I’m a big fan of the Internet. I’m also a big fan of kids doing stuff online. That should come as no surprise—I did publish a book with my daughter (The Stephanies!) and helped her turn her drawings into $675 for Haiti in the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake.
The Internet enables a lot of cool things and age is not a problem. In fact, kids often come up with the best ideas.
That’s why it’s important that we help our kids understand the Internet and make the most of it. There’s a lot of potential online, both for harm and for good. Frankly, I’m tired of the sad stories of pathetic things people have done online. I don’t want to read another story about students being expelled over something posted on Facebook. I’d much rather hear about the cool things kids are doing online:
- Like coding and selling their own Justin Bieber whack-a-mole app, Bustin Jieber.
- Or launching a fashion magazine that would make Oprah jealous.
- Or creating an artificial intelligence to better diagnose breast cancer (I don’t even understand that one).
Every example above is a project launched by someone under 18. How cool is that?
And they’re all in the free ebook, Kids Creating Stuff Online: Inspiring the Innovators of the Future.
It’s a project I put together for WordPress theme and plugin developer iThemes that explores how kids can create stuff online. Initially we were going to explore kids coding, but as I got into the topic it seemed so much more interesting to explore kids creating all kinds of stuff online. So we talk about coding, design, writing, music, causes and so much more.
The book explores the benefits kids get from creating stuff online, from becoming better thinkers to improving their relational skills.
Then it explores how kids can create stuff online, practical strategies and tips to make things easier.
There’s a section about being safe and smart online, how educators can help kids create stuff online and a slew of resources and tools to help kids. All throughout the book are examples of kids creating cool stuff.
It’s a fun project and I hope you’ll check it out and pass it along to your friends. After all, it’s free. Grab a copy: Kids Creating Stuff Online: Inspiring the Innovators of the Future.