Author Archives: Pavni Diwanji

Inspiring the creative problem-solvers of the future

What's coming next in technology will shape our future. And because we can't predict what challenges the future will bring, we need to cultivate a new generation of problem-solvers, storytellers, and creative minds to tackle our next problems at scale. It’s not just about coding and programming computers, it’s about helping students learn skills they’ll need to approach problems in a fundamentally different way across every discipline from business to engineering to the arts.

Today, we hosted our fourth annual I/O Youth, part of a longstanding effort to get more students excited about where technology can take them. Nearly 150 5th-7th graders from schools around the Bay Area descended on Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA to explore activities focused on digital storytelling, inventing, science, and coding.

Ryan Germick, who leads our Doodle team, along with Krysia Olszewska of Technovation, emceed the day as kids delved into four activities:

  • Animating their very own cartoon with Toontastic
  • Building a wind spinner from craft supplies and analyzing its speed with the Science Journal app
  • Creating and programming a hot potato game using littleBits Code Kit, which uses drag-and-drop programming based on Google’s Blockly to help kids code
  • Coding an adventure on the high seas, programming the type of ship, height of waves, characters and dialogue, using Scratch with Google’s CS First curriculum
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Welcome to I/O Youth!
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Kids start filing in
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Pavni Diwanji, VP of Engineering for Kids and Families, welcomes the kids to I/O Youth 2017 
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Yoky Matsuoka, CTO of Nest, kicks off the day
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Coding with littleBits
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Creating a story set in space with Toontastic
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Quick, Draw!
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Coding with CS First and Scratch
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Fun in the Sandbox

It wouldn’t be I/O without a Sandbox, so through “Toy Taxidermy,” an activity developed by Wonderful Idea Co, kids tinkered with mechanical toys to see how they work. The MIT Media Lab showed kids how to make their own game controllers with Play-Doh and tinfoil to control the games they created in Scratch. Kids also got to check out a virtual journey with Expeditions, learn about the Google Assistant and its sense of humor, and see examples of artificial intelligence through Google’s Quick, Draw! and Giorgio Cam AI Experiments.

Today was about opening a door to let kids see what’s possible. Mentors from littleBits, Scratch, and Technovation encouraged kids to get involved in local clubs and activities so that anyone who has a passion for technology has an outlet to keep going. And everyone went home with a littleBits Rule Your Room Kit, so they can continue creating and programming at home. We hope kids discover that a bright future isn’t some distant goal—it's something they have the power and skills to create right now.

Introducing the Family Link app: Helping families navigate technology together

The devices we carry every day open up a world of information for us to explore, sparking our curiosity and creativity. But when it comes to our kids using those same devices, it’s tricky. We want them to explore and be inspired as they embark on their digital adventure, but every family feels differently about what their kids should and shouldn't be able to do on their device. That’s why we developed the Family Link app. When your child is ready for their first Android device, Family Link lets you create a Google Account for them, which is like your own account, and also helps you set certain digital ground rules that work for your family - like managing the apps your kid can use, keeping an eye on screen time, and setting a bedtime on your kid’s device.

Here’s how it works: First, your kid will need a new device that runs Android Nougat (7.0)* or higher. Then, download Family Link onto your device and create a Google Account for them through the app. Finally, sign them into their new device, and you can then use Family Link to:

Manage the apps your kid can use

Approve or block the apps your kid wants to download from the Google Play Store.

Screenshot: Manage the apps your kid can use


Keep an eye on screen time

See how much time your kid spends on their favorite apps with weekly or monthly activity reports, and set daily screen time limits for their device.

Screenshot: Keep an eye on screentime

Set device bedtime

Remotely lock your kid’s device when it’s time to play, study, or sleep.

Screenshot: Set a bedtime

Starting today, parents across the U.S. can request an invite to the Family Link early access program. After receiving an invite, parents with kids under 13 years old can download and try the Family Link app. We’re just getting started, and we’ll be asking parents using Family Link for feedback about how to improve the experience before we make the app broadly available.

While Family Link can help you set certain ground rules around how your child uses their device, it can't make the apps or services on their phone that were designed for adults kid-safe; it's up to parents to choose what's right for their kid. When you make the decision to give your child their own device, Family Link can serve as a tool that keeps you in the loop as they begin to explore.

To learn more about the Family Link early access program and request an invitation, visit our Family Link website.

*Kids can use Family Link with certain Android Marshmallow devices. Visit our FAQ to learn more.

Introducing the Family Link app: Helping families navigate technology together

The devices we carry every day open up a world of information for us to explore, sparking our curiosity and creativity. But when it comes to our kids using those same devices, it’s tricky. We want them to explore and be inspired as they embark on their digital adventure, but every family feels differently about what their kids should and shouldn't be able to do on their device. That’s why we developed the Family Link app. When your child is ready for their first Android device, Family Link lets you create a Google Account for them, which is like your own account, and also helps you set certain digital ground rules that work for your family - like managing the apps your kid can use, keeping an eye on screen time, and setting a bedtime on your kid’s device.

Here’s how it works: First, your kid will need a new device that runs Android Nougat (7.0) or higher. Then, download Family Link onto your device and create a Google Account for them through the app. Finally, sign them into their new device, and you can then use Family Link to:

Manage the apps your kid can use

Approve or block the apps your kid wants to download from the Google Play Store.

Manage the apps_Families.png


Keep an eye on screen time

See how much time your kid spends on their favorite apps with weekly or monthly activity reports, and set daily screen time limits for their device.

Keep an eye on screentime_Families.png

Set device bedtime

Remotely lock your kid’s device when it’s time to play, study, or sleep.

Set a bedtime_Families.png

Starting today, parents across the U.S. can request an invite to the Family Link early access program. After receiving an invite, parents with kids under 13 years old can download and try the Family Link app. We’re just getting started, and we’ll be asking parents using Family Link for feedback about how to improve the experience before we make the app broadly available.

While Family Link can help you set certain ground rules around how your child uses their device, it can't make the apps or services on their phone that were designed for adults kid-safe; it's up to parents to choose what's right for their kid. When you make the decision to give your child their own device, Family Link can serve as a tool that keeps you in the loop as they begin to explore.

To learn more about the Family Link early access program and request an invitation, visit our Family Link website.