I recently attended the Screen Futures Summit in Melbourne in July, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hosted by the Australian Teachers of Media Victoria, it was a diverse and interesting conference. There was so much to hear and learn and I had a wonderful time!
There are so many topics that I could talk about here, but one that struck my interest in regard to my own children, was the session on the ABC TV series My Place.
"My Place, written by Nadia Wheatly and illustrated by Donna Rawlins, was Children's Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers in 1988, and also YABBA children's choice award. Constantly in print for more than 20 years, this groundbreaking blend of history and imaginative fiction has been read in schools and homes around the country, and is now delighting a second generation of readers." ABC TV - My Place Website.
I have been aware of the series for some time and of its multi platform content, but it was fantastic to hear Deborah Cohen, who manages the education unit of the Australian Children's Television Foundation, speak and describe the success of this series and how it can be a valuable classroom media text for English, History and of course Media Studies. It is also genuinely wonderful entertainment for kids. Set over 200 years, it looks at many different children's lives as they play by the tree that is their "place". What I particularly loved about this series, in relation to the Internet content, is how my own children can explore the house and garden of each child's era when they click on each story link. The house changes to match the era and so much care has been taken with the historical detail. A fantastically well designed website.
So, worth a look if you haven't checked it out already. So many ways to engage children in the stories.
There is also a great website for teachers attached the main My Place site.
