This concept of having tablet computers for every student in a grade or an entire school is one that I've been wondering about. And now that my own school is considering having iPads for every ninth grader, I've decided to look into it, and figure … [Read more...]
Rape culture and media complicity
March 20, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Feeling too devastated to write today. Not enough that a 16 year old girl is raped, degraded and humilitated by high school star athletes who feel entitled to use her body as a plaything. Not enough that in this internet age, pictures and video … [Read more...]
Clydesdales at the Superbowl: Does Budweiser market its beer directly to kids?
March 6, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Did you see the Budweiser ad during the SuperBowl that featured a heartwarming story about a horse who remembered the many who helped to raise and train it? It was a touching story. See if you can recognize the persuasive technique, via the Media … [Read more...]
Should movies with smoking be rated R?
January 9, 2013 By 4 Comments
This is the second of a two-part series on smoking, media and youth. Part I here. So, the good news is, teen smoking is down. A government report in November 2012 found that cigarette smoking among teenagers had declined significantly between … [Read more...]
Time to learn how to create your own video games
December 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
I told my 13-year-old son, PD, that if he was going to spend so much time playing video games, then he would have to learn how to program his own games. Because if there is one thing I have learned over two years of writing about the subject, Media … [Read more...]
Screen time, Media Literacy and the preschool set
November 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
According to the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, estimates of how much time preschoolers spend on average with screen media range from at least 2.2 hours to as much as 4.6 hours per day. That’s a lot. Today, I am alerting teachers … [Read more...]
The ongoing great digital experiment on the brain development of children
November 7, 2012 By 2 Comments
Recently, two organizations surveyed teachers to learn their opinions of how digital technologies and media are effecting students, both academically and socially. The results were fascinating and if you have the time, take a look at the reports, … [Read more...]
Teen filmmakers win at film festival
October 24, 2012 By 1 Comment
Positive media and media literate students. That’s our goal, right? That’s why I am pleased to relaunch the blog with this inspiring story. Reading High School senior Vanessa O’Connor, along with her team, Violet Tacito of Reading High and … [Read more...]
Study: Media literacy education helps protect children from the harmful effects of media messages
August 21, 2012 By 10 Comments
Media literacy education is effective in reducing risky or antisocial behaviors among children and youth of all ages and for all topics of focus, such as tobacco use, violence and sex, according to researchers who conducted a comprehensive review of … [Read more...]
Modern-day anthropology: What happens when culture is shaped by profit-making entities?
August 1, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Here, an absolutely fascinating article in the New Yorker about anthropologists who studied both a small tribe that hunts and farms in Peruvian Amazon, and what must be their absolute modern-day polar opposite; middle-class families in Southern … [Read more...]
