Saying Goodbyes :(

       My first semester in English has been very consrtuctive. I've enjoyed every assignment that was given to me and that teacher of mine was absolutely WONDERFUL! I know you guys may think I'm saying this because I know she's going to read this post but that is NOT the case at all. I absolutely love teachers who take time out their busy schedules just to assist their students on the levels that they need to understand. Although, I did do a little procastinating I was still able to do all of the work to the best of my ability and meet her expectations. Mrs.Koester has been the best help of all time, I just couldn't possibly see myself saying goodbye.
      Saying goodbye at the end of the school semester can be tough for students, who've often formed strong attachments to their teachers like me. I've became immune to the small things Mrs.Koester do. She's a bowl of sunshine. Everyday, (even when I walked in late) she always had sweet greetings. I've never saw her come to class with an attitude or even show any kind of disappointment to me or my classmates when it came down to her work. She has the understanding personality that you just can't forget about and she has this vibe that sets the whole room! On days where I really wasn't feeling well, her atmosphere made me leave that class in a better mood and I will definitely miss that. Oh, and I just can't forget about all her jokes. She will not miss not one day without having one or at least saying something that makes the whole room laugh! Her down-to-earth spirit kept me lifted.
      BUT, honestly I refused to say goodbye so I'll be seeing her next semester :) ALL JOKES ASIDE. I'm looking forward to the new work and looking more forward to dealing with Mrs.Koester one more semester!!

Website Review

​After the preschool years kids still like cartoons, but they want something more complex than straightforward messages. Kids like a bit of conflict, some bad guys that aren’t too scary, and other worldly characters like superheroes, aliens, and animated animals. Cartoon websites can be targets for kids. Believe it or not cartoons and their websites play a big role in kids’ lives and they can still teach them a lesson or two!Although websites are for entertainment, they are helping children develop a stronger instinct when on computers and allowing them the option of games and activities that can enhance their learning abilities. There are two popular cartoon websites that elementary aged children are familiar with that are based on television networks. Both Cartoonnetwork.com and Nickelodeon.com come from the channels of Cartoonnetworkand Nickelodeon providing games to play, video clips, shows and educational activities for kids to interact with.Cartoonnetwork is owned by the Time Warner Company and Nickelodeon is owned by MTV Networks. While both Cartoonnetwork.com and Nickelodeon.com successfully attracta children’s audience with their content, Nickelodeon is more appealing in design because of its broad demonstration of icons.

​Although these websites have the same purpose, their designs are different. Nickelodeon is supported with bright colors and a white background. Both Nickelodeon andCartoonnetwork have scroll bars along the top of their homepages that meets the same purpose of making it easy to identify each cartoon that is associated with the television networks. Compared to Nickelodeon, Cartoonnetwork is supported with dark colors. Their background is black and white and their words are all white rather than a variety of colors. From my point of view it seems that Nickelodeon has a childlike view and Cartoonnetwork is more sophisticated. For example if you scroll or click anything that is on Nickelodeon.com icons will appear, but if you take the same action on Cartoonnetwork.com words are the only thing that will appear. Nickelodeon definitely encourages visualization whileCartoonnetwork is text-based. Both Nickelodeon andCartoonnetwork have a space for ads in the same position and spot. Nickelodeon’s ad spot is a sliding box that contains commercials and news pertaining to the cartoons whileCartoonnetwork ad box seems to have a major malfunction because it is always blank. It is important for children to see advertisement that pertains to what they are looking at and this malfunction stops that from occurring. This givesCartoonnetwork a setback because this could be unattractive to children.

​Nevertheless both websites have mobile versions based on their desktop versions. Nickelodeon and Cartoonnetwork’smobile versions are no different from their desktop versions.Cartoonnetwork have minor problems on both desktop and mobile versions. The same problem occurs on Cartoonetwork’sdesktop version occurs on its mobile version giving Nickelodeon the upper hand. It is extremely easy to notify links on Nickelodeon’s mobile version, but it is hard to know where everything is located on Cartoonnetwork’s mobile versionbecause of its non-use of links and little word use. In additionCartoonnetwork only have apps to their games and they all have to be purchased while Nickelodeon has a variety of games to choose from that are all free. Having a charge for games defeats the purpose of children being able to play games because it leaves no access to them. If I was a parent that would be a problem because I wouldn’t want to have to hover over my child while they were playing games on my cellular device or have them visiting sites their interested in that charge things to my bill.

​Just as Nickelodeon is connected to other age groups,Cartoonnetwork is as well. Nickelodeon has more than one connection on its television network and website. It has other connects such as “Nick Jr.”, “Teennick”, and “NickatNite”. All of these connections from Nickelodeon range from the age groups of toddlers/elementary children, teenagers, and then adults. I know what you could be thinking, How does Nickelodeon have so many options to choose from on just one channel? Nickelodeon is uniquely equipped by switching shows as the time goes by in the day, leaving each show in relation in some type of way. For example some of the voices used for the animated characters are the same people who act on “NickatNite” just as a mature view. This still leaves Nickelodeon with an advantage because even thoughCartoonnetwork is similar it only has one other connection. This other connection is not related to Cartoonetwork at all. At nightCartoonnetwork turns into “Adultswim” which is associated with ignorance and does not have any similarities with what appears on Cartoonnetwork. Nickelodeon’s connections still uses its name in some form trying to keep the same aspect. In contrast Cartoonnetwork’s connection has a completely different name and the characters and actors are nothing alike. Likewise their show-times are all still ranged at the same times, making it easy to identify when the channel makes a transition.

​The two websites as a whole share some similarities where they can’t be distinguished at all. I can honestly say that they both have an easy navigation on their sites. It is easy to access any of the content an there aren’t any complications to functioning the sites. Any child allowed to visit these sites would have a fair understanding of usability. The websites of Cartoonnetwork.com and Nickelodeon.com both share the same value of usage.

​In conclusion, Nickelodeon and Cartoonnetwork both accomplished their purpose of entertaining elementary age children. I would rate Cartoonnetwork on 3out5 star scale because of its malfunctions and lack of links.

Freshman Seminar

    I was given an assignment for my Freshman seminar class and it pertains to both that and my English class. During the semester this class has been strictly media based. I realized that media can be used for more than just entertainment. The websites we take part in on a daily basis can be used for constructive use as well such as Twitter and Facebook. We were introduced to some websites we weren't famliar with and was able to immediately identify they could be helpful in the future and useful in other classes.
      This class had a positive impact on me. I was able to take what I learned about media and use it in other classes like my English class and in my normal life. The media introduced to me has made many projects fairly easy. Hootsuite was one of the items introdced to me that made easy for me to conect several things together at a time. This site is time consuing because you can focus on more than one thing at a time visually. I can honestly say I enjoyed my experience and learnng environment!

Put the Future of Children FIRST!

        Electronic media, particularly television, have long been criticized for their potential impact on children. One area for concern is how early media exposure influences development and academic achievement. Although it is clear that well-designed, age-appropriate, educational television can be beneficial to children of preschool age, studies on infants and toddlers suggest that these young children may better understand and learn from real-life experiences than they do from video. Moreover, some research suggests that exposure to television during the first few years of life may be associated with poorer development.
      With respect to children over seven, I us emphasize the importance of content in mediating the effect of television on skills and academic achievement. Early exposure to age-appropriate programs designed around an educational curriculum is associated with academic enhancement, whereas exposure to pure entertainment, and violent content in particular, is associated with poorer development and lower academic achievement.
     Producers and parents can take steps to maximize the positive effects of media and minimize the negative effects. Children's television viewing can inform guidelines for producers of children's media to enhance learning. Parents can select well-designed, age-appropriate programs and view the programs with their children to maximize the positive effects of educational media.
       I simply want to inform policymakers, educators, parents, and others who work with young children about the impact of media, particularly television, on preschool children, and what society can do to maximize the benefits and minimize the costs.



Games Rule but NOT Before School!

 

 

 

 

As I walked into my mother’s house I watched my brother gaze into the television. I didn’t realize he was playing his video game until I walked through the house a few times. I paused to see he was playing “Call of Duty”. This shocked me because I am familiar with adults and teens playing this game. I did not have a problem with him playing the game until I noticed his homework folder settled on the table with work still in it unfinished. This disturbed me because he was so focused on this game when he should have been focusing on his school work. In my opinion, no game should have come before his after school duties.

            The problem that we fail to address is the fact that children are not responsible for the media they interact with.  Children cannot own violet games unless their parents purchase them for them.  It is an issue that goes to the heart because many parents are not mindful of the things they watch.  For instance, parents such as my mother would not be surprised on my brother’s impact from his video game if she was mindful of the games she purchased.  This result in her punishing him and I am sure many other parents take punishment into consideration.

            I am aware that many young children today have easy access to video games and televisions. Electronic devices are one of the most popular choices for entertainment. There is no doubt that every child’s desire it to have any game or movie that is favored by others of their age group. I question whether it is safe for all children to interact with these certain games and movies. In any case children can be affected by media.

It seems to me that each child has their own level of influence impact from media. I contrasted my brother and my boyfriend’s brother impact from video games and it displays that they are completely different. Both my brother Keith and his brother Ron’Darius learn on the same educational level. They both have desires for games but prefer different types of games. Keith is in kindergarten and enjoys playing mature, advanced games while Ron’Darius is in the first grade and he would rather play games that are for his age group such as cartoon related games. I use these two for example because they both different likes in games and react from them but still maintain exceptional grades in school. This is not promising for all children and that is why both parents and the public society should be mindful of the video games they are releasing and the content.

I strongly believe that media, video games and television are terrible for kids…especially when over used by parents as a means of keeping their kids occupied. Sure, there are times it is OK or even a great thing…however, in this techno crazy time we live in, it is WAY overdone and kids do not even play or use their God-given imagination anymore!

Have you ever heard of IYA(Involved Young Adults)? This is a group of young adults and teens that have interests in younger children’s education. We are here to inform the public on the seriousness of monitoring children and the media they interact with.

I know what you might be saying, “How can media be serious when it is made for entertainment?” Yes, this may be true but what are the effects or consequences behind this media?

·         How much media do you and child or children interact with?

·         Does your child or children ignore school work for media?

·         Would your child or children behave disrespectfully when they cannot interact with media?

·         Are your children giving more energy to games and television or any other electronic device than their education?

·          Have you ever saw a child act or say things from a movie, show, or game?

These are the things you should ask yourself about your children or any child that you may have a concern about. One of the biggest tensions between parents and kids is that sometimes kids don’t have enough to do, while parents have too much to do. It’s difficult not to cringe when your child complains about being bored when you wish your life didn’t have so much responsibility and activity. I realize that it is easy to look over certain things children do on the regular but that is when the more attention should be given. Monitor what your child does when he gets bored. Some kids download inappropriate movies and TV shows from the internet. Be clear that this is not acceptable. Steer their energy in another direction. Honestly, too much media for a child at a young age can cause laziness and lack of proper learning abilities. Make sure kids stay engaged in school. Be mindful of our younger generation upbringing!

            Furthermore, we plan to share our multiple ideas to inform those unaware parents and citizens that there is a way to keep these children satisfied.

Some ways other than technology that kids can consider:

1.      Encourage outside play as often as possible. Of course, be safe and make sure your children are supervised. Playing outside is sadly a forgotten past time for many of today’s techno driven children. Just get them outside running and playing…sweating and good old fashioned hard playing is good for building strong bones and healthy lifestyles!

2.      Music. Turn on some praise music or other clean but still enjoyable music and let them dance around the house. If you have a few kids or even two, they can play musical chairs.

3.      Read. If they can read, give them books to read on a regular basis. It is important that they read often. If your kids are too young to read themselves, read to them daily. Also, a good picture book will keep little no readers busy.

4.      Make them play in their room. Yes, it is OK for kids to play in their rooms with their TOYS.

5.      Young children may complain about boredom when they want to spend time with you. When you hear their complaints, spend a few minutes with your child (if you can). Ask what he or she would like to do with you.

6.      Visit some of your child’s favorite places, such as the zoo, Incredible Pizza, the children’s museum, and the playground. As children get older, they often find new wonders that amaze them.

7.      Invite your child to help you with household chores, such as doing laundry, cooking a meal, setting the table, or dusting. Make a game out of the chore, and soon you’ll both be having more fun.

Children can still have access to their normal games but exclude violent activity from some of them to ensure safety. Less violence will show that it is not the only way to create fun. We also feel that if more educational activities are included in these movies and games that it will have a more positive impact. Educational media created on a level that interest the younger generation is our proposed solution. This can better the children and challenge them to keep education first.