This blog is propelled by a radical but self-evident premise:
The Internet and online games are the most powerful tools for learning that humanity has ever had.
Connected parenting is about helping our kids tap this power to become engaged, creative, self-directed learners. It’s about recognizing that our kids are growing up in an era of abundance of access to knowledge, expertise, and creative expression. It’s about accepting that their experience is fundamentally different from our own growing up. It’s about embracing rather than fearing our networked world.
It’s not easy to make digital games and networks a force for good for our kids. We didn’t grow up with the technologies our kids are using. Sometimes they seemed designed to pull parents and kids apart.
Our non-profit, Connected Camps, offers safe and moderated online spaces and programs that are good for kids. Our mission is to build a global online community where kids build, code, play, and learn from one another. The programs we’ve developed tap the power of youth tech experts to teach and mentor, and we have served thousands of kids through our online and community-based programs.
Our blog, Connected Parenting, is a resource for parents who want the Internet and online games to be a force for good in the lives of their kids. With the right supports, all kids can do amazing things. We offer practical tips, expert perspectives, and parenting stories to help families realize their full potential and engage in today’s connected world.
Our story
Connected Camps was catalyzed by three girl geeks with a passion for education and the positive potential of technology. Mimi is an educational researcher and advocate for connected learning, on a decades-long hunt to bridge education and entertainment. Katie is a game designer, educator and force behind the creation of Institute of Play and its partner school Quest to Learn. Tara is a technologist and entrepreneur who founded LA Makerspace so kids can make and learn in her local community. You can read more about the ideas behind the company in Mimi’s boingboing post, or Katie’s article in The Atlantic.
Our approach is backed by lots of research and testing in practice, and is part of the Connected Learning Alliance, dedicated to mobilizing new technology in the service of equity, access and opportunity for all young people.