MapQuest Finds Fireworks for You This 4th!

The 4th of July is all about the hunt for the best fireworks. If you happen to be on the road, MapQuest just announced a new feature on their site just in time for the holiday weekend that locates and provides details about local fireworks displays along with other holiday weekend events!

To view firework information, enter a location on the map and look for an icon that looks like fireworks on the carousel located on the right-hand side. Click on it to find events are marked along your route or the map in general.

Whether you are staying at home or traveling this holiday weekend, know that you can find nearby fireworks with a click of a button. Thanks for the tip, MapQuest!

By the way…Congratulations to Emily from MamaSick who won the $25 gift certificate to Zazzle. The SuperWhy prize package will be sent to Michelle from Grown in My Heart. Thanks to everyone who entered and Tweeted the contests!

MapQuest Tricks & Tips for Smooth Summer Road Trips

Today’s Tech Savvy guest post comes from Shawna Landers, Director of Marketing for MapQuest. Shawna the lead marketing strategist for the company’s three business units who directs overall efforts for brand marketing, search engine marketing, PR, promotions, trade shows, research, product and trade marketing. Today, Shawna is here to share tips and tricks to help make this summer’s road trips go smoothly.

Ah the days of old style road trips. Remember packing everyone in the ‘aircraft carrier-sized station wagon with mom playing car bingo or telling the kids to find all the state license plates to keep them busy? Dad had the trusty road atlas or paper map folded to guide the way.

Nowadays, cars have DVD players, kids have their own MP3 players and mom and dad can plan their trip down to a science.

That’s where MapQuest comes in. As travelers needs change over time, so does MapQuest --there are several neat features that help make road trip planning a breeze – all while saving some money along the way.

Here are some of my favorite tools that help me plan road trips:

Fuel Cost Calculator
This gem makes it incredibly easy to calculate the cost of gas for your road trip. After you create your route, just click on the Fuel Cost link to input the MPG of your vehicle and voila! Instant calculation of your vehicle’s gas cost. It even makes the calculation based on the local gas prices in the area along your route.

Avoid Tolls / Highways
Want to save a little cash by avoiding tolls? Just look to the right side of your written directions and you’ll see Advanced Routing options. Here, it’s as simple as checking off the boxes to Avoid Tolls, Avoid Highways and more. As soon as you check off a box, the route will recalculate for you.

The Road Less Traveled
We all know that if you go off the beaten path, you can create some of the greatest memories. Want to go through a forest or by an ocean? MapQuest will automatically calculate the shortest distance for your route, but YOU can choose how you want to go simply by clicking and dragging the highlighted route to where you want to go.

Real Time Traffic
How frustrating is it when you sit in traffic for hours, burning gas and raising tension in the car? Before you leave the house, try out MapQuest’s Real Time traffic. You can find live traffic in over 100 cities updated every five minutes. If you see a big jam up, create a new route around the traffic before you walk out the door.

Place Carousel
No, I’m not talking about an amusement ride…the MapQuest Place Carousel is a simple on-map search toolbar that lets you click on any business category or select brands and they will instantly show up along your route. If you’re looking for a shopping center, coffee shop or hotel options along your route, you can find it instantly.

MapQuest Local
MapQuest has a nifty feature called MapQuest Local that lets you see local concerts, events, movies, restaurant ratings and more. It’s an easy way to see everything in one place and find things to do nearby your home or where you’re going.

MapQuest Gas Prices
Gas prices can be up to $.15-.20 a gallon difference just a mile or two away depending upon your part of the country. Next time you want to fill up, check out the gas prices in your area or where your destination may be. MapQuest has a Gas Price portal that lets you easily find gas prices by lowest price or distance – and the prices are updated up to seven times a day.

My Places
Finally, this last feature really makes trip planning a snap. Now, you can set up an account and save all your routes, maps and searches. Save all the kids soccer fields, make a route to drop off the Cub Scout troop boys, and so much more.

Save time and money the next time you set out on that cross country journey or just going away for a short getaway- give these MapQuest tools a try!

Thanks to Shawna for being our Tech Savvy guest and offering these great cost saving ideas for road trips.

No promotional consideration was paid for this post.

NECC: 30 Years & Look How Far We’ve Come!

I’m spending the next few days attending the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) being held here in DC at the gorgeous new convention center. NECC is the premier conference for any educator who is passionate about using technology in their classroom, school, or district. I’m happy to say that while I’m not a NECC newbie (went to San Antonio and presented in Seattle while pregnant with Little Miss Techie), the conference is still overwhelming.

This afternoon will kick off the 30th NECC conference and the next three days will prove to be busy. Last night I circled countless sessions I want to attend in a program that is larger than it ever has been before. There are tons of presentations I want to attend to learn more about Classroom 2.0 technologies (podcasting, blogging, wikis, Google docs) to use with my students next year and I’m looking for ideas about how to get girls more involved in higher level computing classes for some consulting work I’m doing for a local non-profit.

Then of course there is the expansive exhibit hall where tons of vendors will be showcasing the latest and greatest in technology specifically designed for educational purposes. PBS will be there showing off their fabulous new PBS Teachers site (hooray!), Promethean will make me even more determined to write a grant to bring an interactive white boards into my school, and BrainPop is giving away a school subscription to their site for a year which I’d love to win! I’ll be able to connect with favorite vendors like Crick Software, makers of Clicker and Clicker Paint, and the wonderful Tom Kelly from Tech4Learning whose company makes favorites like Pixie and Image Blender.

I know I’ll do some networking, run into some colleagues, go to some cocktail parties, and pick up a bag of knick-knacks to bring home to the kids but am also hoping to gain some new knowledge about cutting edge products that are designed for the home market to share with you as you look to find the best for your children. It will be an intense 3 days with long hours and tons of time on my feet but I’m so excited to be around passionate educators with great ideas and learn about new products.

So congratulations to NECC on their 30th anniversary. It is amazing to look back on 30 years and see how far computing has come. Here are some photos I snapped or artifacts from the NECC timeline that I have fond memories of using in the past. Take your time and browse! I've got to run to meet Tyler from On Our Minds to talk about blogging, education, and books over burgers at Good Stuff.

We didn't have an Atari so I loved sleeping over at
my friend Larisa'shouse so I could play.
They also had MTV but that's another story!

The first computer my family owned!

I was lucky enough to have a 56K modem
in college which Tech Savvy Daddy
kindly provided tech support for
constantly. I was the envy of my friends
who were always visiting to check e-mail
on my computer.

No promotional consideration was paid for this post. I am attending NECC on my own dime.

Memories of Michael Jackson

Thriller was the first album I ever purchased with my own money.  I remember walking by the music store at the Hillsdale Mall while out shopping with my parents when I was 10 and needing Michael Jackson’s album so badly.  At the time, Thriller was all over the radio, along with Madonna and Huey Lewis and the News, but I wanted Michael’s album more than any of the others. I handed over the $8.99 plus tax and proudly carried my tape home with me.  I pulled the cassette out of its plastic box so many times to listen to Thriller, Beat It, Billie Jean, Wanna Be Startin’ Something, and others over and over again on my Sony Walkman, memorizing the lyrics to all the songs on the album. 

Tonight when Tech Savvy Daddy came home, we talked about the death of Michael Jackson as we were preparing dinner....

If you want to read the rest, please click here to read it on DC Metro Moms.

DC Metro Readers: Win Tickets to Bugs Bunny on Broadway at Merriweather

If you live in the DC Metro area and loved Looney Tunes cartoons as a kid and want to relive your childhood, I have been offered a family 4 pack of tickets for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performance of Bugs Bunny on Broadway at Merriweather Post Pavillion on Saturday, July 11

The concert will feature Warner Brother’s Studio cartoons on big screens while their original film scores are performed live by the BSO. “Bugs Bunny on Broadway is the perfect way to introduce your child to classical music through classic Warner Brothers cartoons and favorite characters like Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Porky Pig.

This unique concert will feature musical masterpieces of Wagner, Rossini, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, and others, as interpreted through the “hare-raising” cartoon scores of legendary Warner Bros. Studios composers Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn, in such iconic Looney Tunes as “What's Opera, Doc?,” “The Rabbit of Seville,” “Corny Concerto,” “Baton Bunny,” “Long-Haired Hare,” “High Note,” and many more.

Bugs Bunny on Broadway made its debut at The Gershwin Theatre in 1990. Now almost two million people worldwide have seen this concert in performances with the world’s greatest orchestras. It has been called “hilarious” by The New York Times and “spectacular" by The New York Post.

Spending a Saturday evening under the stars introducing classical music with my kids with some free tickets sounds pretty good to me!

Enter to win by leaving a comment telling me which Looney Tunes character you loved most. Comments will be accepted until Midnight on Thursday, July 2 and the winner will be notified on July 3.

Thanks to Merriweather Post Pavillion for providing tickets for this giveaway and sending my family to the show!

Online News, Twitter, and Washington DC’s Metro

These days I rarely read the newspaper on a daily basis. As a busy mom always on the go and more often on the computer, I tend to get the majority of my news on the internet. I scan the headlines for world events via CNN, keep up with local news via The Washington Post’s site, set up RSS feeds for my hometown papers, and get The New York Times headlines on my iPhone. Perhaps I’m contributing to the death of newspapers through all of my internet reading but news published via online outlets provides the most up to date information at the click of a button especially when confronted with a tragedy like Monday’s Metro crash.

I also subscribe to news feeds via Twitter. Twitter is proving to be an incredibly useful way to get news because the 140 character format makes it quite digestible and easy to read. AFriends and neighbors who rely on Metro’s Red Line to get in and out of DC on a daily basis have told me that they found out about Monday's accident through tweets on their phones. One friend told me that her husband was on a Red Line train coming home when the train stopped in a tunnel. For 45 minutes they waited inside the tunnel with very little information about what was going on from the train operator and riders learned of the crash through Twitter.

If you aren’t on Twitter, sign up just for the convenience of getting breaking news delivered to your phone. Here are a few news outlets that Tweet:

• CNN
• ABC
• CBS News
• The Washington Post
• The New York Times
  
• NPR Politics

If you live in the DC Metro Area or plan to visit, Metro established Twitter acconts for each of their lines just before President Obama’s inauguration. Follow the line you ride the most to learn of any delays.

Click below to subscribe to any of the following Metro lines:

• Red Line
• Blue Line
• Green Line
• Yellow Line
• Orange Line

You can also sign up for Metro e-alerts here.

Tips for Protecting Your Digital Memories

Yesterday when I was at the pool I ran into Patti. Patti has been a loyal Tech Savvy Mama reader for over a year now and asked me if I had ever done a post about digital backups. Between me instructing Little Miss Techie on strokes and commanding Captain Computer to stop running on the pool deck, I tried to give Patti my thoughts about backing pictures up via an online photo site such as Flickr, Picasa, Snapfish, Kodak, CVS Photo Center, etc.

While it is wise to backup your digital gallery of pictures, it is just as important to back up all of the other data on your hard drive. Here at the Tech Savvy house, we back up our computers on a nightly basis to an external hard drive. It is reassuring to know that our pictures and my digital archive and my data is safe unless someone breaks into the house and steals the backup drive or the house catches on fire. While I don’t really like to be a pessimist, I’m also a realist and understand that both are possibilities.

So what does a family do to ensure that digital photos aren’t lost forever?

Toshiba has provided the following post that is full of wonderful tips for protecting your digital picture gallery. After you read it, let me know what other questions you have about backing up photos and documents on your computers because Toshiba has offered to have one of their storage experts answer them in a future post.

Tips for Protecting your Digital Memories by Toshiba

Imagine reviewing an important work presentation or looking through family photos from last year’s vacation in Hawaii -- only to have the computer screen suddenly go blank. Shutting down the computer, turning it back on – nothing is working – the computer has crashed and everything saved on it, photos, work documents, music and more … is gone. As panic sets in, you realize that you don’t have a backup. In a single moment, all your files have disappeared.

Unfortunately, this scenario happens all too often to consumers who are generating exponential amounts of personal digital content.

According to research by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), adults online create an average of 1,800 digital files a year, for a total of 310 billion files created annually in the United States alone. Yet nearly half of all digital content creators do not have a second copy of these valued digital files. Without a backup solution, cherished family photos, critical financial documents, work presentations and countless other digital data files are at risk for loss. A single computer crash could destroy everything. Portable hard drives can help protect your important files and ensure your work is safe and secure.

The following outlines ten easy steps to give peace of mind in this digital age:

1. Buy a portable hard disk drive (HDD) unit – they can range from $100 to $500 depending on the storage size and bells and whistles

2. Connect HDD to your computer – most use the USB drive, so you don’t need an extra power outlet or more wires

3. Install software – usually requires you to agree to sign your life away or at least not pirate the software

4. Restart – some software requires you to restart your computer and ensure everything is properly loaded

5. Run the backup software – once you are up and running you’ll need to open the HDD software and get it ready to backup your computer

6. How many clicks does it take? All software is different, so ideally you can find one that offers an easy back up solution. Such as the Toshiba Portable Hard Drive that requires you to press an “OK” button so you can set it and forget it, and know that it is running in the background.

7. Ensure you have complete system backup – When selecting a HDD be sure to find one that offers complete system coverage, as this will help restore your entire computer if your system goes down

8. Are you Tech Savvy? – For those of you who like to fiddle, most drives let you change the settings to personalize your storage preferences, such as timing for back up, security, etc.

9. Install security – Password-protection security is always good, as you never want a burglar to come in and have access to all your tax returns, bank info, etc., so find software that enables some sort of security (and don’t leave the password lying next to your computer!)

10. Sleep easy – Once you have set the software in motion, you can rest easy and HOPE you never have to use it, knowing that if/when your computer dies, you are prepared and protected against loss

Now what questions do you have about backing up your files? Feel free to leave a comment below asking anything and I’ll submit them to my Toshiba storage expert and get them answered for you in a future post!

Thanks to Toshiba for providing this very timely list of tips. No promotional consideration was paid for this post.

Special thanks to Aleksandra Gajdeczka for professional photography.

Website of the Week: Zazzle.com for Dazzling Customizable Gifts

Was your Father’s Day gift a hit or a big disappointment? Here it was a hit. I scored two Beastie Boys tickets (unlike those elusive White House Easter Egg Roll tickets!) as an early Father’s Day gift for Tech Savvy Daddy and today Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer pulled out all the stops for a fabulous day.

Hopefully the dad in your life had a great day but if not, you can brighten dad’s spirits with a $25 shopping spree on Zazzle.com.

If you are wondering what in the world Zazzle is, it is a fabulous site where you can create and customize all kinds of things. 19,533,855,985 things to be exact! Personalize the basics (shirts, mugs, tie, mousepads, business cards) with your own logo or design your own postage, Keds shoes, skateboard decks, and even pet clothing. Or turn a digital photo of your family into a 3D photo sculpture.

If you aren’t feeling particularly creative or none of your graphics are up to snuff, shop the millions of designs to find something that is as unique as you are. Once you select your graphic, decorate your product of choice. If you want the image on a T, just know that there are over 450 styles and colors of shirts to choose from including mens, womens, kid, baby ringers, long sleeve, short sleeve, v-neck, polos, tank tops, organic cotton, sustainable…You get the idea! The selection is wonderfully overwhelming!

Not only is the selection amazing but the customer service is incredibly responsive. I logged on to the site to check the status of the 2 shirts that I ordered only to find that my order had been mysteriously cancelled. I was puzzled since I got a confirmation upon placing my order 2 weeks before but heard nothing about a problem with my order. A quick message to customer service and writing to @Zazzle on Twitter generated a response just hours later. FYI- I sent the e-mail on a Friday night. (Yes, exciting Friday nights at the Tech Savvy household!) Apparently Zazzle employees work crazy hours even on Friday nights to resolve issues quickly. Mine was resolved even before I woke up on Saturday morning! Now I’m just waiting for my shirt and Tech Savvy Daddy’s shirt with this logo to arrive!

Enter to win a $25 shopping spree courtesy of Zazzle by visiting their site and posting a link to your favorite product in your comment.

***For an extra entry, Twitter about this contest by putting @Zazzle and @TechSavvyMama in your Tweet. Then leave a second comment with your Twitter ID and a link to your Tweet.

Comments will be accepted until Noon next Sunday and the winner will be sent a gift code for instant gratification!

And for the remaining days of June, take advantage of free shipping with no minimum order when you use the code JUNESHIPFREE.

No promotional consideration was paid in exchange for this post but I have to send huge thanks to Zazzle for making sure that my order arrived to me quickly after the cancellation mishap and for offering a shopping spree to my readers!

BlogHer Update!

I feel like I got the BlogHer golden ticket!  Huge thanks to Lori for introducing me to Emily who is selling me her ticket.  And super huge thanks to SmartyCard for being my fabulous sponsor!   

Will you be joining me at BlogHer too?  If so, leave me a comment!   Whether you race by me during the 5K or see me standing by myself at a party, stuffing more swag in my bag, or sitting in a session, please do come up and introduce yourself!  I'd love to meet you!

And next year...I'm registering in January.  None of this waiting business.  It is way too hard on a Type A like me!

Father’s Day Giveaway Winners!

Congratulations to the many winners of the items given away in honor of Father's Day. All winners have been contacted and special thanks to all the companies who generously provided products as giveaways for Tech Savvy Mama readers!

• Microsoft Sidewinder Mouse- Marisa
• Rocknoceros’ PINK CD- Aimee from Smiling Mama
• Eric Herman’s What a Ride CD- Kim from Passion and Art
• Putumayo Kids European Playground CD- Peggy from PegsPlay
• Mary Kaye’s Music Box CD- Grace
• Sony MDR-NC 60 Noise Cancelling Headphones- Shel
• T-Mobile MOTO w233 Renew- Ginny (aka Sargeant Strict)
• CarMD- Aimee from Out By Ten
• Microsoft Mobile Mouse 3000- AsianMommy
• CVS Photo Center Stainless Steel Travel Mug- Alexandra
• There When He Needs You by Neil Bernstein- Katrina
• Nectar Bluetooth BlueClip Retractable Headset Holder- David
• Bundle of 3 Nintendo DS Games- De from A Spiced Life
• Namco's Alpine Racer- Cindy B. and Jodifur

Didn't win? Don't despair! I have one more great giveaway in time for Father's Day courtesy of Zazzle!

No promotional consideration was paid in exchange for mentioning any of these products or companies.

Learn By Playing Through SmartyCard This Summer

Today my colleagues and I waved goodbye as busses pulled away carrying off our students for the summer. As teachers, I welcome the start of summer but as a parent, I want to be sure that I’m striking a balance between the having fun, spending time being lazy, and learning. Many parents face the challenge of having their kids spend time maintaining their academic skills in a fun way.

One site that is great for students in elementary school and older is SmartyCard. Launched this March, SmartyCard is a site that allows children ages 7 and up to learn while they earn points for their play. It is an innovative multimedia site that integrates learning in a fun way and is a great way for kids to practice skills in math, science, and social studies. All content is developed through a partnership with leading online educational content providers such as Learning.com, Ignite Learning, and LearnStar to ensure the games engage kids in a learning experience that encourages imaginative thinking outside the classroom.

Kids can play educational games through SmartyCard and then earn points to redeem for popular real-world (books, Wii games, skateboards) and virtual-world prizes (iTunes, Club Penguin, Webkinz). Starting today, tweens can unlock and redeem SmartyCard points for the popular kajeet Samsung m300 pay-as-you-go mobile phone from the SmartyCard mall of rewards. SmartyCard and kajeet now offer parents a new way to encourage responsibility and underscore the importance of education before giving mobile privileges to their kids. The phone allows parents and kids to access kajeet’s unique suite of parental controls and kid-appropriate services. Tweens who choose the kajeet phone will be granted free shipping and $5 airtime toward the use of their phone.

This summer SmartyCard is offering Tech Savvy Mama readers a 2,500 point bonus when they sign up for the site. Just visit the SmartyCard site and enter the code “TechSavvyMama."

For more information, read my full review that I wrote when SmartyCard first launched in March.

Disclaimer: I have loved SmartyCard since I first receive a demo of their site prior to their March launch and have promoted their service without compensation in the past because it is a website that I think helps to motivate kids to learn and helps motivate reluctant and struggling students. However, SmartyCard recently agreed to sponsor my trip to BlogHer if I can find a conference pass.

Father’s Day Gift Guide and Giveaways for the Commuting Dad

Tomorrow Tech Savvy Daddy will abandon his home office and rejoin commuters as they circle the infamous DC Beltway. In honor of Tech Savvy Daddy’s new job, win the following products to make your commute a little more bearable whether the man in your life drives, carpools, or takes public transportation.


CarMD ($99) is a handy new device that helps you figure out why in the world the pesky check engine light has gone on by reading the diagnostics from your car’s computer. We were amazed that CarMD is so easy to use! It plugs into your car and recommends possible fixes and even provides an estimated repair price immediately. We used ours to anticipate what fixes Tech Savvy Daddy’s car might need before we took it to our mechanic. CarMD was helpful because it armed us with the same data that the repair shop had and gives you an idea whether they are being truthful. As a major bonus, the mechanic was truly impressed with Tech Savvy Daddy’s knowledge about what might need be fixed thanks to CarMD! Win your very own CarMD by commenting below!


Microsoft Mobile Mouse 3000’s ($29.99) small size will not add heft to that laptop bag and can operate wirelessly or with a cord if it needs to charge. This is one of my favorite products because of its small size, versatility, and gorgeous array of jewel toned colors. Dad might like an emerald green or garnet red one! Microsoft is giving one reader a Mobile Mouse in a color of their choice!

CVS Photo Stainless Steel Travel Mug ($19.99)- CVS Photo Center Gifts allow dad to take pictures of his loved ones wherever he may go. Get some wallet size prints printed up or make dad a special calendar filled with 12 months of smiling faces. I love CVS’ Online Photo Center because their gifts are affordable and arrive quickly! Win a Stainless Steel Photo Travel Mug so dad’s commute through traffic will be a little better with a hot cup of coffee in hand.


There When He Needs You ($25) by Neil I. Bernstein is a perfect read for those who take the train or subway and love to plow through reading material during their commute. Any dad of a little boy can benefit from this book that provides guidance about how to connect with your son even for the most involved fathers. Win a copy to keep on your bedside table or to read during your commute!

Nectar Bluetooth BlueClip Retractable Headset Holder ($19.99) leashes your Bluetooth device so it doesn’t fall into the depths of a laptop bag or a pocket filled with lint, tissues, and change. It can be clipped to a pocket, shirt, or belt so you always know where your Bluetooth headset is. Win a gunmetal gray aluminum laser engraved model.

Win one of these great things for Dad by filling out the form below. Every person can enter up to 6 times between now and Saturday, June 20 at Noon. Winners will be drawn and notified Saturday night in time to tell Dad on Father's Day!



Thanks to the generous companies who graciously provided all products as giveaways. No promotional consideration was paid to review or post about these products.

ISO: BlogHer Conference Pass!

Good morning internets!  I need your help.  I just got word that SmartyCard wants to send me to BlogHer but there's just one problem- I have no conference pass!

If you well connected readers know of someone who might not be going can you please direct them my way since I'd love love love to buy their pass.  

Have them leave a comment here if they have a ticket to sell or Tweet me.  I'm @TechSavvyMama on Twitter.

Speaking of Twitter, if you are on Twitter and can tweet this, I'd so appreciate it!

Not going to BlogHer?  @TechSavvyMama wants to buy your BlogHer conference pass!  Contact her here:  http://www.techsavvymama.com

Thanks!  Now go enter my contests and leave me a message that you've Tweeted my plea for an extra entry on any contest I currently have running.

SuperWhy Toys Help Super Fans Become Super Readers! (with giveaway!)

We loved Super Why before PBS invited us to their great event that explained the educational philosophy behind the show and certainly before we received an offer to try out their new line of toys. If you are a Super Why fan then you are sure to love their new products that will make your beginning reader feel like they are part of Story Book Village.

Until now we have shunned character-based products in our home but have welcomed the Super Why products because of their educational value. The new Super Why toys by Learning Curve aims to educate and engage preschoolers through immersive, multi-sensory experiences that encourage imaginative play while helping to reinforce core literacy skills. Inspired by the familiar and compelling sights and sounds of the Super Why show and its reading-ready superhero characters, the debut product line features plush toys, role play sets, action figures and dolls, vehicles and electronic learning aids.

Our two Super Why super fans received some of the new Super Why products a couple of weeks ago and they have been a huge hit ever since they arrived. We’re big fans of the Super Why and Princess Presto Electronic Role Play Sets ($14.99). Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer love donning their special capes and transforming into their favorite characters to act out scenes from their favorite episodes while holding the included Why Writer and Magic Spelling Wand.

Captain Computer is thrilled to finally have his own computer in the form of the Touch & Learn Super Duper Computer ($34.99). While it may not be the Mac he was wishing for, I personally like the Super Duper Computer’s affordability and portability and the kids like taking their Super Duper Computer into their playhouse and pretending they are going to the Book Club.

I love watching what Little Miss Techie and Captain Computer have learned through the episodes when they are acting out scenes through their imaginative play. The touch screen Super Duper Computer is more than just another toy because it is filled with games that help them practice different literacy skills such as learning the alphabet, problem solving, spelling, word families, word comprehension, rhyming, and reading. I see Captain Computer engaged in using the Super Duper Computer and learning more letters as a result of interacting with the content through the fun games. (Note: The Touch & Learn Super Duper Computer will be available in August so look for it in stores and online then. Trust me, it is worth the wait!)

Our other favorites in the Super Why toy line include the Princess Presto’s Wave & Learn Magic Spelling Wand ($19.99) and the Zap & Learn Why Writer ($19.99). Both are motion activated handheld wands that help children learn through role play. The Magic Spelling Wand has three learning modes, targeting letter recognition and spelling. The Why Writer focuses on word recognition and comprehension. Both feature curriculum that keeps children challenged and engaged as their literacy skills develop.

We also like the puzzles which have the perfect number of pieces to keep the attention of 3 year old Captain Computer. Choose from the 24 piece Neighborhood Puzzle or the 60 piece puzzles that contain hidden words. So far neither child has tired of the 60 piece Hidden Word Flying Puzzle. They love taking out the magnifying glass to locate the sparkly super letters hidden in the scene.

If you have a Super Why super fan in your home like we do, you are invited to your local Toys R Us for a Super Why Play Day. Stores around the country are hosting Super Why events from 12:00- 2:00 pm on Saturday, June 13. Children ages 3 and up are invited to play a Super Why Bingo Game, complete a Super Why coloring activity and listen to a Super Why story. You’ll also be treated to a hands-on Super Why toy demonstration and receive special Super Why premiums, coupons, a free mask, coloring fun sheet, and more! While supplies last!

For more details about the Super Why events in your area, click here for a listing of special events just for Super Readers in Toys R Us stores around the country.

It's giveaway time!

One very lucky Tech Savvy family will win a gift set containing an Electronic Role Play Set and an Action Figures of their choice courtesy of Learning Curve. To enter, visit the Learning Curve or Toys R Us page with the new SuperWhy products and leave a commente below telling me which one your child would like best and why.

For additional entries, do any of the following:

• Tweet this giveaway: @TechSavvyMama is giving away a SuperWhy prize package for super readers! Enter to win here: http://tr.im/odD8
  
• Blog about this giveaway and link to your post in your comment
• Add my button to your site and leave your URL in your comment

Check out my other SuperWhy posts:

• PBS’ SuperWhy! Helps Super Kids Become Super Readers!
• Website of the Week: Learning with SuperWhy on PBSKids.org and PBS Parents & Teachers Sites
• PBS & Me on DC Metro Moms

Products mentioned in this post were provided by Learning Curve and PBS for review purposes.

Father’s Day Giveaway #4- Nintendo DS E-Rated Game Bundle

If you have bypassed the giveaway for the SideWinder X5 because you aren’t a PC gamer or don’t have an iPhone for the Alpine Racer giveaway, perhaps these Nintendo DS games are more up your alley.

I have a Nintendo DS prize pack containing the following E-rated games:

Tropix is a 2 player game that allows players to earn sand dollars to decorate their tropical island by playing 11 games like classics such as Mahjong, Sudoku, bowling, and Solitaire.

There aren’t any beauty school dropouts at Sally’s Salon. Sally and her crew primp and style customers in their 10 salons providing ‘dos, manicures, and other salon services while serving coffee, handing out the latest issues of magazines, and lighting scented candles for atmosphere.

Part puzzle and part adventure, Neopets is based on the world of Neopets and the Lands of Neopia. Complete the quests and earn PetPets for super powers, special awards for completed missions, and gain access codes for exclusive content on Neopets.com



To win, leave a comment sharing your strategies for limiting screen time in your household. Does screen time differ in the summer versus the school year?

For an extra entry, Tweet this and leave a separate comment: Win Nintendo DS prize pack from @TechSavvyMama http://www.techsavvymama.com

Winner will be randomly chosen in 1 week!

Father’s Day Giveaway #3- Microsoft SideWinder X5 Mouse

To truly appreciate Microsoft’s SideWinder X5 Mouse, I put it in the hands of my teenage neighbor and told him to test it out for me. According to his mom, this teen spends way too much time in front of the computer playing games like World of Warcraft but is quite knowledgeable about tech specs. Before opening the box, this teenager was impressed by just scanning the specs on the box, “Over 7000 frames per second?!? No way!”

Just yesterday I was telling another dad who was a gamer about the Sidewinder X5 Mouse and he said, “Microsoft Sidewinder…That’s a great product line!” Clearly there were some high expectations for this gaming mouse.

Fast forward to the feedback and the teenager reported back to me that was quite impressed by the number of frames per second (7080 to be exact), accuracy due to the laser tracking, and speed. While he said it was a little heavier in his hand than his regular mouse, the weight was not a bad thing.

Designed for comfort and engineered for precision, this wired 9-button gaming mouse is features adjustable DPI switching for accuracy or fast movement, customizable buttons so you can map your favorite gaming actions, and a Quick Launch Button for one touch access to Microsoft PC gaming features. True gamers know that the buttons on mice tend to wear out but this one is built to last and has a main button life that is rated for 10,000,000 clicks.

If those features get you excited, then this mouse is the perfect choice for someone like you who is looking for a competitive edge. World of Warcraft will never be the same with this baby!

Microsoft is giving one Tech Savvy Mama PC gamer a Sidewinder X5 Mouse which makes a perfect Father's Day present for any gaming dad! 

Just leave a comment telling me who would love this super cool gaming mouse and why. 

For an extra entry, Tweet this: @TechSavvyMama is giving away a Microsoft SideWinder X5 Mouse and tons of goodies for dads!  http://tr.im/nR8L

I’ll randomly choose a winner from the comments on Tuesday, June 16.

Check out my other Father’s Day giveaways:

• Sony Noise Cancelling Headphones and CDs for music loving dads
• Namco’s Alpine Racer for the iPhone

Thanks to Microsoft for providing a Sidewinder X5 to review and give away!

Father’s Day Giveaway #2: Namco’s Alpine Racer for the iPhone

When we were dating, Tech Savvy Daddy and I would sometimes head to Jillian’s on Lansdowne Street to get our game on. We’d arm ourselves with pocket full of tokens and head straight for the racing games for the challenge of reaching the finish line on a motorcycle, Indy car, or on a snowboard.

As a skier, snowboarder, and a fan of downhill racing games, Namco’s Alpine Racer for the iPhone ($1.99) puts the fun of the slopes in your hands. This game takes advantage of the iPhones accelerometer that enables you to tilt characters Rina and Shogo Saga as they race to the finish line in either the Story Mode (where they are attempting to make their way through qualifying events) or Time Attack for a beat the clock experience.


Alpine Racer is the first game that I’ve put on my iPhone that uses the accelerometer to play. Most of the time when I’m using my iPhone, I’m making calls, checking e-mail, and other functions not related to gaming so it took me a couple of trips down the slopes, and a lot of painful encounters with snow fences, trees, and ginormous snowmen, to get used to using the tilt function to navigate the course. I’ve learned that guiding Rina or Shogo down the course only takes slight tilts of my iPhone to get them around the curves and to the finish line. I’ve also discovered that in the Time Attack, I can race against a ghost version of myself to try to beat my best time.


Alpine Racer makes me feel as if I could be on the slopes of our favorite ski/snowboard destinations in Tahoe, Colorado, or New England because of the amazing graphics. I love that I get the sense of being on the slopes and the thrill of downhill racing without the pricey lift ticket or airfare. I also like that just as with Namco’s version of Pac Man, the game can be paused and restarted to continue play at a later time.

I think Alpine Racer is easy enough for anyone to learn although I haven’t put it in the hands of Captain Computer or Little Miss Techie for fear that they would get the hang of it too quickly and leave me without the use of my iPhone forever!

Download the lite version of Alpine Racer to give it a try on your iPhone and enter to win 1 of 2 full version downloads generously provided by Namco. To win, leave a comment letting me know your all time favorite arcade game. I’ll choose 2 lucky readers who will be e-mailed a download code for the full version next Sunday!

Be sure to leave your e-mail address in the body of your comment and feel free to Tweet this for an extra entry: Check out @TechSavvyMama great Father’s Day giveaways! http://tr.im/nf93 & http://tr.im/nHWl

To enter my other Father’s Day giveaways for the music loving dad, click here! Other current giveaways can be found in the upper right corner of my site.

Thanks to Namco for providing me with a free download of Alpine Racer for this review!

Tech Savvy Guest: Brittanie Werbel Discusses Protecting Your Computer From Your Kids

Today’s tech savvy guest is Brittanie Werbel, a full-time mother of two boys and co-founder of KidDesktop. Brittanie and her family live in the Washington DC area,where they enjoy spending time on the computer or at the swimming pool. Brittanie is here today to talk about how she founded her company after realizing the need to safeguard her computer against mishaps like her sons accidentally deleting all of her files and providing a safe place for her children to explore websites.

Ah, summertime. Long days at school are replaced by relaxing days at the pool. Kids freely roaming the neighborhoods on their bikes, only returning home at meal times or to ask for ice cream money... Wait a minute. I just remembered that although that describes my childhood summer experiences, my own kids’ summers are rather different. Kids nowadays – my boys included – still enjoy their summer vacations, but they are much more likely to do so in a camp environment or under the supervision of their parent(s) or another qualified adult.

Similarly, today’s kids have quite the different experience with computers than we had growing up. Remember Logo, 3x5 floppy disks, and the original Apple computers? Ha. These days it seems like anyone whose 3-year-old doesn’t know how to open a web browser or maneuver a mouse is in the minority.

Like many other parents, I struggle with how to let my children BE children who explore and experience the world around them, but do so in a relatively safe environment. A particular hot spot is computer usage for young kids. Most parents want their children to grow up feeling comfortable on a computer, and parents recognize the enormous benefits of kid-friendly websites and computer games. But we’ve also heard horror stories about grade-schoolers visiting whitehouse.com instead of whitehouse.gov while researching the U.S. President, or the toddler who bought a $20,000 piece of construction equipment while her parents slept. What’s a conscientious and non-Luddite parent to do?

KidDesktop Picture Viewer

Our own “ah, ha!” (or “uh, oh!”) moment came when our older son was about 3. I had just opened the Sesame Street site for him to play on and then left the room for a minute. When I walked back in, he had reduced the browser screen, opened the desktop file where we keep our pictures, and begun browsing through them. Although no harm was done, the story would have been quite different if he had hit “Control-A” and “Delete”!

Sesame Street Website on KidDesktop Web Browser

My husband and I looked for a Windows replacement program so our kids could play safely on websites we felt comfortable with, but while protecting our own files and computer settings. Not finding anything, we created KidDesktop as a way for our kids to surf educational and fun websites, play computer games we had approved, view pictures on the desktop, and easily interface with a children’s digital camera, all while protecting both them and the computer they were using. We added a customizable YouTube Playlist, and gave kids the ability to change their screen color and their volume as adults do. After the timer function (which visibly counts down remaining minutes and seconds of computer time), my favorite part of KidDesktop is how I can completely customize my boys’ accounts. I choose each and every website, game, or picture file that goes on each child’s Activity Bar, and I choose each and every YouTube video on their YouTube Playlist. (Trust me, don’t search for “Bert & Ernie” videos while your 4-year-sits beside you. While not going into explicit detail, I’ll just say there is some Bert & Ernie humor out there that is NOT appropriate for young children!) I blog about kid-friendly sites and YouTube videos, as does Leticia on Tech Savvy Mama, so parents can always find new and exciting activities to add to their kids’ Activity Bar.

KidDesktop YouTube Player

When my kids use KidDesktop, they love having all their stuff in one place, and I love that both they and our computer are safe as they learn and play. So now they have a few more options while recovering from sunburns and over-chlorination, or while relaxing at home on those rainy summer afternoons. Now, if someone else could only invent a way to bring back those care-free summer days I remember…

Brittanie is offering a free license to KidDesktop to one PC using Tech Savvy Mama reader! Just leave a comment telling us what you worry about when your child uses your computer or share a horror story with us. A winner will be chosen at random on Tuesday, June 16.

No promotional consideration was paid for this post.

Father’s Day Gift Guide and Giveaways for Music Loving Dads!

If you are stumped for a great Father’s Day gift for the special dad in your life, look no further than this site! Over the next week I’ll release additional lists of giveaways for all different kinds of dads. Today we are starting with....

Giveaways for the Music Loving Dad

Tech Savvy Daddy is forever tinkering with playlists in iTunes and browsing for new music to round out his collection. Whether your dad is always on the hunt for new music or a musician himself, chances are he'd love something from this list!

slotRadio by SanDisk ($99)- This micro MP3 player comes pre-loaded with 1,000 songs from the Billboard charts. It's a mix of current hits, and some older songs, arranged into playlists by genre. Given the variety of music, chances are the guy in your life will find many songs that he likes. Click here for Tech Savvy Daddy’s full review and win your own!


Rocknoceros’ PINK! CD ($15)- If you don’t know that this is our favorite kids’ band, you must be new here! Long time readers know that we follow Northern Virginia based Rocknoceros around the DC Metro Area like total groupies. Luckily the rockin’ dads (Boogie Woogie Bennie, Coach, and Willie Bob) consider us fans and not stalkers because our whole family loves their music. Win a copy of Rocknoceros' PINK! and you will definitely find yourself singing along like we do!


Eric Herman’s What a Ride ($14.99)- When Eric Herman creates music, it is a family affair! This dad often takes his wife and daughters on the road with him in the brightly colored RV dubbed the Eric Herman Mobile when performing his hits from CDs. Eric’s new CD will be out on June 16th and features 11 new and original songs and guest artists galore. Win a copy of Eric’s new CD “What a Ride” whose fun, high energy songs are perfect for a Vacation-style road trip.


Putumayo Kids European Playground ($15.98)- Speaking of Chevy Chase and Vacation, go on a European vacation sans Chevy Chase and the rest of the Griswold clan with this collection that features music from Finland, Sweden, Belgium, England, Denmark, Hungary, France, Greece, Portugal, German, Scotland, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, and Ireland. Too busy to travel this summer? Win a copy of European Playground to be instantly transported to the country of your choice via the CD!


Mary Kaye's Music Box CD ($15)- If you haven’t ever heard of Mary Kaye and her previous 3 CDs (I Sang It Just For You, Mouse Jamboree, and Spin Your Web) then you might want to get to know her and her music. With a voice that Parenting Magazine says is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant, Mary Kaye’s 12 new imaginative songs are original, creative, and are simply delightful. I love listening to her melodic voice as I hear her tunes coming from Little Miss Techie’s room. One lucky Tech Savvy Mama reader will win a copy of Music Box courtesy of Mary Kaye to be delivered after the July 2 release date.



Sony MDR-NC 60 Noise Cancelling Headphones ($199.99)- What dad couldn’t use a pair of noise cancelling headphones to drown out the noise of jet engines while traveling or to listen to a favorite CD or audio book at home? Tech Savvy Daddy says that these headphones are absolutely amazing because of their ability to eliminate background noise and their sheer comfort. Amazon reviewers rate them higher than the crème de la crème Bose headphones at the same price point. Win your pair by clicking here to comment on this post.


Want to win one of the great things above for Father’s Day? It’s so easy! I have a new form that you can fill out to enter up to 6 times.


Thanks to the generous companies who graciously provided all products as giveaways! No promotional consideration was paid to review or post about these products.