G-Force: Can Guinea Pigs Help Kids Get Active? Humana Hopes So!

June 12, 2009 Just finished a phone interview with some of the Humana Games for Health team to see if their new free game called OPS (Operation Planet Savers) passed the sniff test of 'goodwashing' in their Disney dealings to promote the upcoming G-Force movie coming out next month as a Jerry Bruckheimer first in the 3D big screen. “OPS” is aimed at launching kids into … [Read more...]

In Bed With Branding: Virtual Worlds Pair With Children’s Hospitals

May 3, 2009 What's with all the children's hospitals partnering and news-making so much as of late? This spring, “Operation Teen Book Drop” gave bed bound kids across the country over 8000 titles from young adult book publishers to support Teen Literature Day, sponsored by YALSA, readergirlz, and GuysLitWire. A tad earlier, Dell Children’s Medical Center in Texas became … [Read more...]

Congratulations to the 2009 Digital Media and Learning Winners!

April 15, 2009 No, it was not me. Remember this post about kids coping skills and resiliency? Same song, second verse. The MacArthur Foundation and HASTAC folks will announce 2009 winners tomorrow to the world, but here’s a sneak peek of who won which ironically, I had just stumbled upon yesterday and sent to my research associate Rebeca Montealegre Boyte who was outbound to … [Read more...]

A Virtual World to Be Wild About: Elf Island Tweens Help WildAid

Feb. 18, 2009 As reticent as I am to bring MORE media into kids’ lives, when I’d rather they be outside in non-electronic natural environs, I’m firmly convinced that it’s all about balance, content, values, messaging, and leveraging the power of media in positive ways. No secret that I’ve had my eye on Elf Island (fact sheet here) ever since Izzy Neis gave a heads up on this … [Read more...]

Kids@Play: Elf Island Unlocks the Secret to Parent Approval

I was AWOL at CES as my IBM went MIA. Translated? You're SOL (simply outta luck) if you're seeking a fresh thread on the big Consumer Electronics Show toys and tactics targeting kids at the Kids at Play summit, until I can reconvene with colleagues or TechMamas that were present to interview them and/or pitch a guest editorial. I tried, I really tried to get there. The … [Read more...]