In this episode I talk to Ken Corish about the use of AI in education, we move the conversation on from whether young people will use AI to 'cheat' in school and consider some of the innovative ways educators can use AI.
Ken mentions South West Grid for Learning's AI policy for schools. You can access it here.
In this episode Andy and I discuss the problems with surveys about young people and the digital world. We give some advice for navigating seemingly scary statistics, and consider how some people use numbers to support claims that don't necessarily reflect the findings.
We discuss a couple of surveys you may be interested in. The Children's Commissioners Office report can be found here.
The EU Kids Online and Global Kids Online surveys can be found here.
Finally, I mentioned a survey in Florida, which can be accessed by clicking here.
In this episode Andy and I discuss the pitfalls of age verification technology. We look at why age verification is flawed, consider whether it will effectively prevent young people accessing pornography and reflect on how relying on prohibitive approaches have failed in the past.
In this episode, Andy and I discuss deepfake nudes, the term used for sexual images or videos that have made me using AI. We talk about the risks to young people and professionals from this technology. We also briefly discuss the (admittedly rare) phenomenon of people having romantic relationships with AI assistants.
We mention a few resources - the first one is the Revenge Porn Helpline, available for any adults who have had intimate images of them non-consensually shared (even if they are AI).
The same support is available for young people, through the Take It Down service.
I also mention Fearless.org, where young people can anonymously report crime.
Andy mentioned an article in the Financial Times, it's available here but you need a subscription to read it.
In this episode Andy and I discuss the concerns that adults and professionals may have around Artifical Intelligence (AI) and social media, especially as it relates to young people.
We think about how some of the problems of AI are actually not all that different to problems we've seen on and offline over the years, and the solution is one which we're very fond of talking about at Headstart: Critical Thinking!
Have a listen and share with anyone who you think might be worried about young people, AI and social media.
In this episode Andy and I talk about issues specific to young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and the digital world.
We mention the SEND guidance, which we created to help all the adults around a child or young person with SEND - you can access it here: https://www.headstartkernow.org.uk/send-digital-resilience-guidance/
We're back for a new series! Today Andy and I talk about how to be tech positive. We reflect about why it's so hard to focus on the good things about the digital world when we talk to young people, and then explore what some of those positives might be, both for young people and ourselves. We finish up with a chat about putting a tech positive approach into action.
In this episode Andy and I discuss some of the issues raised by the Netflix drama Adolescence.
Andy mentions that he was on national radio recently, if you want to hear him, you can find it here - Andy's section starts about an hour in.
I reference a number of previous episodes of the podcast - these are:
Ep 35 - Interview with Maddy Street about Online Misogyny
Ep 29 - Online Hate Harm Reduction
Ep 26 - Risk tolerance vs risk aversion
Ep 20 - Curating your feed
Ep 16 - Bullying
Ep 12 - Reporting Hate Speech
Ep 10 - Talking to young people
In this episode Andy and I talk about age restrictions on social media and the current discussions about whether the minimum age should be increased to sixteen. We also talk about a range ways to support your child if you're concerned that they're having issues linked to social media, and consider how these might not be all that different to issues parents may have had when they were teenagers.
I also mention a previous podcast about how to start these conversations with young people, if you want to listen back, it was Episode 10.
There's lots more resources available to support parents on the Headstart website, so check it out if you want to know more:
In this episode we talk about recent media stories about Roblox and what parents really need to consider if their children are Roblox fans. We have a chat about age ratings, and how to respond to 'pester power.' We finish up with a chat about whether gaming is addictive, and what to do if you're worried your child is spending too long playing games.
In this episode Andy and I talk about the Dark Web. We explain the difference between the dark web and the deep web, and how they are different to privacy tools you may use at work, such as VPNs. We then go on to talk about the importance of privacy, and why keeping too close a watch on your child's digital world might push them to use the deep/dark web.
In this episode we talk about parental controls and ask if they are effective. We discuss the various problems with using parental controls, especially with older children. We also chat about what the benefits of using various controls are.
I mention a survey which talks about young people's online experience, if you want to know more about it, you can find out here.
In this parent's podcast we talk about whether parents need to worry about giving their child a smart phone, whether 'dumb phones' (like the old Nokia phones) are a good alternative and what parents can do to help their child learn to use a smart phone safely.
Andy mentions a piece he wrote for the Conversation recently, which you can read here.
Welcome to the first episode of our new mini-series for parents! Today, we’re diving into a topic that might seem tricky: sexting. We talk about the law affecting under 18s and share some friendly tips on how to discuss this with your teenagers. We’ll also go over common pitfalls and how to steer clear of them.
If you’re a parent of a teen—or if you know someone who is—give this episode a listen, share it with others, and remember, as we always say here: Don’t Panic!
In the latest episode of the podcast we talk to Dr Laura Higson-Bliss, Lecturer at Law School at Keele University (and one of my PhD supervisors) about online self-harm content, whether it can be regulated, and if so, whether it should be.
As always, we include some practical advice for anyone supporting young people. Laura also mentions some training she did with Mind, you can find details of their training here.
I also mention the Youth Mental Health First Aid training, which you can find out more about here.
In this episode Andy and I chat with Jen Persson from Defend Digital Me about all things Data Privacy. We cover everything from the data that schools collect about students, to the ways they do it and the mysterious process of developing the technology that is used in schools to scan children's finger prints, blood vessels and faces.
Andy and Jen mention the case of Robbins v Lower Merrion School District, in which schools accessed the webcams of their students outside of school hours to monitor their behaviour. You can read more about that here.
Jen also mentions Pippa King, if you want to know more about her work, you can watch her TedX Talk here.
I also mention my website, Packshare, which you can find here.
In this episode we interview another Street - this time a relation - my amazing sister Maddy Street, who works for Prevent and developed some educational resources about tackling misogyny. Maddy shares her experience of talking to young people about the subject, including the highs and lows, along with some great advice for anyone thinking of broaching the subject with groups of young people.
Maddy mentions a few places you can find great resources to discuss misogyny in the classroom, these are:
Votes for Schools - in particular this blog
You can also read my short blog on the topic here.
In this episode, Andy and I chat to Johnny Hunt - sex education specialist and senior lecturer in childhood and youth studies. We talk about a range of issues related to sex education and the digital world, including what young people want to know about, what parents and professionals need to know to have conversations about sex with young people and how to discuss the nuance around consent and related subjects.
Johnny mentions a number of resources, the Hedge Porn article is here: https://inews.co.uk/opinion/hedge-porn-stories-vanish-historical-records-1525771
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZwvrxVavnQ
In this episode Andy and I continue our series of chatting with people from across the Online Harms world. Today we talk to Georgia Street (no relation), from the Revenge Porn Helpline and the Professionals Online Safety Helpline, both run by South West Grid for Learning.
If you want to get in touch with either helplines, their details are below:
Revenge Porn Helpline: call 0345 6000 459 or email help@revengepornhelpline.org.uk
Professionals Online Safety Helpline: call 0344 381 4772 or email helpline@saferinternet.org.uk
In this episode, Andy and I chat with Ken Corish about Project Evolve.
Ken mentions a couple of reports which you might want to check out:
Ofcom - Online Nation Report, 2023
Department for Education - Generative AI in Education