Category: technology

Upcoming Salon: How Do We Talk to Kids About Film?

[ 0 ] January 11, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

I look forward to being part of this upcoming Salon at the Providence Athenaeum. Sponsored by the Providence Children’s Film Festival (PCFF).

How Do You Talk to Kids About Film?
Friday, January 25th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm

For the parents:

Join the Providence Children’s Film Festival (PCFF) for an informal panel discussion about watching films with your children. Leading the conversation will be special guests:

Dr. Renee Hobbs, Professor + Founding Director, Harrington School of Communication and Media, URI
Anisa Raoof, Founder + Editor, Kidoinfo
Eric Bilodeau, Director of Programming, PCFF

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PCL is the new home for the Statewide Reference Resource Center - AskRI.org

[ 0 ] August 20, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

As of July 1, 2024 Providence Community Library became the new home of the Statewide Reference Resource Center (SRRC). The SRRC provides quality reference services, online databases and electronic resources to everyone in Rhode Island.

As host to the SRRC, PCL will provide technical support for statewide online electronic resources and AskRI.org (the portal to access those online electronic resources), marketing and publicity for AskRI and its resources, and education for library staff and the general public on the use of AskRI. PCL will also provide reference services to all Rhode Islanders and Rhode Island libraries. These reference services are available to the general public via email, chat, or phone every day but Sunday.

AskRI.org has a wealth of free, online education resources and services available. Just whatâ€™s so great about the AskRI.org resources?

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Broadband Rhode Island Digital Literacy Program

[ 0 ] August 15, 2024 | Jill Davidson

The Broadband Rhode Island (BBRI) Digital Literacy program aims to educate Rhode Islanders who lack access to and information about technology through a freely available curriculum, volunteer instructors, and face-to-face classes based in communities and locations where the need for digital literacy education is highest.

Learn more about the program…

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Family Matters: Five ways to celebrate Dad on Father’s Day!

[ 0 ] June 14, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

1. Quality time with the kids. A family outing or just dad and the kids may start with breakfast at home or at his favorite diner or coffee shop followed by an afternoon outing like a trip to the beach, park, or museum. My husband loves having bagels and lox at home as much as dining out at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket or Julian’s on the West Side.

2. An event. Give a gift-certificate (for two, if it includes you) to his favorite local restaurant or tickets to a sports game or music concert.

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Batchbook Superhero Contest Winner: Kidoinfo

[ 0 ] May 24, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

Totally awed and humbled that I’ve been granted “Superhero” status thanks to the folks at Batchbook. In honor of National Small Business Week, they selected me as one of their customers they feel deserved this award because of “my unflinching work to make the small business universe a better place.” Although I’m not in the same league as The Avengers (as my sons pointed out, since I do not have a cool suit like Iron Man or Black Widow and I did not gross a bazillion dollars last weekend), I try my best to make my community a better place by connecting families with local happenings and fun things to do with their kids offline. I first learned about Batchbook shortly after I launched Kidoinfo and realized I needed a better way to manage the myriad of people I meet on the playground, around town, and online. Thanks to Batchbook, I have made many new friends and business connections and am able to manage these connections to better run my business.

As a thank you, Batchbook delivered these awesome cupcakes to my doorstep yesterday. Deliciously made by Sin.

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Highlander Institute Hosts Day Long Conerence on Integrating Online Learning in the Classroom

[ 0 ] May 11, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

I am passionate about this topic. Integrating digital media into the classroom requires thoughtful consideration and training to make it an effective, inspiring, and beneficial learning opportunity for our students. I applaud Highlander Institute for taking the lead in hosting this event - open to anyone interested in learning more about the concept including teachers, administrators, parents, etc. (7 credit hours are available for the day conference.)

Highlander Institute, a regional provider of high quality professional development in education, presents the Blended Learning & Technology Conference on Saturday, May 19, 2024 from 8:30 am â€“ 4:00 pm.

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Family Matters: 20 Ideas for Screen-Free Week

[ 0 ] April 27, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

It’s time for Screen-Free Week (April 30-May 6, 2012), the national celebration where children, families, schools, and communities spend seven days turning off entertainment screen media and turning on life. Itâ€™s a time, as the organizers say, “to unplug and play, read, daydream, create, explore, and spend more time with family and friends.”

Are you up for the challenge. Here’s how it works in our family…

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Plugged In - on technology integration

[ 0 ] March 27, 2024 | Jill Davidson

Jill Davidson shares her thoughts on a subject that has been very much on my mind these days. We are a plugged-in family at home (with boundaries) and my sons attend a Providence Public Elementary School where funding is limited, curriculum is rigid, and creative solutions are needed. Because of the amazing teachers, helpful staff, dedicated parents, and community partnerships, my boys have had for the most part a wonderful school experience. Since teachers need adequate working technology for teaching and to facilitate communication between teachers and with parents and since not all kids attending public school have the same technology advantages at home (and that I believe integrating technology thoughtfully into our children’s lives is an essential part of their education), I have recently attended meetings to discuss how we can improve / bring technology into their elementary school. Thank you, Jill for starting this conversation online, explaining the complexities of this issue and sharing what is happening in Rhode Island. Jill’s article appears in her April 2012’s East Side Monthly column. Read the well-edited online version here and in the print publication.- Anisa

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Family Matters: Keeping Your Kidsâ€™ Tech in Check

[ 2 ] January 6, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

Digital media is all around us these days and my kids (age 10) are becoming more a part of it every day. I hosted a Kidoinfo conversation in 2010 Raising Kids in a DIgital World (RKIDW) to discuss the role of technology in our children’s lives.

Kids these days have greater access to technology - at home, in school, at the library and even the grocery store. So what are kids doing with these computers, smart phones and mp3 players? Some have their own email accounts, log onto educational sites like PBSkids, participate in social networking sites like Farmville or Club Penguin, download music onto their iPod, make videos or write their own blog. The digital world provides our children new ways to play, learn, and communicate, but what does this mean in terms of play, education, and safety?

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Steve Jobs: 1955-2011

[ 0 ] October 6, 2024 | Anisa Raoof

Today I remember Steve Jobs and his immense influence on my life, my work and my family. I went to college with a typewriter and left using a Mac Classic. Apple has been part of my world ever since; as an artist, designer and a business owner. Every part of Kidoinfo is created on a […]

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