Wednesday, 5 April, 2023
TikTok and phone bans announced; a world of religious celebrations; Dungeons and Dragons slay at the movies; and a hi-tech Easter egg hunt.
LINKS
Today’s Quick Links:
TikTok to be banned from Australian government devices: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-04/tiktok-ban-australian-government-devices/102183478
Mobile phone ban in NSW public high schools: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-03/nsw-school-mobile-phone-ban-term-4/102178468
Passover: an explanation for kids: https://www.parents.com/holiday/passover/how-to-explain-the-passover-story-to-kids/#:~:text=Passover%20is%20a%20Jewish%20holiday,dubbing%20the%20holiday%20%22Passover.%22
Qingming Festival: https://www.chinahighlights.com/festivals/qingming-festival.htm
Qingming Festival (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf798tGKv74
Kids Easter movie trailers: https://www.familiesmagazine.com.au/school-holiday-kids-movies/
Easter egg hunt for visually impaired children: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/newport-dunes-hosts-beeping-easter-egg-hunt-for-visually-impaired-children/
Dig Deeper:
What is Qingming festival and how did it originate?: https://studycli.org/chinese-holidays/qingming-festival/
Day of the Dead – A Chinese and Mexican celebration: https://www.uscannenbergmedia.com/2021/10/27/day-of-the-dead-a-chinese-and-mexican-celebration/
Original Sources:
Brain Drain: smartphones reduce cognitive capacity: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462
Mobile phone distraction while studying: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275487066_Mobile_phone_distraction_while_studying
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Newshounds
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THE LOWDOWN
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The Australian government yesterday announced TikTok would be banned on all government-owned devices over concerns the data the app collects may not be safe.
It means phone and tablets used by public servants – which is a fancy name for people who are employed by the government – will not be allowed to have TIkTok downloaded onto them.
Similar steps have been taken by the governments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the United States and Canada.
It’s a timely reminder to do, as Squiz-E the Newshound reminds us every Wednesday, to STOP, THINK and CHECK whenever we’re using apps on our devices. STOP before giving away personal information about yourself, THINK about where that personal information might be going and CHECK to see whether that’s personal information you really want to share with the world.
The news comes only a day after the NSW government announced a ban on mobile phones in high schools.
From Term 4, high school students at NSW public schools will have to hand over their phones upon arriving at school – to make sure they can’t access or use them during class-time, recess or lunch. Phones are already banned in NSW primary schools.
The NSW Premier said there was evidence that kids were able to concentrate on their school work much better when they weren’t distracted by mobile phones and social media apps.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops .. and today we’ve landed … well, all over the world really – as a series of important cultural and religious festivals take place.
Easter is probably the one most of you are familiar with – not least because of the school holidays and Easter eggs that come with it. But for Christians, Easter is a really important religious celebration – remembering the death and resurrection of Christ.
As it happens, today is also a very important day for people of the Jewish faith – as it marks the start of a very important religious festival in their world too, called Passover. Jewish families all over the country and all over the world will gather together for a really important family meal marking the start of seven days observing the Passover.
And in China – today is a public holiday for the Tomb Sweeping Festival – which is pretty much what it sounds like. There’s kite flying and putting willow branches on gates to mark the coming of spring, but the most important ritual is visiting the grave sites of your ancestors and performing a bit of maintenance and offering up food, tea or wine.
Each one a special moment of reflection and remembrance for the people involved – each one an example of how cultural differences make life so darned interesting.
I’ve stuck links to explainers in today’s episode notes.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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What are you doing these Easter holidays? I’m going to bet for lots of you a trip to the movies is on the cards … and for many of you, that will mean settling in to watch the new Dungeons + Dragons movie, Honour Among Thieves.
Why do I suspect many of you will be watching that film? Because when it opened in US and Canadian cinemas over the weekend, it raked in a cool $57m in ticket sales … that’s a lot of popcorn …
Other kids movies hitting Aussie cinemas these Easter school holidays include the hilarious looking Argonuts – set in ancient Greece about a little mouse that became a hero – and the mystical looking Mavka: the Forest Song.
Save some popcorn for me ..
SQUIZ KIDS SALUTES
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And it’s a big ol’ pre-Easter Squiz Kids Salute to the clever scientists and computer programmers who have created an Easter Egg hunt for kids who are visually impaired.
You know how Easter is the time to grab your basket and head out into the yard and hunt for eggs the Easter Bunny has scattered about the place? The clever folk at the chocolate company Cadbury have this year worked out a way to place sensors inside eggs, and create a proximity buzzer that hangs around the neck of kids who who are visually-impaired which vibrates and beeps the closer they get to an egg.
It’s a really clever way of using technology to ensure all kids get to experience the thrill of an Easter egg hunt – genius!
And wherever across this wide brown land you are celebrating Easter this year – may your egg baskets be overflowing and your Easter egg hunt take place before the sun has managed to turn the chocolate into a runny mess … hmmmm … melted chocolate.. yum.
THE SQUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What’s the name of the important Jewish holiday that starts today?
- Which social media app has been banned on government devices?
- Which movie is carving it up at the Easter box office?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s April 5… one more sleep until school holidays for many of you .. which is the perfect time to remind you we’ll have our usual Easter School Holiday Bumper Kids v Adults Quizzes over the Easter break – dropping every Saturday.
It’s also a very special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today… Archie from Junee, Chase from Greenwell Point, Madeleine from Ivanhoe, William from Maitland, Samantha from Hackett, Nangi from Baulkham Hills and Cathal from Mernda.
We’re sending belated birthday wishes out to …. Jim from Queensland, Lyla from Perth and Rasputin from Sydney.
And let’s not forget our Squiz Kids Classrooms… shoutouts go to…
class 6B and Mrs Taylor at St Luke’s Anglican School in Bundaberg, class 3H and Mrs Hogarth at Epping West Public School, class S3B and Mrs Bower at Bolwarra Public School in Maitland, Ms Maraga’s class at Quakers Hill East Public School in Acacia Gardens, and to class 3/4B with Mrs Boyer & Mrs Bliss at St Michael’s Catholic Primary School in Deniliquin.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Passover
- TikTok
- Dungeons and Dragons