Preschool child development and TV: revisiting CMC 2015
As a researcher living and working in Sheffield, I’m incredibly lucky that the industry-led Children’s Media Conference takes place every year right here in my home city. Working in academia provides no end of opportunities to engage in incredible conferences world-wide, but the chance to break out of the academic ‘bubble’ and spend a few days in the company […]
Scary children’s media: what are we so afraid of?
Channel 5 caused a stir last month when they aired the classic 1978 animated film Watership Down on the afternoon of Easter Sunday. Aside from Art Garfunkel’s tear-jerking song ‘Bright Eyes’, the film is infamous for the gore and violence inflicted upon, and by, rabbits that we would prefer to think of as cuddly and […]
Parents express concerns as more toddlers switch on tablet computers
Most parents have profound concerns about their children reading digital books on tablets. In a new survey of 1,500 parents of under-eights in the UK about their attitudes to children’s use of technology and digital books at home, we found that only 8% have no concerns about them using tablets to read. For using digital […]
Kids in the driving seat: personalised digital & printed books
On Friday, 25th of September 2015, academics and three key UK publishers of children’s personalised books met at The Open University, London Camden, to discuss the current status quo and future of children’s personalised books. Personalised books are books which use key information of the reader (in this case of the child), such as their name, […]
Launch of a Framework for Film Education in Europe in Paris 19th June 2015
On 19th June 2015, 50 delegates from all over Europe gathered at the Cinémathèque française in Paris to discuss the future of film education in Europe. The event marked the launch of A Framework for Film Education in Europe, which establishes a set of ambitions and outcomes for people learning about film that all educators […]
Which digital books work best in the classroom?
The argument over whether children’s digital books count as educational storytime or just screentime has been going on for a while. Given that digital interactive books (often called storyapps) are hybrids of books, short films and digital games, their educational value largely depends on whether they are used to promote specific literacy skills or just […]
Net Children 2020- Creating a Roadmap
I was fortunate to be invited to Net Children 2020 an expert conference organised by the Hans Bredow Institute for Media Research and the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth. This took place on 16 and 17 April 2015 in Berlin. This was less a conference but rather a working […]
The first UK Children’s Digital Book Award judged by teachers!
The quality of a child’s digital book is measured by several criteria and there are currently several evaluation rubrics available for evaluating children’s digital books. This is why I’m very excited that in the first UKLA Digital Book Award it will be teachers who will vote for the best children’s digital book. As announced on […]
Conference : Comparing Children’s Media Around the World
CALL FOR PAPERS AND PANELS Comparing Children’s Media Around the World: Policies, Texts and Audiences Conference organised by the Communication and Media Research Institute (CAMRI)University of Westminster, with support from the Arts & Humanities Research CouncilDate: Friday 4 September, 2015 Venue: University of Westminster, Marylebone Campus, 35 Marylebone Road London NW1 5LS Preceded on Thursday 3 […]
Into the Woods: Being Brave with Storytelling
Fairy tales have happy endings. They may be dark and scary but the prince always finds Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood susses out the big bad wolf. Right? All too often many assume that fairy stories are, have always been and should be all about the happily ever after. The release of Into the […]
