Joi Podgorny

I did a quick video to invite local SLC folks to a couple events that I am helping facilitate.

1. Creative Mornings SLC

I will be hosting this month’s Creative Mornings talk on the global theme of REVOLUTION.  Impact Hub SLC has generously offered to host the space.  Doors open at 8:30 for breakfast and coffee and talk will start at 9am.  It’s FREE and open to the public, but RSVP if you think you will be coming so we have an idea of the crowd.  🙂

2. Jumpstart Mondays @ Impact Hub SLC

I am also helping facilitate a Monday morning speaker series at Impact Hub SLC called Jumpstart Mondays.  Local social entrepreneurs getting together to talk about their different projects and have great conversations with their peers.  What a great way to start a week, right?

Hope to see you soon!

Excited to spread the word about Anne Collier​’s new project – ICanHelpline​: Building an Online Social Media Support Helpline for Schools.

It’ll be a place schools can call or email for help with cyberbullying, sexting, reputation and other issues involving students and staff in their communities – help with navigating sites and apps, reporting abuse, getting content taken down that violates terms of service, etc.

The Indiegogo campaign JUST launched – please considered donating.  If you can’t help fund, please help spread the word. This is a MUCH needed resource and if this pilot gets funded and works, we can have it spread nationwide for all schools.

I was interviewed on the Metaverse blog re: my recent Sandbox Summit trip, here it is:

Welcome back, fellow Sandbox Summit Alum! I know you’ve spoken at the event before regarding your work on Animal Jam. Can you share a bit about your history with MIT’s Sandbox Summit, and your previous experience?

Sandbox summit is a great forum of Creative Professionals from the Kids’ Entertainment and EdTech worlds.  This is one of the more inspiring conferences I attend – all of the attendees are so invested in making high-quality content for children and families.  You really get to engage with high integrity folks at this show.

Following the conference on Twitter was great (#Sandbox2015) — and it seems to have really blossomed this year! Can you share any high-level insights on the conference overall from last year to this year?

I think everyone has completely embraced the APP world at this point – that seemed to be the biggest platform of discussion.  It was more about how we can leverage this medium for more engagement, fun, learning, play, etc.  The Maker movement was another theme that recurred – robotics, circuitry and other tinkering sorts of activities were prevalent in many of the demos.

I LOVE the theme this year — ‘Imagining a Playful Society.’ There seemed to be a stronger app/game approach to the conference.  What interesting products or speakers did you see that support the approach of using games to inspire play?

“Play” was a great way to engage the audience of the conference.  There were a couple audience participation moments – a room full of execs playing patty-cake, and a full-room dance party were definitely both memorable moments.  There were also some thoughtful conversations around AR/VR and if/how/should they fit into gameplay.  Also – if you haven’t checked out Caine’s Arcade yet – click NOW and watch this.

There were a few big content themes this year: Education (as always), Health, and Digital Usage. Please share a bit about how you saw these areas fit with the overall “Imagining a Playful society” theme?

Education is always a big theme at Sandbox, but expressing how FUN and PLAY could fit in is important.  When are games right in the classroom, how to incorporate into curriculum and how to measure efficacy were all topics of discussion.

Google Play Store did a great presentation discussing the tools and resources they have for app developers.  We (the community and social media folks) love the Play Store’s ability to respond to your app customers reviews – as it gives you a chance to thank them for your feedback or let them know you heard their issues and are working on them.

In the mass market, we don’t always see the huge success rates with educational tech as we do with licensed entertainment products.  What was the conversation like around educational tech this year?

Seeing as these are the people who make and market those types of games – it was a positive conversation. That said, they are a practical and critical bunch. They do not accept the status quo, but rather keep wanting to push the industry forward.  Many of them have come from the entertainment arena and have migrated to the educational tech space, so that spirit of fun/entertainment drives them as much as the learning.

For the parents and teachers who could not attend – what do you think is important to knowledge to share from the Summit?  Do you have any concerns that blossomed from the Summit for teachers? Parents?

PlayScience released their new report regarding how parents show gender bias toward their child’s tech use. It’s definitely worth a read for both parents and teachers as they raise kids with the growing advancements and opportunities of digital products and technology.

For those in the business of tech for youth/family – what would you say are the top take-aways from the event?  Or products/people to look out for?

I have already downloaded the app Spot by one of my step-children’s (and husband’s) favorite picture book authors, David Wiesner.

Also, I saw a very cool app/device management program from Intel called K-12 Blueprint, that should be especially helpful in those school districts utilizing the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) model. It’s a program that can benefit many types of districts, including low-income.

Is there anything else you’d love to share with us about the Summit? 

Just a shot out to one of the sponsors DonorsChoose.org.  It’s a great site that I have been donating through for a while.  It allows teachers and schools to set up Kickstarter-style campaigns for crowdfunding.  The organization generously gave each attendee a $50 gift-card to help us start funding our favorite projects.  I already have my eye on a couple great opportunities for my step-kids’ school.

So I took a couple long planned vacations this summer – one of which just ended.  We were at the awesome Oskar Blues Brewery in Lyons, Colorado and our amazingly sweet server came to our table with the most enormous bowl of homemade mac n cheese we had ever seen.  Apparently, the chef was testing out specials and gave it to her to try.  Alas, she’s hoped off the gluten train, so she offered her bounty to us.  And I devoured it.  I have little self control when it comes to mac n cheese, so I rarely make or order it.  But the vacation gods saw fit to bestow this unto our table – who were we to protest.

Now chocolate, I like that too.  But I usually only take a bite or two at most and I am satiated.  Most sweets are like that for me.  I like them, but they don’t move me, not like a cheesy pile of starch can.  (Don’t even get me started on how fried chicken speaks to me.)

So do I eat cheesy starch goodness daily or even weekly?  No.  Because it’s not good to do that for waistlines, arteries and a host of other healthy, albeit annoying, reasons.

Why I am I writing this?  Because I would like the tech-shaming masses to slow their roll.

Guess what else I do all the time – use tech.  And not just my trusty cell, no, I am on tablets, laptops, old devices the kids are using – you name it.  Gadgets are ever-present. And I am working, I am liking and sharing things, I am documenting with pictures, reviews and ratings.  I am interneting all over the place, all the time!

EGADS!  She must be so unengaged!  Her poor family and friends!

But wait – I am also walking the dogs, making dinner, going for runs/bike-rides/hikes, helping (forcing) the kids with their homework/reading minutes, cleaning the house, lounging in the pool/hammock, traveling all over the world/country/state. Basically, all of the things.

And yes – sometimes, I am doing the tech things when I am doing the non-tech things.

Send positive thoughts to her loved ones!

Actually – It’s ok – because I have been able to practice moderation in my actions with tech, just as I have been able to do with cheese covered tater tots, nachos and fried chicken.

I can check Yelp or Pinterest and then check back into the conversation I was having – usually with more information to add to the conversation, as I was using the network to reference or enhance said conversation.  Because I am usually not disengaging for the conversation at all – more multi-tasking.

I upload tons of pictures of my various adventures to Facebook – not because I am a braggart or narcissist – but because I now live 1000 miles from my parents, siblings, cousins and other extended family who share the deep craving I have to connect in the same way we once did at monthly family bbqs.  Liking posts/pics and making silly, seemingly benign comments helps make that craving sting less.

And yes – I too can feel my step-kids eyes on me if they walk into the room and I am killing time on a game on my phone or tablet.  But guess what?! – I can also turn the game off!  Because I am a grown up and I have control over my actions.

If someone you know truly can’t multi-task in a conversation or is not paying attention to their kids because of the new phone-game-du-jour – they may have an addiction problem.  See if they need help.

But lay off the rest of us who are embracing this brave new world of information, engagement and, dare I say it, CONNECTION with other humans. Some of us can handle it – we can email/tweet/pin something for you about it. 😛