Sharing photos is fun. Being able to add filters or modify them to make them look better only enhances the experience.

Instagram is one of the most active social networks among teens. Is Instagram a social network that’s safe for your teens?

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Plan, track, and organize your homeschool more easily than you ever imagined. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a social media network that allows users to share photos and videos with the world. Users can add fun filters and touch up their photos to make them shine.

Will Your Teens Want to Use Instagram?

Yes. Teens are very active on Instagram. There isn’t as much pressure to follow others on the social media service so teens can use the platform to see what they want to see.

Instagram is by far the most used social media outlet for my age group. Please note the verbiage there—it is the most used social media outlet. Meaning, although the most people are on Facebook, we actually post stuff on Instagram. It’s always fascinating to me to see a friend with 1500 friends on Facebook only get 25 likes on a photo yet on Instagram (where she has 800 followers) she gets 253. Read more at Medium.

Get a 60-day FREE trial of Covenant Eyes when you use the promo code “wiredhs” when registering. Offer good until 5/11/2015. Register today.

Final Verdict

Unfortunately, Instagram has a dark side. It’s very easy for teens to find porn and the app on smartphones has a built-in browser which can give teens complete, unfiltered access to the Internet.

Unless your teen has proven themselves trustworthy or you plan to closely monitor his activity, I sat avoid this one.

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The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by

Free Comic Book Day is this weekend and I still have a sore throat. I didn’t want to go another week without a podcast so I decided to re-release this interview with Ben Avery about using comics and graphic novels in homeschooling.

You can purchase dead tree versions Ben’s comics and graphic novels at his personal store and get electronic versions at Amazon.

Check out his podcast Strangers and Aliens where he and his co-hosts discuss faith and science fiction.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Plan, track, and organize your homeschool more easily than you ever imagined. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Connect Socially!

* Subscribe, rate, and review the podcast in iTunes

* Join the Facebook page

* Follow @wiredhs

//

* Circle on Google Plus

* Follow John Wilkerson

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Started in 2007, Tumblr has become an outlet for teens to express themselves without having to worry about peer pressure and judgmental comments from others.

Teens have flocked to the service because of its ease of use and ubiquity among their friends but hidden behind the fun animated GIFs and and cool pictures is a dark side that is hard to avoid if you’ve used Tumblr for any length of time.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Stop by booth 903 at Midwest Parent Educators Conference in Kansas City MO April 24-25 to see how Scholaric can help you plan your homeschooling. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” —Albert Einstein

What is Tumblr?

Tumblr is a micro-blogging site that allows users to post just about anything online quickly and easily. It can be used on just about any device with an Internet connection.

The site says of itself: “Tumblr lets you effortlessly share anything. Post text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos from your browser, phone, desktop, email or wherever you happen to be.”

Will Your Teens Want to Use Tumblr?

Due to the anonymous nature and ease which a user can change their account. Tumblr is a place where teens can be themselves and pursue interests without judgment from others:

Remember in the section on Twitter I said, “Twitter is also a place to follow/be followed by a bunch of random strangers, yet still have your identity be attached to it”? Tumblr is a place to follow/be followed by a bunch of random strangers, yet not have your identity be attached to it. Tumblr is like a secret society that everyone is in, but no one talks about. Tumblr is where you are your true self and surround yourself (through who you follow) with people who have similar interests. It’s often seen as a “judgment-free zone” where, due to the lack of identity on the site, you can really be who you want to be. The only Tumblr URLs I know of people in real life are my close friends and vice versa.

Plus, it’s simple in Tumblr to just change your URL if anyone finds you. Your name isn’t attached to that profile at all so without that URL it is pretty difficult to find you again, especially for the typical parent snooping around. This really helps make the site a place where people can post and support others posts. There is a lot of interaction on this website in the form of reblogs because people just simply have feeds of only things they care about (and are then more likely to support with a like/reblog). I wouldn’t say a lot of “socializing” — at least in the way we’ve defined it in our social media society—occurs on the site, but people can really easily meet others worldwide who hold similar interests. This makes it a very alluring site to join for many teenagers, even just to make new friends. —A Teenager’s View on Social Media

What should parents be concerned about?

While a lot of socializing doesn’t occur on the site, there are features that allows anyone to ask your teen anything. In addition, anonymity while beneficial in some cases can lead to trouble in others.

It’s estimated that 20% of the traffic to Tumblr involves porn. That means it’s really easy for your kids to find sexually graphic content.

Snapchat used to be referred to as one of the most dangerous apps for kids to use. The original idea behind it was that any pictures you sent to another person would disappear forever*.

An infusion of venture capital in recent years has led to some changes at Snapchat. Now, major brands like Taco Bell, Intel, Acura, and the Philadelphia Zoo have a presence on the image-sharing app.

If your kids haven’t already asked to install Snapchat you can be assured that they will ask as soon as the find out “all of their friends” are using it too. So is it safe for your teens? What should you be aware of when using the service?

Listen to the podcast or keep reading to find out.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Come see how Scholaric can save you time at the the Midwest Homeschool Convention, in Cincinnati, OH April 9th through the 11th. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat is a social network that allows people to share pictures and videos friends and followers. These updates disappear after a certain amount of time so it creates a sense of urgency and immediacy when someone is notified of any new updates.

Many businesses have seen the benefit of this “immediate consumption” trend and have created their own presences on the social network drawing more people in through contests and unique advertising models. Taco Bell was one of the first brands to use and encourage others to join them on Snapchat.

Will my teens want to use Snapchat?

Oh, yes! It’s the fastest growing social network among teens. In fact, this is the social network where teens feel the most comfortable:

Snapchat is where we can really be ourselves while being attached to our social identity. Without the constant social pressure of a follower count or Facebook friends, I am not constantly having these random people shoved in front of me. Instead, Snapchat is a somewhat intimate network of friends who I don’t care if they see me at a party having fun.

On no other social network (besides Twitter possibly) is it acceptable post an “I’m soooo bored” photo besides Snapchat. There aren’t likes you have to worry about or comments—it’s all taken away. Snapchat has a lot less social pressure attached to it compared to every other popular social media network out there. This is what makes it so addicting and liberating. If I don’t get any likes on my Instagram photo or Facebook post within 15 minutes you can sure bet I’ll delete it. Snapchat isn’t like that at all and really focuses on creating the Story of a day in your life, not some filtered/altered/handpicked highlight. It’s the real you.

—A Teenager’s View on Social Media

Now that users of the service can follow people and brands I think it’s becoming a lot more “normal” for people to use Snapchat.

What should I be concerned about?

First, Snaps disappear. This means that it’s very easy for your kids to hide their activity. Of course, if you have an account and you’re following them too then you can keep an eye on what they’re doing but who wants to constantly check their smartphone to find out if their kids are using Snapchat in a dangerous way.

Second,

BEYOND THE MASK is set to premiere in theaters on April 6, 2015 and according to Hollywood Reporter is poised to set a record for the largest on-demand theatrical opening.

400 volunteers from the homeschooling community helped Burns Family Studios to create the film which had a $4 million budget and stars John Rhys-Davis (Lord of the Rings trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark) as Charles Kemp, Andrew Cheney as William Reynolds, and Kara Killmer (Chicago Fire) as Charlotte Holloway.

About Chad Burns

Chad Burns is a director and actor, known for Pendragon: Sword of His Father (2008) and Beyond the Mask (2015). He has been married to Angela Burns since August 20, 2011.

Chad Burns graduated with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2011. His research investigated human interaction with remote vehicles and focused on understanding how to design better human-like receding-horizon-control navigation algorithms.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Come see how Scholaric can save you time at the the Midwest Homeschool Convention, in Cincinnati, OH April 9th through the 11th. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Movie Synopsis

The leading mercenary for the British East India Company, Will Reynolds has just been double-crossed and now is on the run in the American Colonies. Working to redeem his name and win back the affections of the woman with whom he’s never been fully truthful, Will now hides behind a new mask in hopes of thwarting his former employer. As his past life closes in on him, Will must somehow gain the trust and the help of his beloved Charlotte—as well as Ben Franklin—while he races against time to defuse a plot of historical proportions. Coming to theaters Spring, 2015, BEYOND THE MASK is a revolutionary new family film that brings history to life in a faith-filled adventure celebrating grace, liberty, and the true freedom that can only be found in Christ.

Beyond the Mask is currently available on Amazon to purchase on DVD or stream on-demand. It will be available at Walmart nationwide on Sept. 11th, 2015.

The First Ever Faith-Based Adventure/Family Film

Alongside box-office giants such as Frozen, The Lego Movie and Harry Potter, BEYOND THE MASK is the first Christ-centered film in the family-adventure genre–for the past 30 years, the second most popular movie category in North America.  From 1995 to 2013, the family-adventure box office was $42.33 billion. (Source: Statista.com).

Christian Filmmaking 2.0

In 2014 Hollywood broke the mold as its self-proclaimed “Year of the Bible,” proved 1) the faith market’s viability and 2) the growing range in “faith” films.  Now BEYOND THE MASK combines action, history, fiction, adventure, family, romance, war, and high-end special effects to deliver top production and solid, gospel- centered theology.

Homeschool Filmmakers, Family Studio

Chad and Aaron Burns, a family production team, are Michigan born,

Facebook. The social media titan is everywhere. It’s on your computer, built into cell phones and other mobile devices. You probably can’t go a day without hearing about something someone saw on Facebook even if you don’t have an account.

When your kids start using social media it’s probably the first site they want to use because “all their friends are using it”. Your kids probably watch you use Facebook and ask if you’re going to post pictures of them online or some funny thing they said.

Facebook has become a part of most American’s lives and it’s not going away any time soon. It’s part of American and worldwide culture and as parents and homeschoolers we need to understand how to use it and how to protect our family’s privacy.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Come see how Scholaric can save you time at the the Midwest Homeschool Convention, in Cincinnati, OH April 9th through the 11th. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” —Abigail Adams

Do Teens Use Facebook?

Again, I’m going to refer to the article on Medium about the social media habits of teens:

In short, many have nailed this on the head. It’s dead to us. Facebook is something we all got in middle school because it was cool but now is seen as an awkward family dinner party we can’t really leave. It’s weird and can even be annoying to have Facebook at times. That being said, if you don’t have Facebook, that’s even more weird and annoying. Weird because of the social pressure behind the question, “Everyone has Facebook, why don’t you?” and annoying because you’ll have to answer that to just about everyone in classes you meet who makes an attempt to friend you or find you on there.

Facebook is often used by us mainly for its group functionality. I know plenty of classmates who only go on Facebook to check the groups they are part of and then quickly log off. In this part Facebook shines—groups do not have the same complicated algorithms behind them that the Newsfeed does. It is very easy to just see the new information posted on the group without having to sift through tons of posts and advertising you don’t really care about.

Messaging on Facebook is also extremely popular among our age group, mainly because they provide the means to talk to those people who you weren’t really comfortable with asking for their number but comfortable enough to send them a friend request.

Facebook is often the jumping-off point for many people to try to find you online, simply because everyone around us has it. If I met you one time at some party, I’m not going to try to check Twitter or Instagram to find out who you are. Instead, many opt for the ease of Facebook and the powerful search functionality that gives you results of people who you actually have a chance of knowing (unlike Instagram, whose search functionality, although it improved slightly in the last update, leaves much to be desired).

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Meerkat has become the darling of social media in recent weeks. Many Fortune 500 companies and other popular media outlets have started using it so show “behind the scenes” of their productions.

At SXSW many popular bloggers and celebrities used Meerkat to propel it into the public eye but is it something that homeschoolers can use or should be concerned about?

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Come see how Scholaric can save you time at the the Midwest Homeschool Convention, in Cincinnati, OH April 9th through the 11th. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“To throw obstacles in the way of a complete education is like putting out the eyes.”

—Elizabeth Cady Stanton

What is Meerkat?

The Rules of Meerkat:

1. Everything that happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter.

2. Streams will be pushed to followers in real time via push notifications.

3. People can only watch it live. No reruns.

4. Watchers can re-stream any stream to their followers in real time.

5. Scheduled streams will be distributed in the community by their subscribers.

6. Your own streams can be kept locally on your phone, but never on the cloud.

7. Everyone can watch on web.

8. Be kind.

Will my teen want to use Meerkat?

Absolutely. Meerkat is about what’s happening now and teens are very into what’s currently happening as opposed to seeing what happens 5 minutes ago.

Connect Socially!

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Many parents are unaware that it is possible to homeschool special needs children. Many states like New York offer services to parents of special needs children to assist them. There are also homeschool groups specifically for parents of special needs children.

Mary Fratianni is the Special Needs Coordinator for NYS LEAH and oversees a special chapter within the organization for parents homeschooling special needs children: PICC – Parents Instructing Challenged Children.

PICC LEAH is a network of parents homeschooling, or thinking about home schooling, their child with special learning needs.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Plan, track, and organize your homeschool more easily than you ever imagined. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character lies in their own hands.” —Anne Frank

Questions

1. How long have you been working with parents of special needs children?

2. What is the biggest challenge homeschooling parents of special needs children face?

3. What are some of the advantages of using technology with special needs children? What are some of the disadvantages?

4. What online resources would you recommend to parents of special needs children?

5. Where can parents learn more about PICC?

Online Resources for Homeschoolers of Special Needs Children

Parents Instructing Challenged Children (PICC) – PICC LEAH is a network of parents homeschooling, or thinking about home schooling, their child with special learning needs. PICC LEAH is the special-needs support chapter of NYS LEAH.

Speaking Schedule

I will be speaking at CFHE Homeschool Conference on March 13th, 2015 at 5:30 PM EST via Skype. My topic will be one I get a lot of requests for: A Parent’s Guide to Making Friends Social Media.

Connect Socially!

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

In last week’s podcast I gave a general overview of how you can promote a safe mobile experience for your kids. I want to expand on that in the upcoming weeks by discussing various social media platforms, how teens are using them today, and whether or not it’s safe for your teens to be using these platforms.

Note my use of the word “teen”. This is important. Many social media networks unless they are specifically designed for younger kids have a minimum age requirement of 13. There are many good reasons for this and hopefully you’ll learn why I’ve chosen to wait to introduce my kids to social media.

This week I’m talking about Twitter.

Twitter describes itself as a service that “helps you create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.” It is a micro-blogging service that is mostly used to share information and news. It used to be more about brief conversations but that has change over the years.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Plan, track, and organize your homeschool more easily than you ever imagined. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“Education is a fundamental principle of what made America a success. We can’t afford to throw any young people away.” —Dr. Benjamin Carson

Do teens use Twitter?

A teen wrote an article on Medium about how his generation views certain social media platforms. I’ll be referencing this article throughout the series. He had this to say about Twitter:

To be honest, a lot of us simply do not understand the point of Twitter. There is always a core group at every school that uses it very religiously to tweet and another group that uses it to simply watch or retweet, but besides that many don’t use it. It also isn’t extremely easy to find friends on the site and many just use it to complain about school in a setting where their parents/family members (not necessarily employers) are likely not to see it.

Twitter is a place to follow/be followed by a bunch of random strangers, yet still have your identity be attached to it (this distinction will be important later on). Your tweets are also easily searchable on Twitter which is good but not good if you want to be yourself and not have it follow you around when you’re trying to land a job. Thus, to others Twitter is used like Facebook—you post with the assumption that your employer will see it one day.

There are then three main groups of Twitter users: the ones who use it to complain/express themselves, the ones who tweet with the assumption that their prospective employer will eventually see whatever they are saying, and the ones who simply look at other Tweets and do the occasional RT.

Basically, teens are out there using Twitter but it’s not really a service that keeps them glued to their smartphones.

Is Twitter safe for my teen?

Twitter is relatively safe. There are some security and privacy settings which are very helpful. Objectionable content is easy to find just like any other service and there are ways to have Twitter notify you if the content in your feed may be objectionable.

The best way for your teen to stay safe on Twitter is to make their profile private by enabling “protected Tweets”. This means that only accounts your teen personally approves can follow their account. Turning off location services, photo tagging,

Social media is a virtual minefield that some parents find difficult to safely navigate. This week I’m sharing some practical tips for parents to implement in their homes to help keep their sanity and also teach their teens to use social media responsibly.

The Wired Homeschool is underwritten by Scholaric: The homeschool planner that SAVES you time. Plan, track, and organize your homeschool more easily than you ever imagined. Start your free trial at today.

Thanks to all the individual patrons who have supported the podcast.

Quote of the Week

“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.

Speaking Schedule

I will be speaking at CFHE Homeschool Conference on March 13th, 2015 at 5:30 PM EST via Skype. My topic will be one I get a lot of requests for: A Parent’s Guide to Making Friends Social Media.

Connect Socially!

Leave a Voicemail

You can call 518-290-0228 to leave me a message or use this convenient widget to record a message right from your computer.

Etc.

Want to be notified of any upcoming news regarding the podcast or if I’m speaking in your area? Join my spam-free mailing list. You’ll receive monthly updates and news about future projects and I’ll let you know if I’m speaking in your area at a homeschooling convention.

The Wired Homeschool is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. For more family-friendly tech podcasts visit techpodcasts.com

Music for the podcast by Kevin Macleod.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”