Mapping the Frontier Together

Published in

Tech Wild

5 min readAug 2, 2016

Children are enduring a crisis of information overload, presenting a problem for parents and educators. Allow me to recap the main ideas behind a solution I call MAP IT:

Children Deserve Better

Parenting and Connected Devices

Learn about the problem with children’s present state of immersion, and find a solution to have balance and fun while helping them choose.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

We Are Role Models

Modeling Good Behavior

Here are a few good habits for mindfulness and self-control, leading our children by example in balance with technology.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

There Can Be Boundaries

Agreement on Boundaries and Limits

Capitalize on boredom and use simple verbal strategies to avoid bargaining with children about device time.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

Play is Fun Work

Participating in Play

Play is the work of youth, and lots of learning can take place in an unstructured environment supported by technology — almost like therapy.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

Balance Is Possible

Integrating Technology

Adopt a “diet” of moderation with technology, while using the tricks and tools of software developers against them.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

We Can Always Stop

Planning for a Good Transition

Get ready to continue the “attention momentum” of device time into the real world, with some fun ways to jog children out of a funk.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

Now you are equipped to read and judge for yourself about the apps and content that I am curating, and delve into a list of great books to review below. This is just the beginning.

Great Apps for Kids

Discover a framework to choose active over passive apps, educational before entertainment experiences, and engage with children through play.

Dom Sagolla—Tech Wild

I can only tell you that this “MAP IT” framework has worked for me, and so I feel the need to share it with you:

Model, agree, participate, integrate, and transition.

If you are struggling with issues around technology with your children, try it. Let us discuss together as a group what works and what needs refinement.

Contact me or comment here if you would like to arrange a talk or workshop on this topic. As always, find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

Let us draw this map together.

Back to the Beginning

Parenting and Connected Devices

Learn about the problem with children’s present state of immersion, and find a solution to have balance and fun while helping them choose.

Dom Sagolla — Tech Wild

Please participate in the ongoing discussion:

Sign up for my mailing list for even more good stuff.
Join our private Facebook Group.
Subscribe to updates from our public Facebook Page.
Follow me on Twitter and engage with #techwild.
Enjoy some more content on Instagram.
Find a few threads about this on Reddit.
Discover new examples on Pinterest.
Leave a note or comment here on Medium.
Recommend this story on your favorite platform.

Mapping the Frontier Together

Children Deserve Better

Parenting and Connected Devices

Learn about the problem with children’s present state of immersion, and find a solution to have balance and fun while helping them choose.

We Are Role Models

Modeling Good Behavior

Here are a few good habits for mindfulness and self-control, leading our children by example in balance with technology.

There Can Be Boundaries

Agreement on Boundaries and Limits

Capitalize on boredom and use simple verbal strategies to avoid bargaining with children about device time.

Play is Fun Work

Participating in Play

Play is the work of youth, and lots of learning can take place in an unstructured environment supported by technology — almost like therapy.

Balance Is Possible

Integrating Technology

Adopt a “diet” of moderation with technology, while using the tricks and tools of software developers against them.

We Can Always Stop

Planning for a Good Transition

Get ready to continue the “attention momentum” of device time into the real world, with some fun ways to jog children out of a funk.

Great Apps for Kids

Discover a framework to choose active over passive apps, educational before entertainment experiences, and engage with children through play.

RECOMMENDED READING

The Timeless Way of Building

New York: Oxford University Press, 1979.

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

New York: Penguin, 2015.

Play Therapy

New York: Ballantine Books, 1974.

Essential Zen Habits: Mastering the Art of Change, Briefly

Davis: Pipe Dreams Publishing, 2015.

It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens

New Havin: Yale University Press, 2015.

The Artist's Way

New York: Putnam, 1992.

Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

New York: Random House, 2014.

Fun Inc.: Why Gaming Will Dominate the Twenty-First Century

London: Virgin, 2010.

Live This Book

London: Penguin Books, 2015.

Netymology: From Apps to Zombies: A Linguistic Celebration of the Digital World

London, Quercus, 2016.

Magical Child

New York: Plume, 1992.

Be Here Now

Questa: Lama Foundation, 1978.

Little Brother

New York: Tor Books, 2008.

In Real Life

New York: First Second, 2014.

Parent Hacks: 134 Genius Shortcuts for Life with Kids

New York: Workman Publishing, 2016.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

New York: Random House, 2012.

The Tyranny of E-mail: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox

New York: Scribner, 2011.

Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences

This book revolutionized the worlds of educatino and psychology by posting that rather than a single type of intelligence, we have several — most of which are neglected by standard testing and educational methods.

Cheaper by the Dozen (Perennial Classics)

New York: Harper Perennial Classics, 2002.

Resilience: Hard-Won Wisdom for Living a Better Life

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015.

You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment

Boston: Shambhala, 2010.

Siddhartha

New York: New Directions, 1936.

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

New York: Penguin, 2014.

Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware (Pragmatic Programmers)

Raleigh: The Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2008.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2014.

The Continuum Concept: In Search Of Happiness Lost (Classics in Human Development)

Boston: De Capo Press, 1986.

Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels

New York: Harper Collins, 2006.

The Connected Family: Bridging the Digital Generation Gap

New York: Taylor Trade Publishing, 1996.

140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form

Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.