In a sea of apps and resources, Common Sense has led the way in curating and recommending different electronic resources for use in classrooms and outside of school.
One of the wonderful things about technology is that it is constantly evolving. This can also be daunting, and at times, scary. In the spirit of being proactive and recognizing this, Common Sense has also curated a list of apps for both parents and teachers to be aware of. For educators and parents of secondary students, these are apps that are more likely to be in use – and there are issues we should know. These issues could be related to interactions with others, privacy concerns, or even content. Each of the apps highlighted on this Common Sense post are free and easily downloaded. Stay one step ahead!
BIGO LIVE for example, lets students stream live videos of themselves and comment on videos that others have posted – meaning that content can err on the more mature side.
BitLife is a life simulation game, where the player makes different “life choices.” Many of the choices have consequences. It’s possible for students to make choices to drink and do drugs with their profiles, for example. Everything is text-based, so no graphics are shown.
Discord is essentially a social networking platform geared toward gamers. While mature areas are labeled for adults only, it is fairly straightforward for teens to access, and there are private chat features.
Another general issue is that while these apps often require users to be 17 or older, this is easily worked-around. If this becomes a concern for you, Common Sense has done much of the legwork for you by compiling these details and reviews!
