EduMedia

Kids and TV: watching wisely

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:11:56 +0000

Despite many changes in the media panorama, television continues to assume a significant presence in children’s daily lives. TV is a means of communication that plays an important role in children’s socialization processes. It represents a privileged source of learning and contact with the world.

The amount of time young people devote to TV and other forms of communication frequently gives rise to concern among parents, teachers, and educators, who don’t always hold the necessary tools to analyze and understand this reality and act upon it. It is often feared that TV may have an ominous influence on children due to the inappropriate nature and poor quality of many of its programmes.

This booklet aims to briefly approach some essential issues concerning the relationship children have with television and point out some hints for action.

DOWNLOAD BOOKLET (PDF, 3.26MB)

Videogames: stepping up to the next level

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:32:32 +0000

After dedicating the first booklet, Kids and TV: Watching Wisely, to television, the second issue of this series now analyses videogames. Learning about videogames is crucial to helping children and young people become more critically minded about this much appreciated activity.

Several studies have shown that parents find it difficult to deal with this reality— which, despite not being a recent one, has been in constant evolution because of the launching of new games and the permanent technological developments that have intensified the diversification of game platforms, such as the Internet, mobile phones, and portable consoles.

This project presents the conclusions of previous investigation projects as well as those of an exploratory study done with parents and children aged 10 to 12 years old. About 150 children involved in the research were given voice through creative writing and drawings. A selection of those materials illustrates this booklet.

DOWNLOAD BOOKLET (PDF, 1.3MB)

Internet and Social Networks

admin — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:20:06 +0000

This booklet closes a series of three brochures which put young people and the media at the centre of the discussion. After television and video games, social networks come up as a central topic that is prevalent in the daily lives of a significant number of people.

The goal of this publication meets the purposes of the previous booklets, “TV and Me” and “Videogames – Stepping up to the Next Level,” to provide parents and educators with information about the relationship between young people and new media. The goal is to promote a more critical use of and approach to such media, namely, social networks.

Social networks have been growing exponentially and their impact on the socialisation and communication processes of their audiences is undeniable. As with traditional means of communication, following social media networks with suspicious eyes might cause educators to neglect a powerful resource and a widespread reality in young people’s daily lives. On the other hand, analysing and questioning the impact of social networks on our private and social lives and, in particular, the lives of young people are an excellent way of maximising their potential. This is the contribution we wish to offer through this booklet.

DOWNLOAD BOOKLET (PDF, 1.29MB)