tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63000297361182724592024-03-04T22:25:43.985-08:00Kidvid's Eye ViewDavid Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.comBlogger81125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-74349486011773366532010-03-26T08:54:00.000-07:002010-03-26T13:46:14.284-07:00La Hora de los Ninos<span style="font-size:100%;">Below are some images from the trailer for a new Colombian pre-school series, created by a multi-partner group including the regional channels in Colombia, Citurna Producciones, the government media commission, and production consultants in other countries.<br /><br />Elements of the series are produced all over the country, so that the children on camera truly represent the diversity of the country.<br /><br />The descriptions of the program elements below aren't literal translations of the text on screen -- my Spanish isn't that good.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp3x0UsVjer7tWsi4qcWX_3OxYfnkF6VHznaX5E8Hm0WvztxRt8Lq1lVkSPS6cnITdTbA1LdBHAQu_kXD36I3IrlxIQIwgV2y_qnicDJqokp2oL7FmOWWd8BnOcMYWBKRpQTGKn4N8RB4/s1600/IMG_2267.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNp3x0UsVjer7tWsi4qcWX_3OxYfnkF6VHznaX5E8Hm0WvztxRt8Lq1lVkSPS6cnITdTbA1LdBHAQu_kXD36I3IrlxIQIwgV2y_qnicDJqokp2oL7FmOWWd8BnOcMYWBKRpQTGKn4N8RB4/s320/IMG_2267.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453043313229405186" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Title graphics for La Hora de los Ninos.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLKBOyFNWs5ejVtGJcf7JxJ2gzMcVGrcbNcIWKFesuNAzRvn4L1OsnbQr8r_vZ9Qw35dF5dipXIVj-2G7fMFZuPrOoV010Ow59zEHZrURlkSIdXYXOl1M_Vwks9c44yPm9MayG-dPrB7o/s1600/IMG_2268.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCLKBOyFNWs5ejVtGJcf7JxJ2gzMcVGrcbNcIWKFesuNAzRvn4L1OsnbQr8r_vZ9Qw35dF5dipXIVj-2G7fMFZuPrOoV010Ow59zEHZrURlkSIdXYXOl1M_Vwks9c44yPm9MayG-dPrB7o/s320/IMG_2268.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452972964675114802" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Goal: Empowerment of children in a familiar environment.<o:p></o:p></span> <!--EndFragment--><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dOZI0Ls-Vn9nsC-ChKP4im7WAGAds7XP_JaNyY03r1M1fRVHPxs4HjQt2OBmg6TGkvd4AAb_uuD-JPkDLCNjiH0yj5ZJYB5VHmUWm6B7yC3ESuyQziHnS2xUZoNP2zKSpuXmp5mNPTBg/s1600/IMG_2278.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8dOZI0Ls-Vn9nsC-ChKP4im7WAGAds7XP_JaNyY03r1M1fRVHPxs4HjQt2OBmg6TGkvd4AAb_uuD-JPkDLCNjiH0yj5ZJYB5VHmUWm6B7yC3ESuyQziHnS2xUZoNP2zKSpuXmp5mNPTBg/s320/IMG_2278.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452974125427159826" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Goal: Promotion of common values.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSrY5OEcZdvu7SN8NfaubUGIIDEeHwcf6cO9p4_5SrwQ7dAodQGd7EToEfrbQkLG_9tFzm4RPjAvL-JcDCWi65onUbmVDS72kt2a71ko5rjstIjoOTNOzXnI7dH0j3zXOP2_NKFyxnrwD/s1600/IMG_2269.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSrY5OEcZdvu7SN8NfaubUGIIDEeHwcf6cO9p4_5SrwQ7dAodQGd7EToEfrbQkLG_9tFzm4RPjAvL-JcDCWi65onUbmVDS72kt2a71ko5rjstIjoOTNOzXnI7dH0j3zXOP2_NKFyxnrwD/s320/IMG_2269.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453039223839417218" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br />Goal: Model adults reading to children.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPIv5-3L_BTkr6dOYv-dPvNTeg2f8o8FGfnY93llzJ1AQaJcCuyzkLzQncCkfA4QfTWihNQQo7OamDe6hlMzvllASgOFDBu3iPETANbJmdWIq-Gd8sZcYGodqaMsLimINhsGXY2MtBhsV/s1600/IMG_2270.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPIv5-3L_BTkr6dOYv-dPvNTeg2f8o8FGfnY93llzJ1AQaJcCuyzkLzQncCkfA4QfTWihNQQo7OamDe6hlMzvllASgOFDBu3iPETANbJmdWIq-Gd8sZcYGodqaMsLimINhsGXY2MtBhsV/s320/IMG_2270.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452974113020991138" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br />Goal: Show children reading to children.<br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSamXGh7gMCQOTzHI7ND03f9Wvbqd8mNv19A7m6LyUNl_I_C75FoJFU6jNrD_O8UwSMVNG4XR44XHjWbZw4VvaivqVOpxJ-qPNq5xMDKiRFQA_N6mkRkz-Q3WhdNRhkFyOul6etCX7UAzt/s1600/IMG_2280.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSamXGh7gMCQOTzHI7ND03f9Wvbqd8mNv19A7m6LyUNl_I_C75FoJFU6jNrD_O8UwSMVNG4XR44XHjWbZw4VvaivqVOpxJ-qPNq5xMDKiRFQA_N6mkRkz-Q3WhdNRhkFyOul6etCX7UAzt/s320/IMG_2280.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452974138816790562" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Goal: Encourage and demonstrate free expression by children.<br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJo4Ct1IvdGEdfQxNZSoxDr6SMamJKotwEufoOemqkg_2SZMK7Mmc5mR5xp_5Rx9ydoRZB03hAZhSsGU8r_xzy7WzY4pPtiDcoKwyaLLR3uBPNCPFbQHe5CNXUkGxJ31RIV3IpwW6Skry/s1600/IMG_2279.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJo4Ct1IvdGEdfQxNZSoxDr6SMamJKotwEufoOemqkg_2SZMK7Mmc5mR5xp_5Rx9ydoRZB03hAZhSsGU8r_xzy7WzY4pPtiDcoKwyaLLR3uBPNCPFbQHe5CNXUkGxJ31RIV3IpwW6Skry/s320/IMG_2279.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452974128890131602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />One place where children express themselves is in interviews in the Bear's House.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWeYGvuYe1JMkKBZP0RmJAW-1XHFT5xNSsgp9C7Qlfk3pvzdeM8IoA2rJsSY7gnl0m_C8B5dutHYzWkGCmr4g9CNfC67AL-URx9S119dUE4FAhtNPt_CPMYifHrHX8KshKJBY28gXYBda/s1600/IMG_2271.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcWeYGvuYe1JMkKBZP0RmJAW-1XHFT5xNSsgp9C7Qlfk3pvzdeM8IoA2rJsSY7gnl0m_C8B5dutHYzWkGCmr4g9CNfC67AL-URx9S119dUE4FAhtNPt_CPMYifHrHX8KshKJBY28gXYBda/s320/IMG_2271.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452974115848239458" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Tell stories that engage children in a world of imagination, with children at the center of the story.</span><br /></span><!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment--> <span style="text-decoration: underline;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1rndoLm-B8_yTEYumuLQOZw4Vhf4iViS1fZ-TLW-CmbMa_EJPlRtxQDiNKTAmhxVwsZZJ-TVrFwLqyapoXen6FngXtV4rJdXa0Tdk3bVRtHjxI2n_SjWqcj-4FfUxdtnbxhc98v3dj3z/s1600/IMG_2272.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1rndoLm-B8_yTEYumuLQOZw4Vhf4iViS1fZ-TLW-CmbMa_EJPlRtxQDiNKTAmhxVwsZZJ-TVrFwLqyapoXen6FngXtV4rJdXa0Tdk3bVRtHjxI2n_SjWqcj-4FfUxdtnbxhc98v3dj3z/s320/IMG_2272.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452972493079704082" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><br />Goal: Show children natural processes and how familar things are made.<br /><br /></span>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-32497965971370797032010-03-22T19:53:00.000-07:002010-03-22T19:54:20.998-07:00Fred Forward "Ideation & Creation" Session Framing<span style="font-style: italic;">A number of people asked if I would post my opening framing from the session I produced this afternoon at the Fred Forward conference at the Fred Rogers Center in Latrobe, PA. I cut out some sentences that dealt exclusively with the task at hand for the session. I hope this rundown of challenges facing children's media professionals is helpful to others!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">DK</span><br />--<br />Today, we face vexing technological, financial and societal challenges in developing children’s media. Here are some of the challenges I have in mind:<br /><br />• Even by preschool, children are immersed in a multi-media world. The media industries often feel they have to be everywhere in order to capture children’s attention, but is “360 development” based on commissioners’ concerns or on children’s needs and abilities? As you generate your idea, give thought to different platforms’ or technologies’ unique capacities and advantages. There are good and bad reasons for choosing each; if you decide on a multi-platform concept, discuss how they’d work individually and together.<br /><br />• Traditional financial models for children’s educational media are weak – public broadcasting is chronically under-funded, commercial telecasters pay ever-smaller license fees as channels proliferate, the advertising market is fragmented by expanding options. Producers have dwindling options to achieve their vision, and some of those raise troubling questions – content development overshadowed by merchandising concerns, advertising to audiences too young to know its meaning, shows developed for global markets by removing any trace of unique culture. How will you pay for your media concept – and make a living yourselves – without disrespecting children and families?<br /><br />• We want media ideas that are truly, madly, deeply educational. We have great models of what works on television, and growing research into effective education via digital devices. But we run the risk of cheapening the term “educational” by using it to market outcomes rather than input. Every child has unique needs, interests and abilities: we need to tell parents what ingredients went into the stew, why we chose them and why we believe in them; they’ll tell us whether the stew pleases and nourishes their kids. In short – underpromise and overdeliver. Focus on ensuring a strong learning foundation beneath your idea.<br /><br />The future of children’s media depends on our solving these challenges. We can only achieve the level of quality we envision, parents long for, and children deserve by untangling the Gordian Knot. Creative excellence starves without sound economics; sound economics depend on our finding media’s appropriate roles in children’s lives; those roles evolve from parents’ trust and children’s engagement; and those comes from creative excellence. Back where we started.<br /><br />Fred Rogers was a master of that balancing act, in large part because he stayed simple and true to a vision, supported by knowledge of child development. He often quoted “The Little Prince”: that which is essential is invisible to the eye. Done right, our balancing acts and compromises are invisible to children and parents, but any creator of programs, websites, games, products or apps wrestles with them daily.<br /><br />This session’s goals have less to do with outcomes than with the process. No one expects you to solve all our problems today. Instead, your task – developing a creative media concept around emotional literacy – is designed to encourage sharing experience and expertise across professions, and playing with the processes and language of creative development. We may disagree at times about what children want, need, deserve or delight in, but I hope we can stipulate to two ideas: 1) children’s media aren’t going away, so we need sustainable strategies for giving families our best work across the growing array of technologies; and 2) children, like adults, seek and are entitled to a variety of content that engages, enlightens, informs and entertains them.David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-45595233654804711392010-03-05T08:32:00.000-08:002010-03-05T08:35:30.674-08:00<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I’ve been quite critical of </span></span><a href="http://www.kwedit.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, the new “promise to pay” company that lets gamers and others borrow real-world money to make purchases in online environments. Borrowers can repay without interest in a variety of ways, including at local 7-11 stores. Since </span></span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/business/07digi.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">the New York Times profiled Kwedit</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/265469/march-02-2010/the-word---kid-owe"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Steven Colbert took it on in a commentary</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, Kwedit has been at the center of a storm of protest over enticing children into deficit spending before they’re old enough to understand it.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and Kwedit must be reeling over that lost opportunity. It’s cost them considerable time in the press and on Twitter, repeating the mantra “Kwedit is not credit, it’s for teens and older. We're not a lender, there's no interest.” But, given their cutesy name, cartoon duck mascot, initial partners that sound like kid-friendly sites, and </span></span><a href="http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/03/buy-anything-virtually-with-kwedit/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">coverage that routinely uses the word “kids”</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> they’ve got quite a hill to climb.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To their credit (not gonna do it…the kid-like, can’t resist punning name is part of their problem), CEO Danny Shader and some of his executives called me to discuss the company and the commotion, in response to my critiques.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Here’s my one-sentence assessment; you can choose whether to read my more detailed thoughts that follow: </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit actually has a compelling concept with substantial positive potential, if ring-fenced from children (and Kwedit and I disagree on the appropriate age).</span></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CEO Shader talked about the concept’s genesis: an alternative to the existing high-premium means for the “unbanked” – people with resources but no credit or debit card – to pay for online transactions. One of Kwedit’s clients is </span></span><a href="http://www.poketalk.com/index.php/pages_c/home_poketalk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">PokeTalk</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, an international phone calling service; they’re set to introduce deals with various adult-targeted games. Kwedit has morphed from its initial aim, but had these been their inaugural partners, I suspect their debut would have passed unnoticed.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I’m a Boomer, a digital immigrant, and not a gamer. The concept of spending real life money for virtual goods – food for your digital dog or a more powerful weapon in a fantasy game – feels distasteful to me at a time when people and nations have overspent and overleveraged themselves into crisis.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As I considered Kwedit, I had to rethink this bias. I recently chose the free, ad-supported version of an iPhone game over the $2.99 no-ads edition; others might opt to pay. Why shouldn’t those who prefer role-play games have the same options I appreciate for word games – paying to enhance the virtual experience? Even in physical space, if I buy a fancy running watch (it doesn’t make me faster or fitter, but it’s a tool I appreciate), is that different from gamers buying “bits” that do the same for them?</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One hurdle leaped, but the next still smacks me in the face. Everyone – children and adults – needs to learn not to spend money they don’t have on products they don’t </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">need. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We’re surrounded by buy-now, pay later opportunities from blizzards of pre-approved credit card applications to no-interest/no payment come-ons in stores to swipe-and-go machines even for tiny purchases. Kwedit is launching into a world rightly primed to be skeptical of its “play now, pay later” ethos. It’s not a perception of their making; they’re not creating a market, but they are plying one.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We trust adults to make these decisions, but we protect children and teens. You have to be 18 to enter into a legal contract or get a credit card without an adult co-signer.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit chose 13 as the age of consent for its service as a nod to COPPA compliance. They’re not bound by age restrictions on credit services because you make a “Promise” and not a legal agreement to repay, and because there’s no interest charged. 13- to 18-year olds are encouraged – but not required – to get parental permission before using Kwedit.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To quote English author G.K. Chesterton, </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“to have a</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">right</span></span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">to</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">do</span></span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">a</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">thing</span></span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">is not at all the same as to be</span></span></span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><em><span style="color: black; font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">right</span></span></span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial;color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">in doing it</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124119468"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Teens are impulsive; they’re wired that way.</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> In the midst of a game, presented with a “play now, pay later” opportunity, they’re unlikely to think through the consequences. (An interesting side note: CEO Shader says that so far, 50% of all players – not just teens – who click from a game into Kwedit leave the site without going deeper.) Shader notes that the risk is reasonably low; initial borrowing power is only a few dollars and the only penalty for default is restriction on future borrowing.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Still, why encourage teens to flirt with debt at all? Kwedit portrays it as a learning experience toward future, more consequential, situations like the credit card offers when they head off to college. Shader cites a favorite book, </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Skinned-Knee-Teachings-Self-Reliant/dp/0142196002"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Blessings of a Skinned Knee</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">, as encouraging parents to allow reasonable risk-taking (including reasonable failure) as a means for building self-reliant children. I understand the point, but I believe we’re teaching the wrong lessons at the wrong time – building the house of cards before ensuring a strong foundation underneath.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The foundation for managing credit is learning to budget. That’s why parents give children allowance; that’s why there are youth-targeted reloadable debit cards. Some online sites allow parents to load a virtual allowance that the child can draw down. These are the safest financial risk-management trainers: when it’s gone, it’s gone. The young person learns to manage a budget or to manage disappointment.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">These methods also place the negotiation between child and parent where it belongs -- up front. The rules are set before the money is granted. Kwedit, by contrast, puts the discussion after the promise. Teens are encouraged but not required to talk with parents before borrowing.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One option for users who find they can’t pay is “Pass the Duck” – a request sent to a third party to log into Kwedit and cover a promise. Adults can pay the bill and teach their children that someone else will bail them out. They can pay but negotiate payback terms – the best solution, but a conversation that parents want to have beforehand. They can decline to pay and leave their child on the hook; of course, since this is just a “skinned knee” debt, the lesson would seem to be that debt has only minor consequences, unlike the real world of mounting interest.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">While the amounts are smaller, Kwedit would do well to note parents’ fury with mobile phone companies that allow young people to rack up unanticipated text or download charges. It should also note the findings of the most recent </span></span><a href="http://home3.americanexpress.com/corp/pc/2010/cci.asp"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">American Express Spending & Saving Tracker</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; color:black"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">that found 91 percent of parents focused this year on instilling lessons of financial responsibility in their six- to sixteen-year-old children.</span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">CEO Shader cites Kwedit as a response to the prevalence of “friendly fraud” – kids using parents’ credit cards without permission. If a teenager is engaging in this practice, the family has a larger issue to manage than allowances and budgeting. Moreover, a player isn’t going to steal a parent’s credit card if s/he has the money to repay. Kwedit, then, becomes just a more savory, above-board means to the (again, post purchase) conversation about fiscal responsibility.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To be fair, the site includes an extensive parents’ page with tips and links for talking about money with your teen, and a teen page with lessons on money management. I’d be amazed, however, if more than a tiny fraction of teens and parents actually read the site. All you need to sign up is an e-mail address: activation is instant and there’s no request for birthdates or other age verification. Those steps don’t stop underage users but might provide one more opportunity for financial education and rethinking (perhaps Kwedit needs a “waiting period” for teen users).</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit tracks users’ behavior with a Kwedit Score that rises and falls depending on your payment reliability. The company makes much of the fact that initial borrowing limits are very small ($3-5), but the website also says that “</span></span><strong><span style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">by being responsible and paying your Promises on time, you’ll get more and more Kwedit</span></span></span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">from the games you like to play.” A real-world credit score is based on a complex array of behaviors and accounts; a Kwedit score is solely determined by your internal reliability. This creates a worrisome direct link between good behavior and added risk, little nudges toward the cliff of a user’s ability to pay.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A few notes about the site that seem apropos here. I signed up for a Kwedit account; at no time during registration did it ask me about opting out of Kwedit or third party marketing or messaging. The Privacy Policy says it is possible to opt out from one’s profile page, but I can’t find such a link. Nowhere on my profile page could I find my Kwedit Limit. The parents’ site talks about Kwedit as a financial literacy tool, calling it “a fun way for your teen to start understanding some money basics: 1) save; 2) don’t spend more than they have; and 3) only borrow what they can pay back.” I find nothing in the mechanics of the site itself that would prompt such reflection.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit goes to great pains to say that your Kwedit Score is an internal statistic only, and cannot affect your real-world FICO score. Kwedit executive Loree Hirschman promises that the company’s privacy policy strictly forbids them from selling your Score to third parties. I hope this clause is airtight, because users’ scores and histories would be incredibly valuable, especially for teenagers reaching 18 and becoming fair game for credit offers.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thus far, I’ve addressed only Kwedit’s intended audience of 13-18 year olds (Shader says their core target is 18-34 – they have no incentive to attract people with no money or means to repay). The bigger problem, in my mind, is that by setting their lower limit at the COPPA-mandated age, they’re almost certainly attracting underage customers.</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit has specifically avoided partnering with sites known to be aimed at young children and tweens – Club Penguin, Webkinz, and so on. Two of the three sites listed as Kwedit partners at launch are </span></span><a href="http://www.foopets.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">FooPets</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.puzzlepirates.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Puzzle Pirates</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. I visited both, because in name and style they give every appearance of appealing to older kids and tweens.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">FooPets considers use of its site – agreeing to its terms and conditions – to be a legal agreement; those under 18 need an adult to register. </span></span><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/foo-pets"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Common Sense Media</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> rates the site “Iffy” for 13-15 (based on cost and privacy) though its parent member rating is “On for 11+.” You could say this proves that FooPets is not aimed at children, but is also raises the issue of the ‘gappers’ – children (and teens) whose parents have signed off on using FooPets but weren’t asked whether they want their children to engage in Kwedit’s intermediary service.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit’s Hirschman says, “we do not rely upon other sites' policies…the only way a consumer can make a Promise is to come from another site to which we are linked, and we only link to sites whose target users are at least 13 years old. This just restricts the beginning of the funnel, but we then further restrict our user base: when users enroll in Kwedit, they must affirm that they are at least 13 years old and agree to *our* terms of use, the first sentence of which clearly states they must be at least 13 years old.”</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is fine legally, but we all know that underage players routinely tick through boxes asking if they’re 13. Further, it doesn’t really answer the question of parents who have OK'ed the play, but not the ‘borrow now, ask later’ part.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Puzzle Pirates offers different game levels. Some are aimed at kids under 13 and some above; some are free and some for paying customers. There are paying areas for younger players (they get a monthly “prize”). Kwedit’s Hirschman says Puzzle Pirates is only making Kwedit available to a subset of its users; she’s unsure if that includes children under 13.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After exploring Kwedit in depth, I see it as a risky service that tempts kids too early toward deficit spending and could alienate parents. I don’t, however, believe that they are as cwaven as cwitics cwy (it was all bottled up…I had to let it out!).</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Not that they asked, but my free advice to Kwedit would be:</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1)</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Raise your minimum age to 18, or require documented parental approval for 13-18 year olds;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2)</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">draw a bright line that avoids partnering with sites that are </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">likely</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> to attract children under 13, not just those aimed uniquely at them;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3)</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Add age as a factor in determining Kwedit limits, cap teen limits and/or allow parents (see #1) to set a cap for teens;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4)</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Make your next prominently-announced partners games or services that are clearly meant for adults;</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.25in;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">5)</span></span><span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Excise kids </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">and</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> teens entirely from your talking points about Kwedit, and focus on why resourced adults would want to use the service – avoiding credit cards fees and interest, lack of a bank account, micropayments without giving out your credit information online, and so on.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Kwedit won’t have a second chance at a first impression, but with caution, humility and repositioning, this duck could have a shot at a long tail (that it…I Promise).</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></o:p></p>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-84617410159054987342009-10-21T00:44:00.000-07:002009-10-21T00:59:43.830-07:00Tokyo Toy StoreI arrived in Tokyo last night, with one day to explore before we begin work tomorrow morning. I am here to chair the audiovisual juries for the JAPAN PRIZE, the premier international competition for educational media, convened by the public broadcaster NHK. I'll be posting from here over the next week, though I have to be circumspect since JAPAN PRIZE is not an "everyone watches, everyone discusses, everyone votes" contest like PRIX JEUNESSE.<br /><br />I spent a bit of my day at one of Tokyo's biggest toy stores, on the Ginza, to see what's hot here. Mostly, the rule seems to be "if it's cute, make it move."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQ9PFTWl6VcBdukqujpcSTT76rwxT2zdHMWYpDTJVJjQMvlw8sLpkFvdXPyI7WLKp2IGNM7brqJ8879vvcn6CroeLLoN0NWa1rrnd3xxjqgvi-_2x4QhDNrPNUKFv5erjM4CkTiimQKmm/s1600-h/IMG_0106.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtQ9PFTWl6VcBdukqujpcSTT76rwxT2zdHMWYpDTJVJjQMvlw8sLpkFvdXPyI7WLKp2IGNM7brqJ8879vvcn6CroeLLoN0NWa1rrnd3xxjqgvi-_2x4QhDNrPNUKFv5erjM4CkTiimQKmm/s320/IMG_0106.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394957748646869634" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sxpQf-bGH4lSGJlWztCzzUXTJ85z8k1fLp2L0a6MdIT9zsPg6f7qnKrHk039mFn6KmKqd8OD3qzTAkQUumwCM1kWmLVQrXkXgAAvAB2IaTXVpjadvWivc3gTsJT2oCkUBpYHEDFnQb7_/s1600-h/IMG_0107.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3sxpQf-bGH4lSGJlWztCzzUXTJ85z8k1fLp2L0a6MdIT9zsPg6f7qnKrHk039mFn6KmKqd8OD3qzTAkQUumwCM1kWmLVQrXkXgAAvAB2IaTXVpjadvWivc3gTsJT2oCkUBpYHEDFnQb7_/s320/IMG_0107.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394957762336165330" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JNzDyBfMw7AKXmVxzncoc7Cwk1WnwIlHH4bKF4zHHys18zdxKLpdnJMnWyTM9D4B5n8F2no9TLNuG5g8b3DcUqnL40PYJ99bzOGh8AnoliNu9SElTLbX-Vq_VczVqK8PJLw1ym0tOUyy/s1600-h/IMG_0109.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9JNzDyBfMw7AKXmVxzncoc7Cwk1WnwIlHH4bKF4zHHys18zdxKLpdnJMnWyTM9D4B5n8F2no9TLNuG5g8b3DcUqnL40PYJ99bzOGh8AnoliNu9SElTLbX-Vq_VczVqK8PJLw1ym0tOUyy/s320/IMG_0109.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394957769914136882" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm0dydpTjrC5bO9DBUOrfNiJv1sxcWpz9-HyihEaKkMN4mwV2wnZvg1Z2_M5d9IC3vIaI_AxQSFle-MPEylI-T29SmR7hcNra3sCPVQCT4bBpHvZ_oL5fay6J99z3W8Y8MSg5btqG9-X1/s1600-h/IMG_0110.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCm0dydpTjrC5bO9DBUOrfNiJv1sxcWpz9-HyihEaKkMN4mwV2wnZvg1Z2_M5d9IC3vIaI_AxQSFle-MPEylI-T29SmR7hcNra3sCPVQCT4bBpHvZ_oL5fay6J99z3W8Y8MSg5btqG9-X1/s320/IMG_0110.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394959384686230802" border="0" /></a><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dybOr3x6v0WGZfVX67ItJ1eCo0FwKrG3knqSeou5gSF32wufD54lEIsVtTeGugsex5b9Srfzv2C80fwAwXo8g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />That said, there's still room for old fashioned "acoustic" (as oppposed to electronic) play. This one, I suspect, is meant for adults rather than kids...a pachinko-style decision-maker.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBJI4IYSeTqktjJgSA8ROWloHVqJnD-0l7MLt0WpL6S8TDssxaoq3dBYFEfJD-vcIXSZXRiuMCyeBwrDPEQ42rFrvFefahgh7GoXWttxB8wOGt_Xs1u2aeamKuoUbwlKA74F_f4R4M1fx/s1600-h/IMG_0112.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlBJI4IYSeTqktjJgSA8ROWloHVqJnD-0l7MLt0WpL6S8TDssxaoq3dBYFEfJD-vcIXSZXRiuMCyeBwrDPEQ42rFrvFefahgh7GoXWttxB8wOGt_Xs1u2aeamKuoUbwlKA74F_f4R4M1fx/s320/IMG_0112.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394957784158718786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then, for those who have trouble waking up, there's this digital clock and target...it comes complete with the gun. "Tell me why I don't like Mondays"?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Lo-Y414T90HZ_XA4z0X-3PEhC8JD7KM6JCur77HLRCHb0aeEclls85MAmxHzhgARX2JM_9bFGlokYybVeU-wtOXxwBN-6ZjhUYMJwuLOCtNfkjTW9KHsyR1K6xPI65hlkCND_8D7-hqg/s1600-h/IMG_0102.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_Lo-Y414T90HZ_XA4z0X-3PEhC8JD7KM6JCur77HLRCHb0aeEclls85MAmxHzhgARX2JM_9bFGlokYybVeU-wtOXxwBN-6ZjhUYMJwuLOCtNfkjTW9KHsyR1K6xPI65hlkCND_8D7-hqg/s320/IMG_0102.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394957793322682786" border="0" /></a>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-63117803363633337582009-08-03T13:33:00.000-07:002009-08-03T13:39:01.161-07:00Quote du jour<span style="font-weight: bold;">Is it possible that media, news and technology literacy could be the new civics class?</span><br />- <span style="font-style: italic;">McCrae Parker, VP of Strategic Initiatives, <a href="http://www.youthradio.org/">Youth Radio</a></span><br /><a href="http://www.youthradio.org/wtnw"><br />What's the New What?</a> - <a href="http://www.youthradio.org/news/whats-new-what-sex-without-condoms-is-the-new-engagement-ring">Sex Without Condoms is the New Engagement Ring</a><br /><a href="http://www.youthradio.org/news/boss-me">Boss of Me</a>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-29524237932200879792009-08-03T11:06:00.000-07:002009-08-03T11:08:57.079-07:00Journal of Media Literacy Education<span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Frank Baker and the <a href="https://mailman.nmsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/media-l">Media-L listserv</a> for this release:<br /><br />The National Association of Media Literacy Education (NAMLE) unveiled the premiere issue of its Journal of Media Literacy Education Sunday night, August 2, at the NAMLE conference in Detroit Michigan.<br /><br />Volume 1, Issue 1 can be found here: <a href="http://jmle.org/index.php/JMLE">http://jmle.org/index.php/JMLE</a><br /><br />Each issue of the journal is divided into three sections:<br />Articles<br />Voices from The Field<br />Professional Resource (reviews)<br /><br />To access all of the journal, be sure to register (it's free). Follow the link "register" to set up your username and password.<br /><br />Contributions are encouraged. The deadline for submissions for the second issue is October 1, 2009</span></span>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-19057628031468968372009-08-03T08:50:00.000-07:002009-08-03T08:52:22.322-07:00Parents and Media Literacy -- Fear or Facilitation?The session on parents and media literacy took a somewhat frightening turn, as a number of people in the audience reacted with amazement (and perhaps even a little disdain) to findings that parents prefer to regulate media in their own households over government regulation. At least two audience members suggested we need to educate parents to demand government intervention; but where is the media literacy gain in telling families that they’re not capable and need Big Brother to do it for them?<br /><br />This discussion followed on an excellent challenge by Faith Rogow about the disconnect between how we train teachers to provide media literacy education – an inquiry-based foundation – and how we most often deal with parents in media training settings, which tends to be to scare them with media effects findings, then tell them what to do.<br /><br />One effect often posited about media’s influence on audiences is that it leads them to have a more negative or fearful view of the world. Based on reactions from some of the researchers, educators and pediatricians in this session, we may well be creating that fear in what we tell them about the mediated world, even more than what that world contains for many or even most kids. If you lead into media literacy with the dangers, it’s very hard then to change up and promote the positive potential.<br /><br />OK, editorial finished. Below is a more dispassionate rundown of this session.<br /><br />Kelly Mendoza of Temple University studied parents and their family Internet use strategies, particularly how they balance protectionism (defined primarily by the media effects research model) and empowerment (more attuned to the cultural studies and new media literacy models). She explored what strategies parents use along this continuum, using four variables: internet mediation strategies, confidence in using strategies, perceived usefulness of strategies, attitudes about children’s use of Internet.<br /><br />Mendoza found that parents say they are reliant on rules about time and where kids can go (but recognizes that there is often a disconnect between what kids and parents report about what the rules are and how well they are enforced). Fewer parents report asking questions about what their kids are doing on line, and even fewer report encouraging their children to be creators online.<br /><br />Parents reported little confidence in filtering and monitoring tools, a concern for the researchers given the size of the market in this software. At the same time they also claimed little confidence in their own ability to guide children to productive ways to be online creators.<br /><br />Parents said they were very concerned about content, especially about inadvertent exposure to inappropriate content. Still, most parents deal with such incidents as they happen, rather than taking preventive measures.<br /><br />Interviewed about their best hopes for the Internet, the parents focused on the “wealth of information” aspect, the Web as research resource. Few talked about its potential for communication or connection.<br /><br />Catherine Chiarello, a lecturer on parenting digital kids, noted the gap between the typical advice given to parents and the realities of kids’ and families’ lives today. “Timers are great for cooking, but they stink for trying to regulate a kid who’s in the middle of a game. The advice not to have media in the bedroom is fine, but most kids today have laptops.”<br /><br />So, Chiarello focuses on management strategies designed for the particular family – different strategies for a kid who is susceptible to bullying vs one who gets along with a wide variety of others; different needs of a latchkey family vs. one with a parent home most of the time. She also advocates understanding that this is a young person’s world, one that they are born into while we are reacting to it as a new and changing landscape.<br /><br />Laurel Felt, Annenberg School for Communication, USC, conducted a pilot study on parents’ perspective on media and their children. Her hypothesis was that parents’ SES, their own childhood media experiences, and the age of their children would influence perceptions about children and media.<br /><br />SES did impact parents’ preference for TV regulation – but regulation by parents, not government, broadcasters or independent organizations; low SES parents are most in favor of parental regulation.<br /><br />Regarding children’s age and perceptions of TV quality, parents of now-adult children perceive TV quality as highest (perhaps a function of nostalgia?); parents of pre-school children also had reasonably high assessment of quality, while parents of elementary age children had the lowest view.<br /><br />Finally, the more time the subjects had spent watching TV as a child, the higher opinion they had of current TV quality.<br /><br />Emily Hunt, Parent and Teacher Media Education Manager at Common Sense Media, demonstrated the organization’s action-oriented materials program, built around positive and practical strategies and information on parents’ central concerns. Media offer Common Sense an opportunity to strengthen the home/school connection.David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-78824440395544945202009-08-03T06:30:00.001-07:002009-08-03T06:33:32.439-07:00Media Literacy Exercise: Tree OctopusesTake a group of students; divide into smaller groups.<br /><br />Assign the following research topic: Tree Octopuses.<br /><br />Send one group to the Internet, another to the encyclopedia, another to the library, etc.<br /><br />See how many groups come back with information on the <a href="http://www.blogger.com/zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/">Tree Octopus</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/treeocto.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/treeocto.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><img src="file:///Users/davidkleeman/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///Users/davidkleeman/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot-1.jpg" alt="" />David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-15116192854239513382009-08-03T06:23:00.000-07:002009-08-03T06:30:15.839-07:00Science Resources and Media Literacy - Hidden PersuadersThe presentation on media literacy resources and science learning, led by Daniella Quinones from WGBH Educational Productions, diverged into a fascinating back and forth about vetting educational resources for accuracy and bias. To borrow from “Shrek,” doing so is like peeling an onion; sometimes it’s necessary to go several levels deep to find clues.<br /><br />The “About Us” section of a website may reveal potential sway, as might a list of funders; however, corporate backing or profit motive isn’t the only form of influence. The “Integrity in Science” database, for example, is a project of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest, which has its own point of view and interests.<br /><br />Quinones produces <a href="www.teachersdomain.org/">Teachers Domain</a>, a WGBH project supported by the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov">National Science Foundation</a> and others, linking to 2200 different resources (video, websites, etc.) in science, social studies, English, math and performing arts.<br /><br />For reference, other resources noted in the session for educational video and other resources included <a href="www.dlese.org/">DLESE – Digital Library for Earth Systems Education</a>, <a href="www.sourcewatch.org/">Source Watch</a> (a project of the <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/cmd/index.html">Center for Media and Democracy</a>, the <a href="www.teachersdomain.org/special/adlit/">Adolescent Literacy and Science Collection</a> (part of Teachers Domain), <a href="apple.com/education/itunesu_mobilelearning/landing.html">iTunes U</a>, <a href="www.safarimontage.com/">Safari Montage</a> and <a href="www.nettrekker.com/">Net Trekker</a>.David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-55521161395192934972009-08-03T06:15:00.001-07:002009-08-03T06:18:59.281-07:00NAMLE: President's Address<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTaZGo9ydYDidtWkZHMCDkCIjQ9QM2drTQT-6tJiT5vuASLZngc5axG64VO1b8i_LHaGQ80SRUgLKxGJ6o1P8ilLuv-eKk5rAFNaTSYx8YBtSfbHVSG6GDxWoTdrNnaAVIf-1wOYJRsgB/s1600-h/IMG_3678.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFTaZGo9ydYDidtWkZHMCDkCIjQ9QM2drTQT-6tJiT5vuASLZngc5axG64VO1b8i_LHaGQ80SRUgLKxGJ6o1P8ilLuv-eKk5rAFNaTSYx8YBtSfbHVSG6GDxWoTdrNnaAVIf-1wOYJRsgB/s320/IMG_3678.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365725737050247522" border="0" /></a><br />Sherri Hope Culver (shown left talking to her video doppelganger), President of the National Association for Media Literacy Education opened the NAMLE conference in Detroit noting that participants came from 34 states and 7 countries.<br /><br />Culver’s President’s Address posited that 2009 will prove to be the tipping point for media literacy as a “social epidemic” – it is being taught in all sorts of new places, formal and informal, and the meme is central to every emerging platform from YouTube to Facebook to Twitter. We have gone almost instantly, Culver said “from ‘how can I find that out’ to ‘I can find anything – see it, watch it, download it, edit it…’ and media literacy adds the key question, “but should I.” Availability, access and fear – the perfect storm for media literacy.<br /><br />But, if we stop talking about what media literacy isn’t, or why different organizations have different definitions, the opportunities are stronger than ever to integrate media literacy into the highest levels of education.<br /><br />The Senate is working on a bill that would provide federal matching fund for states to support 21st century technology skills, including media literacy and critical skills. The Department of Education, as well, is incorporating media and technology education.<br /><br />Even in popular culture, media literacy has edged its way into the mainstream. NBC’s “30 Rock” deals explicitly (the “Snapple product placement” episode) and implicitly (behind the scenes of a conglomerate company with media as one tentacle) with media literacy issues. Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” has covered topics like ownership, censorship, access and product placement; young people can watch the series, then go online and see the webisodes that were being produced on TV.<br /><br />(Below, Renee Hobbs uses her Flip video camera to document Sherri Hope Culver's speech up close.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsqXLGyWjlpXwn5ddZ-Z-Q7APtVdj1wUMnjw6-qXAyDisQlZtckKi_tuobgb5FV6YScLbK6ieddRdxbiZRpJBGaMQTwJd_oB0PX620hlE454zikeRnEC2H2K2ksmRKS3TqxDhRxzZeRKB/s1600-h/IMG_3684.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBsqXLGyWjlpXwn5ddZ-Z-Q7APtVdj1wUMnjw6-qXAyDisQlZtckKi_tuobgb5FV6YScLbK6ieddRdxbiZRpJBGaMQTwJd_oB0PX620hlE454zikeRnEC2H2K2ksmRKS3TqxDhRxzZeRKB/s320/IMG_3684.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365726004204027106" border="0" /></a>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-106279249333343332009-07-22T14:06:00.000-07:002009-07-22T14:18:37.064-07:00Journalists Weigh InThe first journalists' coverage of the Senate Commerce Committee hearings are starting to come out. <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN2233560020090722">Here's Reuters' take</a>.<div><br /></div><div>As noted previously, the hearing ranged afield of the Children's Television Act itself. The Act limited only the minutes of commercials per hour, not the content of commercials, but Reuters cites FCC Chair Genachowski talking about protecting children from "inappropriate marketing."</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.easybourse.com/bourse/actualite/fcc-chairman-promises-closer-look-at-children-s-tv-laws-706072">This article from EasyBourse</a> notes the one area where Chairman Genachowski seemed ready to regulate immediately -- making firm the FCC's tentative conclusion that interactive advertising to children should be banned without explicit opt-in permission from parents.<br /><div><br /></div></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-28223167083755084652009-07-22T13:13:00.000-07:002009-07-22T13:30:18.694-07:00In conclusion...Senator Rockefeller closed the hearing by talking again about how he was "shot down" by the Committee (his "own side of the Committee," he added) when he tried even to talk about First Amendment issues in a hearing on violence and obesity last year.<div><br /></div><div>Writer's note: When it comes to extending the Children's Television Act, I wonder if the primary issue isn't the content of the programming, but the platform on which it is delivered. Would the FCC have the authority to mandate educational content or other restrictions on platforms that don't use public airwaves? That will be the most interesting conversation to watch as these issues move forward under a new Chairman.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately, this hearing was only tangentially about the Children's Television Act -- the scope of which was limited to educational and informational content mandates, commercial time restrictions and the establishment of the late and lamented "National Endowment for Children's Educational Television" (unless I missed it, Sandy Calvert didn't cite this precedent in introducing her idea for a think tank/production center). </div><div><br /></div><div>Certainly, there was attention to adding more programming for the 6-12 year old audience, and to limiting commercialism; however, the tone was much more about how to support parents in an increasingly complex media environment, and how to surround kids with quality content(including entertainment!).</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are the most encouraging things I heard in that light:</div><div><ul><li>we've evolved from talking only about tools that block what we don't want, to developing means for helping families navigate to what they do want;</li><li>we are talking thoughtfully about the home-school connection -- not trying to replicate school learning via home media, but using the power of technology so that formal and informal learning tools can work in concert;</li><li>the panelists from industry we talking about their role in ways that suggest they are coming to see "360 commissioning" as not about themselves (we need to be everywhere!), but about the child and ensuring that they can find content for their needs, abilities and interests in the places they feel most comfortable.</li></ul></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-66942972321009276162009-07-22T13:04:00.000-07:002009-07-22T13:12:57.008-07:00Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) asked for evaluations of current blocking technologies.<div><br /></div><div>Sandy Calvert noted Amy Jordan's research at the University of Pennsylvania finding that most parents had a difficult time programming their V-chip.</div><div><br /></div><div>Jim Steyer thinks we're very close to simpler technologies for navigation -- finding and blocking. The V-Chip technology, he said, was meaningful, but the rating system was meaningless; 3rd party, independent ratings are the answer.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the fall, Common Sense ratings will appear via the Interactive Program Guide for all DirecTV families. The "little read button" is crucial because it's at the "point of decision."</div><div><br /></div><div>Klobuchar also serves on the Agriculture Committee, and wanted to ask about food advertising and character promotion guidelines.</div><div><br /></div><div>John Lawson reiterated that Qubo's guidelines were called the "gold standard," but said Qubo found it very hard to get recognition since they are digital channels. This hearing was a valuable opportunity to bring them to light.</div><div><br /></div><div>Cyma Zarghami talked about Nickelodeon's decisions on not using characters tie-ins with certain foods, about meeting regularly with its food advertisers, and about trying to support parents in their efforts to manage their families' food and media lives.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-563035627290854602009-07-22T12:56:00.000-07:002009-07-22T13:04:22.364-07:00Senator Nelson (FL) asked Sandy Calvert to expand on her proposal for a center to study, develop and produce media.<div><br /></div><div>Calvert cited the Sesame Workshop model, where research, education and production work toghether. She reiterated that there is not a financial model that has worked sustainably for older children.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nelson followed up by asking why we limit commercial minutes, but don't regulate commercial content.</div><div><br /></div><div>John Lawson replied that self-regulation can be effective, again citing Qubo's content and marketing guidelines.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gary Knell talked about the United Kingdom model, where the BBC has multiples more money than US public TV and where food marketing restrictions were imposed and<a href="http://childrenandmedia.ning.com/profiles/blogs/inputoutput-error-uk-psb"> "the sky did not fall in."</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Jim Steyer supported FCC Chair Genachowski's statement that he intended for the FCC to make firm the ban on interactive advertising to children. He also noted that Common Sense Media had recommended to the FCC and Congress a plan for ad content restrictions during family-oriented programming like sports, citing the difficulty of explaining erectile dysfunction to a five-year-old.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-58771735157582535092009-07-22T12:47:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:56:42.049-07:00Senator Rockefeller began the question period talking about children as consumers of media; Jim Steyer stepped in to remind the Committee that children are media creators, not just consumers, and that heightens the need for digital literacy, and knowing the "rules of the road."<div><br /></div><div>Senator Mark Begich (AK) is asking questions first: he is concerned about the 6-11 age group gap in educational programming. Without mandatory requirements, he asked, how do we get good content for that age group? And how do we get kids to watch it -- his 6-year-old has already migrated to older kids' programming.</div><div><br /></div><div>Gary Knell responded that kids are natural media learners; by the time they enter school, they are digital learners. Sesame Workshop is talking with the Department of Education about media uses that bridge the home-school connection.</div><div><br /></div><div>The problem is that there is not a lot of advertising money for this age group, except for entertainment. We have to figure out a way to get the best of Hollywood and the best of Silicon Valley working together to captivate and educate this age group.</div><div><br /></div><div>Begich followed up this same question with Cyma Zarghami.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nickelodeon research with kids, since the early days, found that they could best help kids by guiding them in navigating the world. They get formal education at school, but want support in relevant social learning from TV. As kids watch kids on Nick that look like them and have the same problems (or exaggerated versions of the same problems), they gain self-esteem.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-27076340696081056852009-07-22T12:41:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:47:46.726-07:00<b>Jim Steyer, Common Sense Media:</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Senator Rockefeller said this was a transformational moment in media, and we need to look at this issue not just regarding the CTA, but regarding the domestic and international security of our country, given the educational needs of the next generation.</div><div><br /></div><div>1) Educate; 2) Empower; 3) Protect -- these are the three core values regardless of platform.</div><div><br /></div><div>On education, there needs to be more quality educational content across all platforms. The second part of education is to provide digital literacy and citizenship learning for kids and parents. Kids who are not digitally literate will not compete.</div><div><br /></div><div>On empowerment, that's the "little red button" that Senator Rockefeller asked about. Common Sense Media rates and describes content across multiple platforms to give parents the ability to make good choices.</div><div><br /></div><div>Regarding protection, it has to come not only from industry, but from Congress and the FCC. We can balance First Amendment Freedoms with protective regulations. This primarily comes from adult content, not from the children's channels like Nickelodeon.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a truly bipartisan concern. Think big and think dramatic.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-35279262886442913092009-07-22T12:36:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:41:41.258-07:00<b>Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon:</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Nickelodeon was made for older kids who were mostly watching adult programming. It was meant to be a place where kids could have fun and be themselves, as it can be tough to grow up today.</div><div><br /></div><div>Nickelodeon follows the guidelines of the CTA, even though as a cable channel is was not required, and feels the commercial limits have been helpful. Still, Nickelodeon does not believe further or extended regulation is needed. Across the day, Nick serves all audiences - preschool in the morning, older kids in the afternoon, families at night (coviewing is increasing).</div><div><br /></div><div>Between Nickelodeon and Noggin, the channels air several hundred hours weekly of educational programming. Further, it has offered news (Nick News), public affairs (Kids Pick the President), and social welfare campaigns. Nick has also extended into new platforms in order to serve children where they are and with the technologies they prefer; but it always includes safety tools for families.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-36875302401190217332009-07-22T12:28:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:36:21.505-07:00<b>John Lawson, ION Media:</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Lawson is testifying in his role as a member of the National Association of Broadcasters' Board, as well as his role with ION, which operates the Qubo children's service among other channels. ION is also pioneering mobile DTV, and held up his phone which was live-streaming the ION service (but too small for Senator Rockefeller to see from the dais).</div><div><br /></div><div>Lawson presented Qubo's diverse and multi-lingual programming services, for the age group Gary Knell noted was least well served. He also noted Qubo's food marketing guidelines, which he said had been called the "gold standard."</div><div><br /></div><div>He also pointed out that broadcasters work closely with their communities, beyond their direct programming service to kids.</div><div><br /></div><div>The challenge, Lawson noted, was in restrictions on distribution -- getting multiple digital channels into cable and satellite homes.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-30962735235003087712009-07-22T12:23:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:28:39.895-07:00<b>Sandy Calvert, Children's Digital Media Center and Georgetown University:</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>The 1990 Act was a recognition of television potential for benefit. The requirements were minimal -- 3 hours per week -- still the 2008 Children Now study called the results "Educationally Insufficient." At the same time, we are falling behind the world in many aspects of learning.</div><div><br /></div><div>New technology permits HD, multi-casting and interactivity. Public TV is experimenting with these tools for individualized learning. Commercial broadcasters have been less active in pursuing this. </div><div><br /></div><div>1) requre commercial broadcasters to expand their E/I offerings on TV and online;</div><div>2) expand the players involved, especially to include interactive media creators;</div><div>3) <b>allocate funds for studying, testing, creating and distributing high-quality media, particularly interactive.</b></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-50598910752872654852009-07-22T12:12:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:23:26.451-07:00<b>Gary Knell, Sesame Workshop:</b><div><br /></div><div>This is Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary, and it's amazing to think about the changes in the media landscape since that time. What has remained constant is the need to harness the educational power of television, and the need to limit the potentially harmful influences.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the 2010 context, however, aspects that informed the Children's Television Act have become obsolete; today's children will never know a world without cell phones.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today, there are 47 pre-school educational TV series; in 1969, there were two. The big need is for the next age group -- 6-12; there is almost nothing for them.</div><div><br /></div><div>We are pleased that the new Broadband Act emphasizes education; as we see the merger of formal and informal learning via technology this will be crucial.</div><div><br /></div><div>We should also be attending to public health issues regarding children and media. We have made progress on healthy foods and marketing guidelines among media, marketing and food companies; however, we need more than ever to focus on media as <i>a health solution</i>.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-14837703087238573912009-07-22T12:08:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:12:39.656-07:00<b>Rockefeller:</b><div><br /></div><div>Do you believe the three-hour rule is working? <b>The FCC has the power to unilaterally require more than three hours; would you consider that?</b> The FCC has shown little interest in enforcing the Act thus far; what can the FCC do?</div><div><br /></div><div>(Rockefeller then expressed concern that kids are doing their homework later in the evening, and so watching prime time programming, which is not covered by the CTA...)</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Genachowski:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The rules for reporting E/I programming -- public files, FCC filings -- worked for the technology at the time. Now, that kind of information should be online and easily accessible to parents. We will revamp the FCC website to provide more information about what is being offered as E/I.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next step for the FCC is to evaluate what is being offered across the marketplace -- cable, satellite, etc. There's good news in what's being offered via cable, but many families don't have access. Our inquiry will look at quantity and quality, tools and parental enforcement.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-30817724773759348972009-07-22T12:04:00.000-07:002009-07-22T13:39:50.323-07:00<b>Rockefeller:</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Given all that children have access to now, does the standard of 20 years ago stand up, as to what is appropriate for children to learn from?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Genachowski:</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Every generation of kids finds different entertainment compelling. <b>I'm not a programmer and don't pretend to know what kind of programming will attract and educate viewers. </b> I do believe that our creative talent can continue to generate educational and informational programming in keeping with the times and with what remains constant in children's needs.</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>We have creative talent and we have demand on the part of parents. I hope technology can bridge that in a way that is supported by a strong business model.</i></b></div><div><br /></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-74738526814484038342009-07-22T11:57:00.000-07:002009-07-22T12:04:45.473-07:00<b>Senator Pryor (AR):</b><div><br /></div><div>I am concerned that children now have access to video streaming and more via their cell phones. This mushrooms the challenges we have, because even the most attentive parents have difficulty monitoring mobile content. Does the FCC have any plans to look into this?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Genachowski:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>As part of the <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:s.602:">Child Safe Viewing Act</a>, the FCC will catalog all the tools available to parents.</div><div><br /></div><div>As to the mobile, we want our kids to be on computers, to have access to information, to have open vistas to education; at the same time, we have to respond to parents' concerns about the other content their kids may be accessing.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>The key is to give parents tools to let them exercise their choices. They prefer to do it themselves and not have the government do it for them, so what can we do to prompt innovation of what parent want.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><b>Pryor:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>What is the status of research into the educational effectiveness and quality of programming listed as Educational/Informational"?</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Genachowski:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>We don't have a deadline for when this will be completed.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-11347398399590286472009-07-22T11:51:00.000-07:002009-07-22T11:57:34.748-07:00<b>Rockefeller: </b><div><br /></div><div>1)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; "> How would you feel about a simple, little red button on the TV set that you push and find out instantly how the next program is rated for family values, etc.? Many parents cannot manage the current V-chip ratings technology.</span><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 3px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 3px; width: auto; font: normal normal normal 100%/normal Georgia, serif; text-align: left; "><div><br /></div><div>2) The bulk of the CTA applies only to broadcasters; it is narrow and broadcast-centric. Does this limitation make sense today? Should we only be concerned about children's interaction with media over the public airwaves?</div><div><br /></div><div>3) How should the CTA be updated?</div></div></span><div><div><br /></div><div><b>Genachowski:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>Broadcast is the only form of distribution in 15 million homes approximately. With respect to cable, parents just want to make sure there are appropriate channels and programs across the array. They want tools to find the right programs for their children, and to exercise control over what they don't want.</div><div><br /></div><div>We should think big and expect big things from entrepreneurs and inventors, to create for parents the tools they want -- specific content for their child. This will involve the web, but also the converging technologies in TV sets. The FCC will explore the state of the marketplace in tools like this.</div></div></div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6300029736118272459.post-85958262910541700922009-07-22T11:46:00.000-07:002009-07-22T11:51:31.254-07:00Genachowski:<div><br /></div><div>1) Important to prepare kids educationally for the future. </div><div>2) Video content should not treat children as "little consumers."</div><div>3) It is crucial to empower parents with tools.</div><div>4) Important to recognize the varied roles of parents, government and the private sector -- support parents while sustaining the First Amendment.</div><div><br /></div><div>The private sector must ask if it is doing all it can.</div><div><br /></div><div>The FCC can and will conduct an inquiry on how best to protect children in a digital world, and will also look at the opportunities of the digital world to support the goals of the Children's Television Act.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Tempted to say that the FCC should firm up its stance that interactive advertising is off limits to children, except with explicit opt in from parents.</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Genachowski has ordered a revamp of the FCC website on children and television to make it more useful.</div>David Kleeman, ACCMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18356157368135416417noreply@blogger.com0