Tuesday July 27, 2010
Most people would agree that high school is rough. Regardless of their status in the high school caste system, teens are dealing with hormones, ever-changing social norms and immense pressure to make major life decisions. This generation of teens is also coping with a cultural shift greater than has been seen in the recent past, if ever. The influx of digital communication is not only changing the way we work and play, but how we communicate, connect and even define ourselves.
Teen media giant, MTV, is well-aware of the effects of digital communications on their population. Their A Thin Line initiative aims to stop the spread of digital abuse with special episodes such as "Sexting In America." But amidst all the talk of sexting and cyberbullying, most adults seem to miss the bigger picture. As MTV discovered in a recent episode of their new series, If You Really Knew Me, digital abuse is interwoven in teen culture. It's not a phenomenon unto itself. And the challenges of communicating in writing, as opposed to face-to-face (or even on the phone), are vast. Not only are people more likely to say things they wouldn't in person, but innocent exchanges more frequently turn into heated arguments.
If You Really Knew Me follows a group of high school students as they prepare for and undergo "Challenge Day," a program designed to push teens out of their comfort zones, educate them about the challenges their peers face and encourage them to start treating each other with compassion. The second episode of If You Really Knew Me explores typical issues of bullying and cliques, but has a heavy undercurrent of digital abuse. It is based at Anthony Wayne High School in Whitehouse, OH, and airs for the first time tonight at 8om on MTV. You'll also be able to catch it in repeats or online.
I had a chance to preview the Anthony Wayne episode and thought it was incredibly powerful. I'd advise you to watch with your teens/tweens and definitely bring some tissues. Seeing these kids peel back their tough facades and be truly honest with each other was both painful and inspiring. I'm thankful that I never need to go through high school again!
Read More
Friday July 23, 2010
If you've been visiting my site for at least a year or so, you may remember the Invent-a-Game Challenge. Kids were invited to submit a video game idea. The prize was a $10,000 US savings bond and the chance to have the game developed by EA.
Well, Dan Slutz is seeing his vision come to life this week as EA releases Rhythm, a platform game based on his original concept. Rhythm reminds me of a platform version of de Blob. Sylence, the villain, has stolen the music and color from the world and it's Rhythm's job to get it back by collecting batteries, musical notes and various power-ups.
You can play Rhythm for free on the EA website. It's a cute game. I only played the first two levels, but didn't see anything inappropriate for kids. Still, the game controls will be tricky for younger children.
Read More
Wednesday July 21, 2010
Discovery Channel is preparing for their second season of their "social experiment" reality show, The Colony. Seven people are sent to a remote location with no electricity, running water or civilization. Their mission is to start to rebuild after a worldwide catastrophe. To hype us up for the show, Discovery Channel has put together a somewhat disturbing simulation of what might happen in the social media world during the development of a deadly pandemic.
JointheColony.com invites you to experience the pandemic through a simulation using your Facebook friends and family. If you're feeling adventurous, you can skip the rest of this post, which does contain some spoilers.
When visiting the site, you'll watch a short video and then you'll be asked to login through Facebook connect. Doing so allows the simulation to pull in the names, pictures and locations of your friends and family, based on their Facebook permissions. Friends with strict permissions won't appear in the simulation. Once there, click around and then make sure to move from the "Outbreak" phase to "Pandemic" for the full effect.
This simulation isn't appropriate for children (if they're under 13, they shouldn't be on Facebook anyway.. ahem) and may upset some adults and tweens. It's not graphic, but seeing a good friend on the "missing" list is a bit disturbing.
After you view the simulation, come back and let me know what you thought. It's an interesting use of the technology. I could see some applications in areas of health education, disaster preparedness, etc.
Read More
Friday July 16, 2010
I have to admit that I was never interested in tower defense games before I played Plants vs. Zombies, but now I'm a fan of the genre. If you're not familiar, the games have some sort of enemy trying to make its way past your defenses. You place stationary weapons along the path to try to stop them in their tracks. Usually the weapons are upgradable. I'm not a big fan of shooting at things, but tower defense games are more like puzzles than fighting games and they can be pretty addictive.
In my search for a tower defense game that isn't too difficult, I stumbled across one called Body Defense. In it, you have to protect your body from invading germs by placing towers that shoot at them. It's kind of cute and easy enough that I beat the first two levels with minimal effort (I have only played the first two levels). It's a good introduction to the genre, although there are certainly better games out there. The website is fairly heavy with advertising, but most of it seemed to be game related while I was there. I didn't see anything inappropriate for kids, but do check it out first.
Body Defense is a cute game that's appropriate for upper elementary school and on. If any form of shooting bothers you, tower defense games will typically be a poor match. Body Defense has no blood and the towers are fighting off bacteria and germs so it's relatively tame. Let me know what you think!
Read More
