*By Amanda Weston*
As students and teachers prepare to go back to school, Google is rolling out new features and games to improve online learning tools used in the classroom.
Among the latest offerings is The Be Internet Awesome game, which is designed to teach children healthy online habits.
"We know the importance of monitoring our online identity, taking care of our passwords, our safety and security, but we've thought about, 'how do we get this to kids in a way that is simple for them to understand?'" LaToya Drake, a Google spokesperson and media outreach lead, said Tuesday in an interview on Cheddar.
The light format shouldn't distract from the important lessons contained in the games, she said.
"It has a host of games and activities that kids can use to learn exactly the things that we as adults think about," Drake said. "But you want kids to start learning this early on because it will be something that sticks with them, and it hopefully teaches them that 'good hygiene,' I like to call it, in staying safe online."
Drake said 30 million teachers and students use Google Classroom worldwide. The program includes a "locked mode" for its testing software, which prevents students who are taking computerized pop quizzes from searching for easy answers online.
Google is also considering how to help children disengage when they need to shift their focus away from screens, Drake said.
"Internally, we call it 'the joy of missing out,' and we're starting to put these features in the devices," she said. "Example one is, if you turn over your phone, you'll start to see this in Android, it's called snooze mode. So it's as easy as just flipping the phone over. It turns off the sounds. It turns off notifications. It allows you to kind of step away."
Drake also shared Google's top back-to-school search terms for 2018. They include clothes, hairstyles, do-it-yourself locker decorations, and the best ways to bring a healthy lifestyle to campus, she said. One of the most popular searches was for glue. It's the key ingredient in homemade slime, which is popular among children.
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
President Donald Trump says he will allow Nvidia to sell its H200 computer chip used in the development of artificial intelligence to “approved customers” in China. Trump said Monday on his social media site that he had informed China’s leader Xi Jinping and “President Xi responded positively!” There had been concerns about allowing advanced computer chips into China as it could help them to compete against the U.S. in building out AI capabilities. But there has also been a desire to develop the AI ecosystem with American companies such as chipmaker Nvidia.
U.S. sports betting is booming as NFL and college football fuel massive activity. BetMGM CEO Adam Greenblatt breaks down trends, growth, and what’s next.
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Disney's changes to a program for disabled visitors are facing challenges in federal court and through a shareholder proposal. The Disability Access Service program, which allows disabled visitors to skip long lines, was overhauled last year. Disney now mostly limits the program to those with developmental disabilities like autism who have difficulty waiting in lines. The changes have sparked criticism from some disability advocates. A shareholder proposal submitted by disability advocates calls for an independent review of Disney's disability policies. Disney plans to block this proposal, claiming it's misleading. It's the latest struggle by Disney to accommodate disabled visitors while stopping past abuses by some theme park guests.
