Kids

While many of us are still recovering from New Year’s celebrations, Amazon is considerably clearer-headed: it wants us ready for the winter school term that’s about to start. Appropriately, it’s offering a surprisingly steep discount on the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 for students. Americans headed back to class can get $50 off the price of Continue Reading →

If you have a penchant for learning at home or on the move, 2012 saw a slew of handy apps that could help you in your endeavors. Indeed, The Next Web covered thousands of apps throughout this year, from nifty new browser extensions, to the latest game-changing Android and iOS apps, so we sifted through Continue Reading →

Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s ban on cellphones in NYC Public Schools, my 10 year-old daughters carry a cellphone to school every day. Like hundreds of thousands of other NYC students, they keep them in their backpacks turned off during the school day, and then activate them after school so they can text and call me when Continue Reading →

New advertising rules may have lifted a major barrier to Facebook’s long-held desire of signing up children under 13 years of age. The Federal Trade Communication revised the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) to exclude parental consent from ads that are based on behavior, rather than personal information. So-called “contextual advertisements” would permit Facebook Continue Reading →

I hope we can all agree that throwing technology at children will not make them smarter. Let’s start there, because we are throwing a lot of technology at kids these days. Computers have made their way into many classrooms. Shockingly (and sadly), not all classrooms and educators, schools and parents stay up to date. Tablets Continue Reading →

Amazon’s just launched Free Time Unlimited for its range of Kindle Fire tablets. It offers unlimited access to age-restricted movies, games and books for kids, for $3 a month. Essentially a subscription service for children, the service lets you tell Amazon your offspring’s gender and age, and then a custom library of books, movies, apps Continue Reading →

So when is it appropriate to purchase this kind of technology for your kids? As far as I'm concerned, it's never too soon. An 18 month to 2 year old will immediately know what to do with your old, hand-me-down iPad. It's a great way to give the little ones in your life their first hands-on tablet experience. Continue Reading →

A Facebook profile dedicated to making students feel good about themselves has gone viral, spreading kindness to colleges across the U.S. and Canada. “Queens U Compliments,” the brainchild of four students attending Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, publishes anonymous compliments, and tags the objects of affection. “If there is something nice you have to say Continue Reading →

If you’ve been spending way too little time with your tablet because it’s usually in the hands of your kids, it may be time to think about getting them one of their own. Plus, like it or not, a portable tablet is a great way to keep kids entertained on a plane or a long Continue Reading →

A smartphone app which provides summaries of news stories soared to number nine in Apple’s app store just two hours after its release in the US. The app, called Summly, was designed by 17-year-old Londoner Nick D’Aloisio, and has received more than $1m in funding from investors. High-profile supporters include Stephen Fry, Tech City CEO Joanna Shields Continue Reading →