The OurStory app: Highlighting books with diverse content and by content creators from marginalized communities. YES!
Over the years, we here at Cool Mom Tech (and Cool Mom Picks) have believed in the importance of supporting diverse companies, products, and books, as well as sharing content from creators from marginalized communities. From POC-owned beauty brands to Black food...
10 father’s day gifts for gamer dads that will impress the heck out of him
It's not just kids who are gaming more courtesy of the quarantine. We know lots of grown-ups are doing it a lot more too, which is why we decided to put together a Father's Day gift guide just for the gamer dads. We scoured the web for the coolest gifts for gamers,...
Here’s how to make that Facebook Avatar that looks nothing like you.
If you're like me, then your Facebook feed has been filled with everyone's new Facebook avatar. It's also been filled with people saying how they look nothing like them. And I have to be honest, I totally agree. So of course, I had to give it a try myself. But it's...
This Baby Yoda speaker is giving us the little spark of joy we needed today.
Did we mention that we have the coolest readers? Eric (aka EricSketch on Twitter) has been reading our site for quite some time now, so when we spotted this Baby Yoda Bluetooth speaker in his Twitter feed we were like "HOLY MANDALORIAN!" Let's just say we will...
Are my kids spending too much time on video games during quarantine? We asked a video gaming expert.
With lots of extra time on their hands, my kids are spending a lot of that playing video games. And based on some of the discussions in our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook Group, I'm not the only parent who's experiencing the same thing. But how do you know if your kids...
Picture Home: A fun communal photo project to inspire everyday life at home
If you're in need of a fun little project to help focus your energy in a positive, inspiring way, we're happy to recommend our dear friend Tracey Clark's Picture Home. It's a family-friendly, all-ages communal photo project with 31 days full of easy prompts that...
Mother’s Day Tech Guide: 10 tech gifts that will make quarantine a little easier
Ah yes, Mother's Day in quarantine, which we think means making it extra special. The mom in your life doesn't necessarily have to be a techie to appreciate a tech gift. We're pretty sure all of these would make any mom we know - tech savvy or not - very happy this...
Is the new Spotify Kids app worth the extra money?
When I first heard about the new Spotify Kids app, I was pretty excited. Would this be the app that would wean my son from the Moana soundtrack and expand his musical horizons? Is this the app for kids who are ready for their own music, but not everything that the...
SchoolClosures.org offers free resources for families affected by school closures
Both Liz and I got word this week that our kids will be out of school for the rest of the school year, which means we'll be doing this isolation schooling for another couple of months. Thankfully, resources like SchoolClosures.org have been popping up to help parents...
The Together app helps families and friends stay connected during quarantine, and beyond | Sponsored Message
This is a sponsored message for Together app As so many families and friends are struggling to stay connected during this Coronavirus quarantine, they've turned to technology to help them stay in touch. But with the Together app, your kids can video chat, while play...
Zoom alternatives for schools: 7 video conferencing options until Zoom fixes…some stuff
With the news last week that Zoom had some big security concerns to patch up, educators of all kinds started seeking out Zoom alternatives for schools and other kinds of remote learning. Especially after the NYC DOE took the big step of forbidding NYC public schools...
Play Cards Against Humanity online with your friends, thanks to Playingcards.io
We're all doing our best practicing social distancing and stay connected during this Coronavirus lockdown, and we've seen lots of creative ideas, from Facebook Live dance parties, to Zoom cocktail parties, even online singalongs like the one Kristen is hosting this...
Tips & Tricks to Make Life (Way!) Easier
How to practice safe socializing using tech during the Coronavirus outbreak
It's ironic that I chose the word "connect" as my 2020 word, just to find myself practicing "social distancing" three months into the year. Suddenly, instead of looking forward to coffee shop meetups, long chummy walks, and dinners with friends, my calendar is wide...
The best ways to clean and disinfect your phone during cold and flu season: From gentle cleaning to killing bacteria and microbes
With the concern about the COVID-19 Coronavirus right now, it seems like a good time to bring back the talk about the best ways to clean your phone, or disinfect it entirely. Also, your kids' phones (ahem). Because while it's important to know the best way to wash...
How to hide your Instagram Story from users. Psst: If you can do it, your kids can do it too.
A few months ago, we shared how to set up the Close Friends feature on Instagram, just in case you’ve got your kids (and their friends) following you and wanted to share something that they couldn’t see. Of course, whenever you do that, then you can pretty much assume...
7 meditation apps to help you calm quarantine anxiety. Deep breaths, everyone.
These days anxiety feels like a constant a companion as my house, and some of my usual coping mechanisms aren't accessible. I miss you, YMCA treadmill! So right now I'm making do with these helpful meditation apps. And I'm happy to say that when I actually get a...
How to practice safe socializing using tech during the Coronavirus outbreak
It's ironic that I chose the word "connect" as my 2020 word, just to find myself practicing "social distancing" three months into the year. Suddenly, instead of looking forward to coffee shop meetups, long chummy walks, and dinners with friends, my calendar is wide...
15 awesome podcasts for kids that you’ll enjoy too, parents.
We've been busy rounding up everything from helpful homeschooling resources to online learning apps and websites for the quarantine, but we realize kids can't live on educational materials alone. So we asked our Out Tech Your Kids Facebook Group members for their...
5 of the best audiobook apps to listen to while you scrub the counters. Again.
Anyone else need the escape of audiobooks while we hunker down and wait out the Coronavirus quarantines, school closures, and social distancing? These audiobook apps have proved to be the perfect literary lifeline for me while I'm stuck at home with my young children....
8 reality shows you can mindlessly binge-watch because your brain needs a little break
Oh hi there, fellow anxious, friends. How are you holding up? It's been quite a stressful week, and I don't see it letting up anytime soon, so I'm doing my best to give my brain a little break, and one way that I do that is binge-watching completely mindless (and yes,...
8 fantastic educational resources for online learning, just in case you need them, parents.
Last week, our school district cancelled school on Friday due to possible COVID-19 exposure. And this week on Tuesday, my youngest daughter had off school. Whether or not we will see more cancellations in the future is unknown at this time (sorry, no crystal ball,...
Here’s how to clean and disinfect your AirPods, because ew, David.
We've already told you how dirty your phone probably is right now. So now, we're going to gross you out a little more by telling you that your AirPods are probably pretty dirty too. If you're on a bit of a disinfecting tear, we suggest adding your AirPods into your...
Calling all young scientists: There’s a $25,000 prize up for grabs and entering is super easy!
We're always amazed and impressed by the imaginative ideas kids can come up with when you give them a simple problem to solve. Just think of how many times your smartypants kids have gotten their siblings to do their chores. Or, figured out how to circumvent your...
The best ways to clean and disinfect your phone during cold and flu season: From gentle cleaning to killing bacteria and microbes
With the concern about the COVID-19 Coronavirus right now, it seems like a good time to bring back the talk about the best ways to clean your phone, or disinfect it entirely. Also, your kids' phones (ahem). Because while it's important to know the best way to wash...
JIF vs GIF: How the peanut butter is trying to end the pronunciation debate for once and for all.
There are two kinds of people in the world: Those who pronounce GIF with a hard "G" as in GRAPHIC...and those who are wrong. (And yes, I know that GIF creator Steve Wilhite pronounces it with a soft J, but unless the acronym now stands for Jurrasic Interchange Format,...
These Baby Yoda beanies from Love Your Melon are the cutest thing you’ll see today.
If you and your family are as obsessed with The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda as we are, then you're all going to flip your helmet over these new Baby Yoda beanies from Love Your Melon. And the best part is that 50% of the net profits go to charity. Related: Our first 24...
Dear Reader is the addictive wordplay game for fans of Jane Austen and Edgar Allen Poe. Yes, really.
When you think "voracious reader of the classics" you don't generally think at the same time "..and big game, toor!" And yet, that's how I feel every time I open up Dear Reader. Free with Apple Arcade, this fun, quippy, clever, and fairly challenging iOS game of...