It’s show time for the digital toy business. Time to trot out previews of the summer’s releases.  This season offerings has a few recurrent themes. First is low price. Almost all of the manufacturers are selling less expensive variations on their older toys.  The second trend is all about using the body and brain in combination. [...]

Apple has more than 50,000 of them. RIM’s, Verizon’s, and Palm’s are gaining momentum. We’re talking mobile apps, and at the recent CEA Lineshows, Peter Rojas, founder of Engadget and soon Gdgt.com, and Michael Gartenberg, vice president of analysis at Interpret, presided over the event which was sponsored by the Mobile Entertainment Forum. Ten mobile apps [...]

There’s a growing movement afoot to give the seal of approval to Dad, often the forgotten part of the child rearing equation. Not only are more dads staying home with the kids (80% of layoffs in the recession have been males), but they have a unique perspective on raising kids.
Just in time for Father’s Day, [...]

It’s getting harder for kids to discern the difference between cheating and using technology.
I used to write about the “cut and paste your way to an A” phenomena. Kids got so used to cutting and pasting text from the web into their documents that they failed to see the fine line between research and plagiarism.

Have you tried shopping for educational toys  for young kids lately?
It’s a jungle out there.  If you’re looking to help them practice  reading, math, critical thinking, color matching  … whatever, there are hundreds to choose from ranging from the mundane to the sublime. And no way to know for sure much about what’s inside the box.
Leapfrog, [...]

Report from Digital Downtown

Held in NYC this week, CEALineShows/Digital Downtown a June preview event focused on innovation and a sneak peak at the holiday season drew its share of news. Here’s what some attendees had to say.
The Geek in Chief Addresses the Crowd
Does it take to long to renew your driver’s liscense?  Is [...]

If I had a dime for every spam mail offering me a free college degree, I’d be up to my ears in diplomas. Online colleges have a mixed-bag history of snake oil and success.
University of the People is out to legitimize free. Not only is a college degree free, anyone who has access to a [...]

There’s a whole new world launching today. It’s Kidlandia, a world that your kids build online and then turn into a souvenir high-quality printed map. Meant for parents and kids to use in tandem, the map becomes the catalyst for storytelling.

Let’s get the bias out in the open. I’m not a gamer, though I have a deep appreciation of the art of the game. If you think all gamers and their gaming machines are created equal, think again. At E3 Expo last week I got to evaluate the game milieus and the crowds they drew, [...]