin a conversation about online safety. Playing the game online while interacting with parents and siblings offline can open the door to discussion and questions being answered.

Get access now to these resources and learn how Google is helping kids to be safe internet explorers of the online world. Share this resource using one of options below.

Growth is part of life, emotionally, physically, and academically. Education experts recommend regular measuring of students’ growth and success in the classroom as a way of helping teachers know if their students are growing at the right place and in the right direction. On the student’s part, having a growth mindset is critical to academic and lifelong success.

Besides providing your students with standardized testing after every semester or at the end of every school year, what else can you do as a teacher to aid your learners’ growth in and outside the classroom? That is the question that this article seeks to answer.

Measuring Student Growth

Student growth is when learners can increase their intelligence levels, discover and grow their talents, and learn new skills and abilities consistently. It also means instilling a growth mindset so that they start believing in their abilities, rather than doubting their chances of developing over time. You will know that your students are growing in the right way when they start showing signs of being thirsty for new information. They will also start seeking out opportunities to tackle challenges and grow their skills.

Here are 5 ways through which you can inspire growth in your students:

1. Create Communities

Communities can be within a classroom, across grades, or between students who share common interests, such as a sports lover community. Educators can foster a community that allows students to work together for a purpose bigger than their selfish interests. It gives kids a chance to belong and to have their voices heard. This will allow educators to monitor how students in the same community look after one another, how they appreciate the individual and collective effort, and how they create a conducive environment for sharing ideas. When that happens, the kids get smarter together and grow together and educators can know that they did a good job.

2. Instead of Praising Intelligence, Encourage Effort

Educators should encourage effort made and not the brilliance or intelligence of a student. Of course, some kids are born intelligent and will perform well in the classroom even when they behave badly and keep bad company. Praising them when they outscore everyone else can easily discourage their growth. Educators need to start complimenting students who outperform their previous attempts.

If a kid was struggling with a math concept last semester but has since improved, encourage them to keep pushing. That way, they will learn hard work and resilience, two important skills that will come in handy later in life. Also, remember not to dwell too much on past glory. Teach the learners to focus on their next step because that is the surest way of making progress.

3. Spend Purposeful Time Outside the Classroom

To ensure the physical and cognitive growth of your students, it is important that educators also insist on spending a purposeful time outside the classroom. This can be through fun outdoor activities, such as camping, hiking, going on biking expeditions, or learning how to put together a camping tent. All of these activities can stimulate teamwork, a needed recreational time, and also gives your students the sense that their growth and learning is not tied down to the classroom as a physical object.

4. Encourage Time Management and Organization

Teach your students about the importance of prioritizing tasks and managing time effectively. Kids are easily distracted by peer pressure, TV, among others, but that will not be the case if they have a timetable to follow. Help them to organize their school work, how to spare time for homework or work out, and how to revise their notes. These organizational and time management skills will help them grow into responsible adults and great corporate managers.

4. Inspirational Posters

Anchor charts around the classroom as reminders of the importance of authentic learning and the need for developing a growth mindset. The charts should feature images, words, and phrases that inspire the kids to grow. Think of quotes from successful business leaders, stories of popular athletes, and even former students who overcame the same challenges your students are going through now. Let the kids know that in spite of the initial failures and struggles that many successful people have had to go through, they still made it in life thanks to their growth mindset and determination for a bigger change.

5. Encourage Curiosity

Being curious about something is what drives learners to find clarity and urgency in different aspects of life. Without it, it can never be created. It is through encouraging kids to ask you thought-provoking questions and allowing them to experiment on different hypotheses that they will get the motivation and purpose for designing something. A study suggests that students maintaining their curiosity is how they truly immerse themselves in their studies, and that’s how growth happens.

You can encourage curiosity in the simplest ways possible. For instance, you can introduce the concept of seed germination and growth through a small indoor garnered project. Planting the seeds, taking care of them, and anticipating the moment they bloom can greatly encourage their curiosity. If your classroom doesn’t get enough sunlight, you can ask your school to invest in some grow lights, that will not only compensate for the lack of natural light but will also speed up the entire process. This can make the curiosity-filled learning effective and time-efficient.

Conclusion: Aiding Student Growth

There are tons of inherent benefits of developing a growth mindset, both for kids and adults. As a teacher, you will only succeed in aiding your learners to grow by encouraging them to push through their comfort zones to grasp new concepts regardless of how tough they could be. You will need to be patient with them because growth doesn’t happen instantaneously.

Child development happens partly as traits emerge from within, but another big part comes with children learning from the adults in their lives. Role models convey values, acceptable types of interaction and behavior, and ways of living in the world to kids. Providing good role models for your kids is a key part in supporting their positive development.

How do you find role models for your child? You can be a good role model yourself, of course, but children benefit from the presence of additional adults they can look up to and seek advice from. Here are some resources for giving your kids positive role models.

Historical Figures

When you’re not yet sure what your kids’ interests are, start with well-known contemporary or historical figures to see who catches their attention. There are plenty of well-known men, both historical and in contemporary culture, for boys to look up to.

And when it comes to raising daughters, there are lots of positive role models we can point to both in present times and from history. Check out this curated video playlist of powerful women in history to share with your older kids.

For younger kids, even Matel has created dolls based on historic women. It really helps your cause to point to people who actually lived: their lives, their challenges, their triumphs, and their struggles. It might just be inspiring, and at the very least, it will be educational.

As your children express interest in particular well-known people, you can start looking around in your own community for in-person role models, too.

Community Members

Ask your kids what traits they admire in those famous figures and think about people in your life who embody those qualities. You can look for role models who have the types of careers your kids are curious about, but better than that, find people who display desirable traits like compassion, integrity, and motivation. Younger kids learn what kind of people they can be from their role models. When they’re older, it’s more suitable to help them connect with people in professions they may want to pursue.

Who do you know at your children’s school, at your workplace, at church, in your own social network, or in your family who might want to form a relationship with your kids? Think about who you admire; chances are the same qualities will make that individual a good role model for your kids.

Fictional Figures or Celebrities

Though there are some limits to fictional role models, your kids may at some point idolize a fictional figure, so better to prepare for it and send good options their way. Discuss with them what they like about their favorite characters and how they see themselves being similar or different.

When choosing media to watch with your sons, consider these shows with strong male role models. Trying to find books for your daughters that aren’t just about princesses or romance? Here is a helpful list sorted by age group (from preschool through teen years) of books with strong female characters.

Be prepared for your kids to come home one day wanting to be exactly like a celebrity they saw on YouTube. The most important thing in this situation is how you talk to them about these role models. Rather than discouraging them from their infatuation, ask them what they like about their new favorite person. Keep the conversation going by asking your kids what that celebrity is up to over time (and give yourself more opportunities to discuss poor decisions said person might make).

Yourself

You are the first and most potentially powerful role model for your kids. Your children are watching and learning from you before they can even speak—and your actions will convey more than your words. You can’t do everything perfectly, but there’s a lot you can do to show them what kind of person you hope they’ll become by being that person yourself. For instance, one tip  is to take good care of yourself, which will help you better care for your kids while demonstrating the value of self-care.

General advice is great, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to convey positive traits in day-to-day life. For instance, how do you teach your kids about healthy eating without simply telling them what to do? Try to include them in the food shopping and give them choices about what they want to eat.

Once you start exploring, you can find positive role models for your kids in all kinds of social circles and fields. A good mix of people—historical figures, community members, and fictional characters—gives your kids plenty of opportunities to identify different facets of being human they want to emulate and can provide you with ample material for discussion.

by Hilary Thompson

Technology is changing the dynamics of everything, including education. Although many people still rely on traditional methods of learning, but one cannot deny the importance and benefits of e-learning. Education system is revolutionized and now the online education systems are the platforms for the future.

Use of technology in the education system expands course offerings, experiences and learning materials. Virtual schools have increased the student’s productivity, reduced the cost associated with the undergoing program. For example, now you can learn French just by attending online classes without being physically present in an actual classroom.

There are some learning websites which demand a certain amount of money for subscription but still that amount is less than which you pay for a regular course. On the contrary, open educational resources are also available where learning and research resources that reside in the public domain are freely available to anyone over the web. For example, now the professors of Harvard are uploading lectures on different platforms. So today, Harvard is accessible to many people in a way no one would even have imagined 50 years ago. This advancement in education system and its accessibility is possible only because of technology.

Within all levels of education, blended learning programs are being used that combine online and face-to-face interaction. Students access online material outside the classroom as their homework and then apply this new knowledge in the classroom by engaging in creative discussions or group work projects. Even in a traditional classroom environment, technology is being used like showing videos or images on a particular topic to understand things better.

“As we continue our research, the best places for education will bring people, technology and space together in innovative ways. If you think of classrooms as places where knowledge gets created instead of consumed, they have similarities to innovation studios where flexibility is built in. More than ever, we are seeing the need for classrooms to become highly flexible spaces that support the new behaviours of learning that are the direct result of new knowledge.” (universitybusiness.co.uk)

Technology has made education accessible to everybody. Those who cannot afford proper schooling can learn the same things online. It also increases the productivity by providing the comfort of home; you do not have to go anywhere; you can learn whatever you want and whenever you want. It provides self-paced learning, when you enroll in a traditional college program, you will have to forget about work, hobbies and even family: Studying must be your priority.

This is why many students who have financial responsibilities or are single parents decide to leave their education. A self-paced system enables them to make progress with rhythm that suits them. If you have a day job, you can study at night. That is an advantage that traditional education system cannot beat. Because of this, the literacy rate has increased.

There is one more advantage of self-paced learning and that is, it increases the productivity of the learner. In a traditional classroom, all students are taught at a same pace but in online learning, one can acquire as much information as one wants according to his capabilities. In online learning, you are the master of your own education. As your interaction is with people with people across the globe, it widens your perspective. Being exposed to new ideas from professionals in other countries may spark creativity of your own.

This type of education has grown over the last few years and has experienced mainstream acceptance. With an online class, one gets to control learning environment which ultimately helps to develop a deeper understanding. New methods of learning provide them with options that suit them, not the other way round. It makes the education liberating, not limiting.

Globally, over 1.2 billion children are out of the classroom. Wang Tao, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Tencent Education says that he believes that the integration of information technology in education will be further accelerated and that online education will eventually become an integral component of school education. The future of online education looks promising and opens education opportunities to a larger section of the population than ever before.