Internet Safety: Media Literacy Tips From Industry Insiders Pt 1

Nov. 24, 2009 As fall weather kicks in and families hunker indoors to ‘more screen time’ than summer time norms, I hear tales of media management missteps that would spin heads faster than a Linda Blair Exorcist antic. (yes I know it’s almost Thanksgiving, but I’m still seguing from Halloween here…) I hear parents say things like “Oh, my kids play games sometimes, but we … [Read more...]

Toxic Coinage Consumption: Melamine Scare Spooks Parents

Argh, maties! These Sherwood Brands Pirates Gold Coins shiver me timbers! I’m quite accustomed to the annual viral parent panic of tainted candy of some kind or other each year, but this season, Truth or Fiction is even even trickier to discern whether these milk chocolate coins are ‘threat level orange’ or a plink in a bucket long shot, even among the … [Read more...]

Kids’ Gaming Ethics and Immersive Virtual Worlds (Part 2)

Are "cheat codes" a symbol of impatient multi-taskers incapable of working through frustration that need to leap frog over the hard part of life? Or a conduit to open new challenges at higher levels of engagement at a self-motivating pace? With fuzzy ethics, blurred boundaries and zig-zags aplenty in immersive gaming environs, I'd say "cheats" is a loaded term in and of … [Read more...]