Software just makes sense to kids

My girls - like most kids of the 21st century - are not intimidated by new software. If it's something that captures their interest, they'll give it a whirl.

About a month ago my friend Lisa suggested I check out Photo Story. She said it was a fun way to make a slide show of photos with your own music (you can create your own or upload an existing track). Since the kids have made a few of slide shows this past year with MovieMaker, I thought we'd try something new out.

L. was sitting next to me at the computer when I was downloading the software and she kept looking over my shoulder. She asked if she could try to make a video of Dulce's photos so I let her take over.

After what seemed like only a few minutes, she had made a slide show (it actually took the 9-year-old about a half hour). Last week she revised the project with some new photos and decided to enter it as her 4-H "Technology" entry at the upcoming Cumberland Fair (the fair opens Sept. 23).

Dulce's 'Blue' video


I'm not trying to make it sound like L. is really smart to have figured this out. No, the reason I chose to blog about this is because parents of kids today deal with stuff like this all the time. Kids are simply not afraid of new technology.

You put some new computer program in front of most parents and you'll likely hear a groan or an excuse to try it later because it will take time and more brainpower than they have at that moment to figure it out.

You put a kid in front of new software and they say, "OK, I can do this," and they start immediately navigating through it and make it look easy.

Another recent example of this at our house was related to our mobile phones. We have an extra phone in our plan (a long story that involved a broken phone and a decision that Fino has to have insurance) so when the option came to upgrade, we ended up with new phones and a calling plan that included texting. G. (she's 11) had texting figured out in a split second and has been asking all her friends and family to text her. And if you ask my co-workers they can confirm that she's always texting me while I'm at the office (and I agree with the PSAs about staying in touch with your kid via the phone, it really is a good thing).

How things have changed since I was a middle-schooler taking a typing class on an electric typewriter. The real kicker is that I'm not even 40 yet ...