Michael Levine, Executive Director for The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, said: “Digital media is driving what is now a multi-billion-dollar business that shapes the learning and entertainment experiences of most school-age children.” He added: “It is our mission to counsel the industry’s movers, shakers and policymakers and provide a needed bridge to what has become traditional education’s fourth and fifth “Rs”, reform and research. Wise and informed investments will harness the growing power and full potential of digital media’s use in educating young children.”

Gee’s recommendations include: funding digital research and development to invest in what works; establishing a digital teacher corps for the nation’s lowest performing schools; designing alternative assessments and new standards; creating community-based literacy tech centers across the country; establishing Governor’s digital partnership schools; and finally, modernizing public broadcasting investments in digital platforms for the next generation.
The agenda for the day-long symposium also featured child-led demonstrations of new technologies and a hands-on forum promoting two dozen of the best digital media initiatives in the world. Attendees were shown one of the first demonstrations of BOOM BLOX, a new game for Nintendo Wii developed by EA in association with director Steven Spielberg along with promising emerging technologies from exhibitors including: Community Building with Google Earth by Google Earth creator and Google Chief Technology Advocate, Michael T. Jones; Web-based books in English and Spanish by the Center for Applied Special Technology, to help individuals, especially those most at risk, to gain knowledge, skills, and enthusiasm for reading; IBM’s Traducelo AHORA! (”Translate Now!”) that uses IBM WebSphere software to translate web sites from English to Spanish for schools, community organizations, as well as parents so they can correspond directly with teachers no matter what language is spoken at home; and an Apple in the Classroom demo by Kathy Shirley, an Apple Distinguished Educator, on using iPods to strengthen reading fluency and comprehension.

More details on the reports and Symposium are found on the Joan Ganz Cooney website.

In this article, Sanders gives us his thoughts on the film and what it means to him to be part of the KIDS FIRST! Film Festival:
I came up with this idea because I have been fascinated by the power of imagination and fantasy that kids use when they play and the way they interact with us adults. Sometimes we manage to play along but sometimes we cannot or do not want to share their vision. I believe that this imagination can make a lot of things happen. That’s what the film is about.

Currently, I am working as a filmmaker – specializing in camerawork. Before I started studying film at the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne, Germany, I had worked as a freelance camera-assistant on various projects. By working for very experienced DOPs during that time, I learned what it means to tell stories and emotions through images. “Paul’s Grandpa” has been the first fiction that I have both directed and also worked as DOP on. That’s why this project is so important to me.

People usually say that working with children and animals is most challenging - well, for “Paul’s Grandpa,” the “grandpa” was especially unpredictable because it was very fragile. We had a total of three different “grandpas” that were used in the different scenes. The head was especially difficult to work with when we did close-ups. We had four operators using remote controls to control small motors inside the character. For all the scenes with the “grandpa” and Paul the timing of the movements was critical. All scenes were shot in real-time, and no computer generated images were used.

The film reaches a wide audience. Recently we were awarded “best short” by a children’s jury at a festival – they especially liked that no computer animation was used in our film – we were all very proud about that. In this film I think that I have learned that a simple and clear story is most important for the film – especially in a short film. It has little dialogue and story is told clearly with powerful images. I believe that the way that we did the film tricks, not using aiming at perfect illusion but rather using simple but charming techniques, leaves more room for the audience’s imagination and can be more authentic.

I was very excited to be able to have “Pauls Grandpa” as part of KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. As part of a traveling festival, the film has the opportunity to reach audiences in different parts of the country. I am especially proud that the last children’s film that I worked on as a DOP (Tanzmause - Dancing Darlings) has already been part of the festival and was nominated Best Short in 2006. It’s great to be back.

You can see a clip of “Paul’s Grandpa (aka Paul’s Opa) online at http://www.kidsfirst.org/detail/207400.html.

Our Happy Child Productions

Find the Fun Productions. At Find the Fun Productions and American History for Kids they want kids to get it.Therefore, they teach kids about the 13 Colonies, the American Revolution, the U.S. Constitution, the Magna Carta, slavery, the Civil War and President Lincoln using a unique theatrical and emotional context that employs a wide range of creative teaching modalities such as music, puppetry, humor, and relating history to kids’ everyday lives. They use these techniques because they know that getting students to relate to the distant events of the past is often difficult. And educational research shows that emotional involvement is an integral aspect of learning and that creativity is an essential tool for powerful learning retention.

Marshall Publishing and Promotions, Inc. is a multi-faceted media publishing organization. Their goal is to provide lots and lots of media fun for everyone through award-winning DVDs, books, CDs, CD-roms, and broadcast and internet programming that will amaze, amuse, entertain, and educate.

Their award-winning AS SEEN ON TV products like LOTS & LOTS of TRAINS and LOTS & LOTS of FIRE TRUCKS provide family fun for ages 3 to 93 and are not readily available in stores! Their goal is to produce quality programs to watch today and remember for a lifetime. Be sure to collect the entire series of Lots and Lots of DVDs, CDs, and Books!

Storytellin’ Time is dedicated to providing quality, educational,fun recordings for children and their families. Storytelling is presented to students and at teacher workshops across
the United States

Since graduating from Sheridan College in 1988, she has been involved in the animation industry in Toronto on many levels. Jennifer has animated on a number of television commercials, televisions series, and also worked on a feature film for companies such as Lightbox Studios, The Animation House, Calibre and Nelvana. The transition from classical animation to digital computer animation was a natural progression for Jennifer in 2002.

CP: Looking at your background, it seems that you have covered a multitude of styles in animation. What do you feel is your strongest area and what do you enjoy doing the most?

JS: What I feel is my strongest area is character driven scenes. I love it when a character makes you feel the way they feel and have you believe in them. There’s something powerful in a subtle head turn or gesture that makes you forget it’s not real. When I watch really well done animation, I love to get lost in the character and the story.

CP: What brought you to 9 Story Entertainment?

JS: A colleague of mine recommended I apply for a position as an animator. At the time I had no idea how Flash animation was done but he said, “Animation is animation no matter what the format is, it’s simply a different tool.” True enough.

CP: Jacob Two Two is very different from Peep and the Big Wide World, which you also worked on. What steps do you take to capture the magic of Jacob?

JS: Jacob is geared to a bit older audience than Peep so this allows us to explore a broader range of issues that older kids deal with. There are so many different personalities in the show that each character brings a familiarity with it. Growing up even today, I’m sure lots of kids have to deal with a group of bullies, an annoying older sibling, geeky friends or a science teacher that’s just plain weird. It’s a show that is rewarding to be able to really act out all these different characters. The voice actors really help drive the characters in this show. As an animator you are given the sound track and a roughly timed storyboard to work with. When the sound track is inspiring the animators, imagination can take over and this can really add to the scene.

CP: Please give me an interesting anecdote of something behind the scenes in the Jacob Two Two production.

JS: There were times when I was attempting to explain how a scene should play out and I would find myself acting out the line for the animator to “get” what I was meaning. It’s pretty goofy to see a grown woman acting out something Greedy Guts would say and do like sobbing at the thought of having his doughnuts taken away.

Jacob’s character is a really nice reminder that it’s okay to mess up and not always be perfect at everything you do. The important thing is that he’s always willing to try. That’s something I believe we can all relate to.

CP: In your opinion, how has Jacob Two Two benefited from its affiliation with qubo?

JS: It’s great that qubo has been able to take a quality show like Jacob Two Two and bring it to a new and larger audience to experience and enjoy.

CP: Is there anything you would like to add?

JS: I believe all animators are actors inside with the ability to be anyone or anything they create. The only limitation in animation is your imagination, so stretch those imagination muscles kids and dream big!

qubo’s effort marks the latest step in ION Media Networks’ innovative advertising and media initiative to combat childhood obesity announced last summer. Both qubo and ION Life networks are undertaking a series of programs aimed at improving children’s health and reducing the rates of childhood obesity in the U.S. qubo is a member of the Ad Council’s Coalition on Healthy Children while Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO of ION Media Networks, which is qubo’s majority shareholder, is actively involved in the FCC’s Task Force on Media & Childhood Obesity.

To create these nutritional guidelines, qubo enlisted the help of nationally renowned author and expert on childhood obesity, Goutham Rao, MD, clinical director of the Weight Management and Wellness Center at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC ( see bio on Dr. Rao below). The guidelines list acceptable nutritional intake limits for meals and snacks broken down by calories, grams of fat, as well as saturated and trans fat, sugar, protein, fiber and sodium.

Concerned with the growing trend towards childhood obesity, qubo called for these guidelines to guide on-air and online advertising decisions and to ensure parents that qubo provides a safe environment for children with positive messages about healthy living.

“By only accepting advertising from companies that meet this nutritional criteria, we believe that we have set the gold standard for the kids entertainment industry and are helping kids make healthy decisions about what they eat,” said Hughes.

“We are committed to combating childhood obesity through all of our networks-analog, digital, on-line and soon, mobile,” said John Lawson, ION Media Networks executive vice president for policy and strategic initiatives. “We hope that qubo’s nutritional guidelines send a strong message to parents, policymakers and our business partners about our dedication to the wellness of America’s kids.”

“Reversing the epidemic of childhood obesity will require a major, long-term commitment by parents, teachers, physicians and other health care professionals, political leaders and public policy experts,” said Dr. Rao. “qubo’s guidelines are a great first step in the right direction. Children are bombarded with ads for unhealthy foods. One of the easiest ways to reach the largest number of children and families is to make sure the foods and beverages advertised to children meet basic requirements for good nutrition. It was a privilege to work with qubo in creating these guidelines.”

In addition to announcing its new nutritional guidelines, qubo also unveiled this month a series of Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) created in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), the Ad Council and the U.S. Olympic Committee designed to promote exercise and healthy eating to children. Featuring several U.S. Olympic hopefuls, as well as qubo’s popular animated characters from VeggieTales, Jane and the Dragon and 3-2-1 Penguins!, the TV spots began airing this month through donated time on the qubo Channel, ION Television and NBC and will be distributed to television stations nationwide by the Ad Council.

About qubo:
qubo® is a bilingual, multi-platform entertainment destination for children that focuses on literacy, values and healthy lifestyles while celebrating the unlimited possibilities of a child’s imagination. Formed in 2006 by an unprecedented alliance of leading distribution partners and content players in children’s television, including Scholastic, ION Media Networks, NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment and Classic Media, qubo offers dynamic content in multiple environments. Currently broadcast on NBC Saturday mornings, ION TV network Fridays afternoons and Telemundo weekend mornings (check local listings) qubo also includes a 24/7 qubo Channel and website, www.qubo.com.

David Mizejewski, co-host of this amazing series and self-proclaimed Nature geek from birth, loves the concept of this show since it restores wildlife to neighborhoods. “We as gardeners have a huge power to environmental good.” Never intending to become an author, Mizejewski surprised himself by writing a book entitled National Wildlife Federation Attracting Birds, Butterflies & Backyard Wildlife. Producers at Animal Planet realized he tapped into something the public was looking for. Many people of various ages, incomes and backgrounds have a common interest–nature. With the popularity of reality TV, Animal Planet collaborated with Mizejewski and his co-host Molly Pesce to help families, from novices to experts, create a habitat in their backyard that would attract nature.

A big challenge for the crew was time. It’s difficult to develop an inspirational setting when one is filming, and animals don’t have time to discover the new environments. Often producers resort to using stock photos and suggestions of what will happen, however, sometimes the results are nearly immediate. While filming “Chickadees and Toads” in Knoxville, Tenesee, for this series, the family cut tree in yard prior to the television crew’s arrival. The team members drilled a hole in the log similar to what a chickadee would look for in a home and buried log in ground. As they finished filming the episode, a chickadee flew in and checked out hole looking for a place to nest.  Just as in “The Field of Dreams,” the Natural Wildlife Federation believes “If you build it, they will come.”

Mizejewski finds that the nature projects give people an additional bonus. In this society of instant gratification, it brings people back to calmness. He firmly believes that patience - moving at the pace of nature – will be rewarded. He also finds that nature projects are great for kids. Recent research shows that children spend almost 6 hrs a day inside, in front of screens. One of the reasons for this is that parents afraid to let kids out unsupervised. When you create a backyard habitat, it not only provides a place for animals, but kids have a haven in their own backyard where they can enjoy unstructured play and experience nature. The best part is that you don’t even have to live in the country to enjoy this. One can create an inviting environment on a high-rise balcony with a container garden.

In his experience Mizejewski finds that millions of Americans are interested in gardening activities, but many are intimidated and don’t know where to begin. His suggestion is to start small. Stop mowing a part of the lawn in the back that can’t be seen from the road so animals can move back in, or plant a few shrubs to flowers with nectar to draw birds. According to Mizejewski, there can be massive change in our eco system if everyone did a little bit to help.

For more information on starting your own natural habitat, to learn more about the National Wildlife Foundation, or to learn more about Animal Planet’s “The Backyard Habitat,” go to check out the series website. And don’t forget to treat your family by going to the store to catch all of “The Best of Backyard Habitat: Volume 1″ on DVD!

Watching “Jane and the Dragon” on qubo with my kids has been one of my favorite Saturday morning activities for the last year or two. Not only is the storyline captivating, but I love the breaking of stereotypes as Jane trains to become a knight in her medieval world. She and her comrades deal with issues kids today relate to such as honesty and friendship. And, to my mothering heart’s delight, negative behaviors in the show are discussed at the end of the show with suggestions of how one should have acted in that situation.

“Jane and the Dragon” is a CGI animated series based on the much-loved books by Martin Baynton. In addition to the fabulous storyline, viewers are treated to stunning animation filled with rich color and texture. The visuals are so breath-taking that it isn’t much of a shock to discover that it was done by Weta, the company that also worked on the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

CP: Martin, please give a brief summary of your background, including how you went from Electroencephalography to writing children’s books.

MB: My parents always encouraged me to write and to draw from an early age. I remember that all my best marks at school were for my story writing and anything to do with art. At secondary school I also discovered the joy of science, and so I had a very balanced education, but in the end my love of storytelling won out, and I left my job at Barts Hospital in London only a year after qualifying. I have never regretted the decision as it meant I could work from home and be a full time writer and a full time dad with the privilege of being able to spend every day with my two children as they grew up.

CP: Where did you get the idea for “Jane and the Dragon” and how did it evolve into a TV  show?

MB: The idea for the original books was because I wanted to write a story about a girl who wanted to follow her dreams despite the expectations of her family and friends. And then a young girl told me how she hated fairy stories because the girls were wimps; they waited around for a prince to come to their rescue with a wedding ring. So the idea for Jane sprang from those two themes originally. And to my great delight the books have remained in print for twenty years so I would talk about Jane to two generations of readers, mums and their daughter. Often that talk would be about making Jane as a cool TV show. I have to be honest and say I’m not a big fan of much of kids TV, like many parents I had to search to find things I would want my own children to see, so when I finally decided to bite the bullet and step into the role of TV producer and adapt Jane, I wanted to make a show that would meet all my own aspirations for what great drama could and should be for children. That’s when I went down to visit Richard at weta after being blown away by the extraordinary work he had done making the first of the “Lord Of The Rings” trilogy. We both had exactly the same ideas about making children’s TV, it was a wonderful experience from the first day to be surrounded by a team with so much commitment to quality and to storytelling.

CP: Richard, please give a brief summary of your background including how you got into animation.

RT: I come from a small rural community in New Zealand. I always wanted to make things with my hands, creating and inventing fantasy worlds. My wife Tania and I established a film and TV effects facility in New Zealand with two friends and we began servicing the creative industries with our technical and creative services. We have established a company called Weta, in Wellington, New Zealand and we have been integrally involved in a number of major feature films including – “The Lord of the Rings,” “King Kong”, and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” For our work Weta has received 6 Oscars and 5 Baftas.

I have always had a great passion for children’s television, probably stemming from my childhood days watching shows such as the “Thunderbirds,” “Captain Scarlet” and “Space 1999.” Therefore, when we finished creating LOTR we felt the time was right to realize this dream and begin building our own Children’s Television Production facility at Weta. Our fortuitous meeting with Martin, the skills of our producer Andrew Smith and our creative partnership have further reinforced our desire to make the best animated children’s television we can.

CP: One aspect that really stands out in your show is the deep colors and beautiful, rich texture in the animation. Please talk a bit about the animation and how you do it.

RT: We wanted to help raise the bar, that’s the honest truth of it. Children should be able to watch a world that is every bit as rich, and colorful and beautiful as the best that is on offer in adult TV. Our designers started by analyzing the way Martin had illustrated his original books. We wanted a picture book style and aesthetic that would feel as if the book had opened and the characters had come to like. It meant creating a whole new way of producing CGI animation, which tends to have a rather flat and plastic look much of the time. The result is a tribute to our CG supervisor Trevor Brymer and the wonderful design and modeling team we have here who approached this with the same delight and enthusiasm as they would for a major feature film.

CP: Please share an amusing/interesting anecdote from the filmmaking process.

RT: We had a wonderful group of designers working on Jane, many of them being the same exceptionally talented people that had designed “Lord of the Rings.” In fact these people ultimately completed more pieces of design for “Jane and the Dragon” than we did for the whole of the three film trilogy of LOTR. Regardless though, we were struggling with some of the subtle design sensibilities of the Jane world and especially the female characters. That was, until we had the great fortune of hiring an immensely talented woman called Rebecca Tisch who at the age of 17 joined our team and became instrumental in capturing the unique and quirky characters that inhabit Jane’s world. We where so enamored by Rebecca’s contribution that we dedicated a character to her, and Pepper the cook is modeled after this wonderfully talented young New Zealander.

CP: What is one of the greatest lessons you have learned in story writing and filmmaking that you would like to pass along to other producers and writers?

RT/MB: The heart of it all is story. You can’t save a bad story with pretty pictures or clever effects. Audiences young or old want to engage with the characters and the journey those characters are on. If the characters aren’t engaging or sympathetic everything else is just empty packaging.

CP: What, in your opinion, is the unique edge that makes “Jane and the Dragon” a series that kids and their parents should watch over others?

RT/MB: I think it’s the fact that there is a full half hour of real storytelling with layers of complexity that mirror the real world. Jane and her friends face the same real challenges that all young people face, and there are no simple right or wrong answers. Jane always does her best with the best of intentions and sometimes her enthusiasm lacks mature judgment and she gets herself and others into hot water. But she always learns and she always does her best. I think that is the key to Jane and the reason that we get such wonderful emails from teachers, grandparent and the kids themselves – it’s because Jane is a true “warts and all” heroine with a big heart.

CP: Is there anything you would like to add that hasn’t been addressed about “Jane and the Dragon?”
RT/MB: One of the things we set out to do and are very proud to have achieved is that whole families chose to watch Jane together. With so many TVs in some homes, and so much choice there is a trend away from sharing time as a whole family. We are thrilled at the number of emails from families who tell us that Jane is a show they all look forward to watching together. It’s like sharing a book with your children, they love to know that something they enjoy is not just approved of, but is enjoyed by Mum and Dad, and that they can talk about it together as a family with the same common references. Do you remember when Jane did such and such? Sharing time and sharing stories is a way of sharing common truths and common values across the whole family. We are all immensely proud of how Jane is achieving that.

The Indie Spirit Film Festival is an annual event for filmmakers
and film lovers alike, with a superb program of feature films, shorts, docs, animation and many other films from around the world.

SCREENING : Saturday, April 26, 2008
The Independent Film Society of Colorado, Colorado Springs, CO

Show Me Something Real

A film festival honoring single mothers and women filmmakers,
the Show Me Something Real Film Festival is designed to inspire
and empower other women to be creative and expressive in their
lives and for everyone to recognize the voices of women filmmakers.
Proceeds from the screening will benefit the National Partnership
for Women and Families.

SCREENING : Monday, March 24, 2008 - 7:00 PM
Regal Arbor Cinema @ 9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin, TX 78759