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"Jeana Lee Tahnk is a high-tech PR consultant and writer who focuses on technology and parenting. She pens the Screen Play technology blog for Parenting Magazine and also writes for Cool Mom Tech and more.\nIt's amazing how much technology has changed over the past decade and how ingrained it has become in our society. And this is just the beginning. While a Mission Impossible-like society with holographic billboards, levitation technologies and GPS contact lenses scares the dickens out of me, I can honestly say that technology has truly paved the way for a more organized and efficient life. And it's made me a better mom in the process.\nOn a day-to-day basis, I use my iPhone constantly. Between work and a busy family life and being pregnant with baby #3, I have a lot of balls in the air. I've found this invaluable gadget to be my savior in certain situations, enough for me to frequently ponder how I managed to juggle everything in what I call the period \"B.I.\" (before iPhone).\nWho knows what kind of technology we will see in the \"A.I.\" decade? When it comes to tech, I\u2019m actually very selective, always trying to find a balance between old school and new school. But there are some technologies that have made my life as a parent so much easier.\nSEE ALSO: Keeping One Step Ahead of Kids in a Mobile World\nI'm More Organized\nI can multitask with the best of them, but managing the family\u2019s sports, social, parties and activities calendar is a job meant for a robot. B.I., when I would get a note sent home about a field trip, class picture or school concert, I would stick it on the fridge. You can imagine what my fridge looked like. A.I, it goes straight into my digital calendar (and the family\u2019s shared Google Calendar) so I get automatic reminders, making it nearly impossible to forget things. Plus, you can actually see my fridge now!\nI Save Artwork\nSpeaking of fridges, interspersed with all those notices were also layers and layers of artwork that the kids would bring home. While some were definitely worth saving, some were, um, not at all. If you have ever experienced the trauma of your child finding a piece of artwork in the trash, you know never to make that mistake again. There are so many great apps now for preserving all that beautiful artwork, whether it\u2019s a full masterpiece or a scribble, and making sure that your kid\u2019s 1st grade rendition of you is preserved in perpetuity.\nI Get There Faster\nNo, not because technology has made me a faster driver, but because GPS gets me where I'm going. I remember using MapQuest for directions and always having to print them or write them out. Driving around in an unfamiliar area, while trying to read small print on a white piece of paper wasn\u2019t the most efficient (or safest) way to drive. Now, with GPS, I can get to places on time.\nI Share Memories\nThe easy accessibility of my iPhone camera has definitely increased my picture/video-taking pastime. Having to hook up the camera and download pictures was always a hassle that I didn\u2019t want to deal with. Now, I can order prints, share kid memories with friends and family, even create photo books in just a few taps.\nI Connect with Family\nLuckily, most of our extended family lives close to us, but using a webcam and/or FaceTime has been incredible for keeping the kids connected all the time. As opposed to me having to yell through a crackly phone connection to speak with my grandmother in Korea when I was a kid, my kids can see their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins whenever they want.\nSEE ALSO: Randi Zuckerberg: How I Unplug for My Family\nI Make Play Dates\nB.I., trying to arrange a group play date usually required back and forth over email, phone calls (what time? where?) and energy spent on the details. Now, when I take the kids out, I send a text to friends with kids \u2013 Going to the park at 1:00 today, maybe will see you there! \u2013 for an easy and quick insta-play date.\nI Look Smarter\nYou know that age when kids start asking questions about things you really don\u2019t know the answers to, like: How heavy are clouds? How fast can cheetahs run? Instead of saying, \u201CI don\u2019t know,\u201D I can actually find out now by searching the Internet and we can explore the answers to the question together, no matter how obscure.\nI can\u2019t be totally sure if technology has organized me or if I have organized it, but the kind of organization it provides ensures that I focus less on the tasks at hand and more on spending time with my kids. That definitely makes me a better mom.\nHow has technology made YOU a better parent? Please let us know in the comments below.\nThis post is part of a series on the dilemmas of raising digital kids. We'd like to hear some of the parenting issues technology has raised for you. Please let us know in the comments, or on our Mashable Lifestyle Facebook page. You can also follow and tweet us @mashlifestyle.\nThumbnail and image via iStockphoto, aaaniram."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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