March 29, 2012 Good luck to our friends "The Shop Girls" the only all-girls teen team at the Shell Eco-Marathon in Houston this weekend, and congratulations on today's public radio interview, "Cars Built By Kids Show Future to Better Gas Mileage" (you GO, girls!) Shaping Youth is proud to be a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) sponsor again this year, and … [Read more...]
Racism is a loaded term that sends politically correct media outlets running for cover and well-meaning pundits into shaky quaky territory. It’s no wonder that kids themselves can get confused, for media takes shortcuts to ‘typify’ characters because it’s quick, and easy. We're all aware that when it's reinforced in a daily diet of stereotypes, it can … [Read more...]
There are plenty of spins on the Spider-Man 3 record-breaking $382 million worldwide “priciest movie ever made" buzz...so I’m going to take a deconstructionist view about summer box office biggies, and look at the impact of media hype-fests on kids. Not pickin’ on Spidey, here; haven’t even seen the flick yet, I’m talking about a global web … [Read more...]
Keeping my finger on ‘whassup’ in youth culture can lead to ‘life’s most embarrassing moments’ in a keystroke. Case in point? I stay apprised with what’s circulating the net using a handy tool called Top Viral Videos to see what’s clicking through with 6 million viewers and such. Einstein, the amazing talking bird and sweet otters … [Read more...]
Ever try to explain the phrase Web 2.0 in a digital sound bite? This brilliantly fun little 4-minute video from professor Michael Wesch of Kansas State University does the trick. This digital ditty is cultural anthropology at its finest; you can bet Marshall McCluhan would be duly impressed. It captures the power of Web 2.0 in a smart blip of techno-frenzied pace, … [Read more...]
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