I’m
sure many are excitedly waiting on the Start of September 2014. In that month,
a select number of High Schools will be receiving subsidized Tablets costing
JA$5000 under the JA$800 million E-Learning Project II as detailed in my blog article
entitled “Ministry
of Science and Technology signs four Contractors in March 2014 to procure Tablets
- Test Pilot Project in September 2014 means Teachers can monetize e-books”.
At a subsidized price of JA$5000 for a Tablet, the Test Pilot
project marks the start of the modernization of the Jamaica Teaching System in
a shift away from a situation where Teachers teach and Students take notes to a
more interactive learning experience that more Student-centric and encourages
students to be explorative of knowledge and information.
It
also means that the Teacher can have better contact with their students vie the
Internet as well as the students can also use the Tablets to do research hat
home once they have Broadband Internet at home. Tablets and smartphones do
indeed make children smarter, if a 2011 Survey by Online
Student Assistance website StudyBlue
as stated in my Geezam blog article
entitled “StudyBlue
reveals Smartphones, Tablets make you smarter – The Big Bang Theory on Google” is to be believed as stated.
But
as I’d mentioned in the blog article, there is the possibility that students
can use their Tablets to access other forms of content other than the teaching
material that the Tablets will be pre-loaded with.
There
is a need for Parents to become educated in the ways of the Tablets. There is also
a need to understand the various ways that one can lock down their Tablets
using the built in security features as well as employ CMS (Content Management
Software) to monitor their activity on their Tablets as well as stated in “Kids
Get New Tablets Over the Holidays? Here’s How to Lock ’Em Down”, published
DECEMBER 27, 2013 AT 5:00 AM PT by Lauren Goode, All
Things Digital.
To
this end, if you’re a Parent reading this and you have chosen to buy your Child
a Tablet for September 2014, be it an Apple iPad or Apple iPad Mini or even a
Google Android Tablet, know then that you have to become more educated in how
your Tablets functions as well as the dangers that lurk on the Internet and how
to prevent your Child from accessing them.
After
all, they are your Children.
Unlike
the other things in your life that you can ignore, you have to pay close
attention to them and the things the like to watch on TV and toys they like to
play with. Young Children ages 3 to 12 and Teenagers ages 13 to 17 are in their
formative years, the years that matter. Their experiences with their usage of
Technology will shape them into the men and women that they will become in the
future.
Otherwise
changes in their lives will alter their perception in the world. Especially if
they have unfettered access to content on the Internet that they at their age
should not have access e.g. Pornography, Music with Sexually suggestive or
expletive language.
In
this my first Defense against the Dark Arts, Harry Potter Style, for Tablets
and smartphones, I’ll explain the basic steps one can take to lock down your Child’s
Tablet or smartphone as well as CMS (Content Management Software) that you can
use to safeguard and monitor your Child over the Internet.
Be
warned, though, you as a Parent will have to upgrade your outlook, both on a
spiritual, physical and intellectual level on Mobile Computing and eventually
get yourself a Smartphone or Tablet in order to fully understand what I’m about
to impart to you, Tat Brotherhood Style.
Defense Against the
Dark Arts - How to Lock down your Child’s
Tablet or smartphone
Apps,
little programs that can run on your Child’s Tablet or smartphone, are the main
type of content that can be accessed on any Tablet or smartphone! However,
before you start getting lockdown crazy with your Child’s Tablet or smartphone,
it best to do the following initially:
1. Talk
to your Child and tell them not to go to those websites in the first place
2. Explain
to them why they are not to go on websites or purchase Apps that have Adult
content
3. Replace
Credit card with Prepaid VISA Debit Cards such as Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card with
limited amount of Cash
4. Make
the Child responsible for the refilling of the money on their Prepaid VISA
Debit Card, in the process teaching them the value of Money and how it
translates into Foreign Exchange
Thus
your strategy for locking down your Child’s Tablet or smartphone should be as
thus:
1. Block
their ability to download Apps of a certain maturity level
2. Block
their ability to download Apps beyond what's you’ve installed on the Tablet or
smartphone
3. Block
their ability to install alternate Browsers or use the Built-in Browser
4. Track
their activity on the Browsers using Notifications sent to email
5. Install
CMS (Content Management Software) software to monitor content on the Tablet or
smartphone
First
off the bat for the non-tech savvy Parent, you need to know the following; all
new content on your Child’s Apple iPad, Apple iPhone of Google Android Tablet
or smartphone can only be accessed via:
1. The
App Stores created by Apple and Google
2. The
Browsers, both the built in Native Browsers and Third Party Browsers
The
App Stores created by Apple and Google are as listed below and are the chief
source of Apps, both Free and Paid:
As
for the Browsers, they are the next Portal to access content on your Child’s Tablet
or smartphone. They can access Browsers and Apps from these App Stores, but the
Browsers give them access to Websites and Web Apps, many of which can run in
your Tablet or smartphone without installing file of Apps.
In
the Tablet and smartphone World, aside from the built in Android Browsers in
Google Android Tablets and Smartphones, there are only three (3) main Browsers
for smartphones and Tablets:
1. Apple
Safari
2. Google
Chrome
3. Opera
Mini
There
are others, but not so well known but easily accessible via searching the App
Stores. Those other Browsers are less popular and pose little threat to Parents,
as Children tend to gravitate to the Brand Name Browsers that they know and
have heard about!
Whether
it is the App stores or the Browsers on your Child’s Tablet or smartphone, of
greater concern to you should be the free and proprietary Games such as Rovio’s Juice
Cubes, PopCap’s Bejeweled
and iWin’s JewelQuest,
King’s Candy Crush Saga
and even Threes!.
As described in my blog article
entitled “Threes!,
an Engaging Mathematics Puzzle Game for Apple iOS - Sudoku in Multiples of
Three by Sirvo LLC Design Trio should be Inspiration to Game Developers in
Jamaica”.
These
games are a mere distraction and waste your Child precious time and the money
you invested in buying the Tablet or smartphone for your Child. Even more
distracting is YouTube
and other Video Websites as listed in my blog article
entitled “UWI'splanning to increase all Tuition by 5.5% come the new Academic Year 2013-2014 -How to Download ANY Video, including Facebook Videos, Convert and Free VideoHosting Online”, all of which have Apps, be they Web Apps or Apps that are
downloadable for your Apple iTunes Store
or Google Play Store!
Defense Against the
Dark Arts - Apple iPhone and Apple iPad
To
enable restrictions for in-App purchases if your concerned about them using
your Prepaid VISA Debit Cards such as Scotia VISA Debit Card or CIBC VISA Debit Card on
your iDevice, use the following steps:
1. Tap
Settings icon
2. Choose
General
3. Select
Restrictions
4. Press
Enable Restrictions
5. Enter
a four digit password
6. Tap
In-App Purchases
Alternately,
you can make it such they cannot purchase anything at all without having to
enter a password:
1. Tap
Settings icon
2. Choose
General
3. Choose
Passcode
4. Set
passcode to immediately
This
will prevent them from making unauthorized purchases in the Apple iTunes Store.
To
prevent them from searching for content on the Internet, best to lock down the YouTube
and Safari Browser:
1. Tap
Settings icon
2. Choose
General
3. Select
Restrictions
4. Press
Enable Restrictions
5. Enter
a four digit password
6. Select
the Allow section
7. Set
Safari and YouTube
to off
8. Select
Allowed Content tab
9. Change
the settings for Music & Podcasts, Movies, TV Shows and Apps to preferred
level
It's
recommended that you set Apps to 12+ or less, to prevent the installation of
alternative Browsers, which are rated at 17+ as stated in “Safeguarding
a Child’s Mobile Device From Pornography”, published January 11, 2012 By
BOB TEDESCHI, The New York Times.
Defense Against the
Dark Arts - Google Android smartphones and Tablets
To
enable a PIN (Personal Identification Number) in Google Android devices as
described in “How
to set up Parental control on Android: restrict Android App permissions”,
published 30 July 2013 By Marie Brewis, PC
Advisor, be they smartphones or Tablets, use the following instructions:
1. Go
to Settings
2. Scroll
to the Set PIN feature
3. Click
on the Content Filtering tab
4. Change
the Android Market settings to display Apps of a certain maturity level
Next,
you can disable the built in Android Browser or kill YouTube
(super strict) for Google Android by just dragging it to the Trash bin, which
really shuffles it to another screen other than the main home Screen. If you
scroll and find it again in an alternate Screen, do the following:
1. Click
and hold down the icon
2. Access
the Options Menu that appears
3. Hide
to make it vanish for good
If
you really don’t trust your Child, you can uninstall these
default programs permanently:
1. Go
to Settings menu, Apps or Application Manager, depending on your Google Android device
2. Select
the Apps you wanna uninstall, in
this case YouTube
and the Google Android Browser
3. Select
Uninstall
Alternately,
you can give your Child more freedom via creating a Restricted Profile for
them. This so that you don't have to lock down your entire Android Device! This
feature is available in Google Android 4.3:
1. Go
to Settings
2. Select
Users
3. Add
user or profile
4. Tap
New Profile to create a profile for
your Child
5. Select
the feature to restrict access
Defense Against the
Dark Arts – Apps to Block, Protect and Notify you of your Child’s whereabouts
Online
Optionally,
you can receive notifications from your Child's Tablet or smartphone whenever
they attempt to access the Google Play
Store and download an App. This as
if you disable the built in Google Android Browser on a Google Android Tablet
or smartphone, smart kids will try to download Google
Chrome for Android App or the Opera
Browser for Android from the Google
Play Store to attempt to get around content filtering. Tracking their
activity on the Tablet or smartphone allows you to know if they are trying to
circumvent any setting you've put in place.
To
this end, you can also install the following Tracking Apps or Browsers on their
Tablet or smartphone as described in “How
to make Android Child friendly”, published March 7th 2013 By Neil Mohr, TechRadar and “Five
Parental control Apps to help safeguard your kids”, published May 1, 2012,
1:35 AM PST By Brien Posey in Five Apps, TechRepublic
as well to Track their activity online.
Here’s
a list of some great Apps that can get this job done on your Child’s Tablet or
Smartphone securely and yet are quite easy to configure. For Young Children
ages 3 to 12, you have the following Apps available on the Apple iTunes Store and Google Play Store:
For
Teenagers ages 13 to 17, we’re looking at more advanced, industrial Strength Apps
and Browsers, mainly from the Google
Play Store:
You
can find more of them by searching the Apple
iTunes Store and Google Play Store
using the search term “Parental Control” as the list is very long and I can’t
do an exhaustive listing here. You can try them out to get a feel for which
ones work best for you and your Child.
Once
installed, you can not only set website access on the Browsers as well as the App
Store but you can also receive regular Notifications from the Child’s Tablet or
smartphone on your Child’s activity and whereabouts both on the Tablet or
smartphone as well as their physical Location.
The
logic is thus simple; if you STOP receiving Notifications that suggests that
either your Child has disabled the Tracking and Monitoring Apps or their Tablet
or smartphone has been stolen. If it’s a case of the latter, most of the above
Tracking Apps have the capability to Track the whereabouts of the Tablet or
smartphone and allow you to contact the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) aka
the Jamaican Police and have them recover the Tablet or smartphone.
Good
to note that to the Jamaican Police, this is worth their time and effort, as
there is a growing Black Market for the sale of Stolen Tablets and Smartphones
as described in my blog article
entitled “How
smartphones are stolen and IMEI changed – Uninformed Jamaican Police Tracking
Jamaicans even as GOJ ID Registration by Telecom Providers needed”.
Criminals
are now turning to stealing Tablets and smartphones to not only flash and
resell due to their relatively high resale value, but to utilize them as a
means of covert communications to organize their criminal activity. To that
end, the JCF is tasked with the recovery of Tablets and Smartphones in the even
they are reported stolen, as these are powerful Telecommunications tools in the
hands of criminals!
Most
likely too, when the JA$800 million E-Learning Project II is in full swing
across all 38 schools in Jamaica, a special JCF Branch will be tasked with
recovering these highly valuable devices, with legislation that will
criminalize their possession on a level similar to possessing an illegal
firearm.
So
locking down your Child’s Tablet or Smartphone is not only to protect them from
harmful content on the Internet, but it can also give you the ability to track
their physical whereabouts and know where they are at all times. It can even
help you to locate your Child’s Tablet or smartphone should it be stolen or
just lost!
If
you know of other Apps that can safeguard your child’s Tablet or smartphone,
please don’t hesitate to contact me so I can add it to my list!
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