Tag Archives: Media

Accessible Television In The Classroom

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3/2015

The potential of television as an educational tool has been widely recognized in terms of early childhood education, since the launch of Sesame Street more than 40 years ago. Television offers the same potential in primary and secondary education. Teachers and families have reported using educational TV to satisfy a variety of objectives:

  • To introduce, reinforce, and expand on content being taught.
  • To respond to a variety of learning styles.
  • To increase student motivation to learn.
  • To stimulate other learning activities.

The addition of accessibility features, such as captioning and description, increases the educational value and provides equal access. All of the programs below were made accessible through grants by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services/Office of Special Education Services. Some were part of the DCMP grant, while others were a part of five Television Access grants, awarded to Bridge Multimedia, CaptionMax, Dicapta, Narrative Television Network, and National Captioning Institute. Through a special pilot project, the Television Access grantees received approval from content partners to allow for the distribution of content to DCMP members.

Source: Described and Captioned Media Program

Available at: https://dcmp.org/accessible-television

Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America 2013

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10/28/2013

This report is based on the results of a large-scale, nationally representative survey, the second in Common Sense Media\’s series on children’s media use; the first was conducted in 2011 (Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America). By replicating the methods used two years ago, we document how children’s media environments and behaviors have changed. We survey parents of children ages 0 to 8 in the U.S., and cover media ranging from books/reading and music to mobile interactive media like smartphones and tablets.

Source: Common Sense Media

Available at: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/zero-to-eight-childrens-media-use-in-america-2013

Baby E-lert, Sharing Information on the Quality Care of Infants, Toddlers, and their Families

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10/7/2013

This Baby E-Lert features a series of articles on toxic stress, a resource about social and emotional skills in young children, and an article on young children’s exposure to television. Share them with teachers, home visitors, family child care providers, parents, and families.

Source: Early Head Start National Resource Center

Available at: http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=579784392aff8aa5d251c89ab&id=a73d04b010&e=f28bfaf0fd

What ‘Sid the Science Kid’ Means for Adults

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7/3/2013

Last month I had the opportunity to write about one of my favorite preschool television shows, Sid the Science Kid.  The piece, “How Kids’ Television Inspires a Lifelong Love of Science,” is part of a special online report on Educating Americans for the 21st Century, published by Smithsonian magazine.*

What interests me most about Sid is not the use of 3-D animation or the endearing purple-haired four-year-old who plays the main character. Instead, it’s how the show has the potential to teach adults. Yes, you and me.

Source: New America Foundation

Available at: http://earlyed.newamerica.net/blogposts/2013/what_sid_the_science_kid_means_for_adults-87207

National Association for the Education of Young Children | NAEYC

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3/6/12

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College today released a comprehensive statement, “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” providing important new guidance to early childhood programs on the effective use of media and technology. (The position statement is available here.)

“Our world and technology are rapidly changing; teachers and administrators face new choices every day about how to use interactive technologies,” said Jerlean Daniel, Executive Director for NAEYC. “The position statement provides important, timely, research-based guidance to professionals as they consider if, when and how to use technologies.”

Source: National Association for the Education of Young Children

Available at: http://www.naeyc.org/newsroom/pressreleases/NAEYC_and_fred_rogers_center_release_joint_position_statement

Fred Rogers Center – 2012 Early Career Fellow in Early Literacy

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The Fred Rogers Center announces an exciting fellowship opportunity for an early-career educator with an interest in early literacy, children’s literature, technology, and digital media literacy. Through the ECF program, the Fred Rogers Center acts as a catalyst for innovation in media- and technology-based work that advances early childhood development and learning.

In 2012, the ECF in early literacy will work with a team of videographers and an established expert in early childhood education to create a series of videos designed to demonstrate best early literacy and digital media literacy practices, in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC). All videos will be used in a new, national initiative of the Fred Rogers Center. The Fred Rogers Center Early Learning Environment™ is being developed as a virtual community of teachers, home-based providers, and families who will be empowered by compelling technology and media-based resources to provide literacy-rich experiences for children from birth through age 5.  The Early Learning Environment will use entertaining and educational media content to deliver resources, and to encourage interaction, in a variety of engaging ways.

Source: Fred Rogers Center

Available at: http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/about/fellows/2012-early-career-fellow-in-early-literacy/

Kids And Teens See More Ads For Sugary Drinks

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10/31/11

From 2008 to 2010, children’s and teens’ exposure to television ads for soda doubled, according to a new report from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University. And beverage companies targeted black and Hispanic kids more than others in recent ads, the report found.

Source: NPR

Available at: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2011/10/31/141859893/kids-and-teens-see-more-ads-for-sugary-drinks

Babies and Toddlers Should Learn from Play, Not Screens

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10/18/11

The temptation to rely on media screens to entertain babies and toddlers is more appealing than ever, with screens surrounding families at home, in the car, and even at the grocery store. And there is no shortage of media products and programming targeted to little ones. But a new policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says there are better ways to help children learn at this critical age.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

Available at: http://www.aap.org/pressroom/mediaunder2.pdf

‘Sesame Street’ to focus on math and science in season 42

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8/9/11

On Aug. 8, Sesame Workshop revealed more details about the upcoming season of “Sesame Street,” the award-winning PBS KIDS television show. F “Sesame Street” will work with preschool children on school readiness, particularly science and math, in the spirit of “Let’s find out!”

The season’s focus will be enhanced by “Sesame Street” elements, such as original songs and stories, celebrity appearances, and Muppet characters conducting fun and educational investigations. All presented with both a sense of humor and an inquisitive spirit.

Source: The Examiner

Available at: http://www.examiner.com/muppets-in-national/sesame-street-to-focus-on-math-and-science-season-42

Progress, Not Perfection, on Reducing Kids’ Exposure to Ads for Unhealthful Foods

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8/2/11

Kids are seeing fewer ads for foods and drinks high in saturated fat, sugar and sodium, a new study shows.

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago crunched Nielsen Media Research ratings data and found that exposure to ads for less healthful foods and drinks fell 38% for kids aged 2 to 5 and 28% for kids 6 to 11 between 2003 and 2009. Overall exposure to food-related ads in general fell, too, as kids saw fewer ads for cereals, sweets, beverages and snacks.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Available at: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2011/08/02/progress-not-perfection-on-reducing-kids-exposure-to-ads-for-unhealthful-foods/