And now for something fun...
how many references can you spot?




from Channel Frederator
"the World’s Original Cartoon Podcast... THE central hub for hot, hip, upstart animators"

CLASS CANCELLED

Due to illness - Thursday Nov 15
Pls check your e-mails
L.A.

Colbert's Facebook Following

Comedian Stephen Colbert's "mock" presidential run has already garnered almost a million supporters on the social networking site Facebook... more than Obama.
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/25/colberts-facebook-flock/

Comcast Blocks Some Internet traffic

"Comcast Blocks Some Internet Traffic"
Implications for Net Neutrality
& affecting p2p sharing

read || watch video

Advertising to Kids

Junk Food Advertisers Target Tech Savvy Youngsters

Convergence for Tots

Watch these clips from CBS news on advertising aimed at kids.
(Watch critically, what assumptions are the guests & hosts making about the inevitability of advertising for kids. )

See (from PBSKids) "Don't Buy It": strategies to teach kids to become aware and critically challenge advertising.

Web sites extending contact with childrens' television programming:

• Nick Jr,
  
• Noggin (both owned by Viacom)
• Disney
  
• PBSkids.org (run by PBS)
  

Consider how the push to target a younger and younger demographic, making them loyal costumers "from the cradle to the grave," is rapidly making its way to the on-line experience.

"A new wave of interactive play sites for a young generation of Internet users, in particular girls." Read about it in N Y Times article

Visit sites:

• Wenkinz,
• Cartoon Doll Emporium (See also their "fashion" dolls)
• Club Penguin (ad-free, subscription-based, recently acquired by Disney)
  

Take a moment to consider: What are these sites teaching kids?
Or, put another way, what are kids learning by interacting with these sites?
Is it all about selling, or is there something bigger at play? (consider Jenkins)

Finally, refer to Leslie Shade's article "Young Canadians talk About the Internet" (published in a "Life On Line"-themed issue of the Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol 30-4). What digital literacy skills does she encourage?

"[W]e must ask: with regards to the internet, how do children and young people see themselves? Do they see themselves as citizens or do they see themselves as mere consumers, with their ability to interact with friends and access an array of content? ... Given that children and young people are active users and potential shapers of furure digital content, developing a critical and creative education and awareness campaign that involves their input into its design and outreach is vital."

50 years ago ... SPUTNIK

This short from Current TV summarizes the amazing event that took place 50 years ago today: the launch of SPUTNIK, the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth. Arguably, this accomplishment gave birth to the modern telecommunications age. Think cell phones, google maps, "live" transmissions from across the world, weather forecasts, and much more.