My Place...Fantastic series for kids.

It's been a long time since I have blogged, but it's time to get back to it again.

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.

Thank you for the iPod Touch Mummy!

Well, it's about time I returned to blogging. I have been so caught up Tweeting...There were quite a few things I have thought about talking about these past few weeks; from Barbie to YouTube, but have returned to the iPod topic.

It was my daughter's birthday yesterday, and she scored an iPod Touch. It was a dilemma over whether to choose the Nintendo DS or an iPod Touch.

It's all about the Nintendo DS at school, but after careful consideration, we thought we'd jump straight to the iPod Touch. As popular as the Nintendo is, I am really not wrapped in cartridges and the stylus. The iPhone has got me thinking beyond that. Clever Mr Jobs. He's got me hook, line and sinker. My husband, the one who works in IT, has been more cynical about it, which is rather interesting. The things these kids have today! But needless to say, he has been suitably impressed.

Already she has embraced it! She was up last night playing, reading books on it and listening to music. It's like a little activity station in her pocket. She has taken video of her new Sylvanian Family caravan play set and photos of her own decorated birthday cake. She has taken to it like a duck to water. Of course, she did that with my iPhone too....

My daughter's first iPod Touch photograph.

Rock clips & music lessons? There's an app for that!

I caught this via Twitter and checked it out on YouTube and I love it! Created by Ilan and Sipo, experimental musicians from Israel, it is just so well done. Not only is it a very funky track, but to think this music has been made on iPhones and iPads makes it even more impressive. I have seen the guys on the subway do their bit, and that was also rather inventive, but having the music on the iPhone recorded in a studio setting is thinking even further outside the box!

Introducing the kids to musical instruments has been on my mind for a while now, as they approach the age of interest. My daughter is keen to play the violin, and has been eying up my own half size student fiddle downstairs for a while. But seeing this work here, it has got me thinking. Maybe it could be worthwhile introducing the kids to music via the iPhone. Maybe just to play around, experiment and create... Maybe they could produce their own little mix!

Ref:

O'Neill, M. (2011) First Ever Studio-Produced iPhone Track Hits YouTube.

http://www.socialtimes.com/2011/02/studio-produced-iphone-track/

Handheld Game Consoles - a touchy subject...

Our daughter's birthday is coming up soon, and she is finally in the age bracket to nag for a Nintendo DS (and she certainly has been). But is it really the way to go for a hand held game? Is cartridge technology a thing of the past? If I am going to spend about $200 plus on a hand held game console, do I want to then buy $30-$40 game cartridges on top of that? Then there is storage. You need a case to put them in, you cannot share your game with a sibling etc. The cases may be trendy, but that's yet another thing to buy. Even the Doctor Who TARDIS case almost converted me, but.....

Whilst investigating this on the Internet, I came across a short article addressing this very dilemma. Although the article is now 12 months old and admittedly from an Apple promoting site, it still makes a good case. Cohen (2010) discusses the very reasons why the iPod Touch seems like a more ideal hand held game investment in a busy household with children. It also resonates with the argument my husband's old university friend (who works in IT) gave us a year ago when we were weighing up the pros and cons. A huge selling point was that an iPod touch was much cheaper to run. You can't beat downloadable technology. Cartridges just seem so 1990s. "It's all going to be about touch technology and downloads with these things" my husband's mate preached to us at the kitchen table. He doesn't work for Apple.

Also, it is interesting to note, that Sony is now on the bandwagon, with the new version of their handheld game device. It will be interesting to see what the future of the Nintendo DS will be once this comes onto the shelves and how accessible the games will be to download and afford.

So, now what? Given that I have to pry my children off the iPhone, the iPod Touch is certainly very appealing. They can play all their favourite apps, play and download music etc and I can make phone calls without an argument or debate over a time share arrangement.

Kids and YouTube

Two posts in one day! They may be short and sweet, but I am indeed jumping in!

I caught this on Mashable today and I would say that kids, YouTube and toys go hand in hand.

My now 4 year old son was 2 and a half years old when he discovered YouTube. I blame his Uncle (who has now stopped his kids using it of course) and that was it! He became such a case with it, that I ended up using his YouTube observations for a small case study last semester. A case study that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Not only can kids watch recreations of Thomas the Tank engine, Lego and marble games. It also has many indirect educational benefits! Here, at just 4 years of age at the time, he learnt about other countries such Japan, basic film editing and production and how to upload to YouTube. And that is just scratching the surface. Such a connection he had with some videos on YouTube, that he was devastated to find out Flippy Cat had passed away.

I do often meet a lot of cynicism about YouTube in my parenting circles. Parents are very wary of it in the household, particularly where their children are concerned. Of course we want to protect our children from age inappropriate material on the internet. But with supervision, active participation and interest from parents, kids and YouTube can be a very educational mix. I get quite passionate about this, so no doubt I will post more about this later!

Media Education @ Home

Okay, I have decided to bite the bullet and get blogging!

At this stage I feel very green...

I studied Film and Television Production at QUT back the the early to mid 1990s. I was involved in that side of things for a little while, before embarking on the media education pathway. An area that I have thoroughly enjoyed!

Having had a break from the classroom to raise young children, I am keen as a bean to get into it all again ( I have recently visited some media classrooms with a small research project and felt completely and utterly ready to jump back in!). But, having observed my children and their media use at home, they have provided umpteen case studies for me to watch children in action with their media use. They are the inspiration for this blog. My children have provided me with a classroom at home. From my experience, now updated study and research pathway, I intend to write a blog about this journey from the context of the home front media hub. I thought it could also be of interest for parents, as they navigate the media landscape that children encounter every day.

I also write this to the sounds of Club Penguin. The online game that my 4 year old son is totally obsessed by.