Checking the Monitor: A Forum on Internet Safety

June 4th, 2008: 7-8.30pm

Brooklyn Public Library: Grand Army Plaza

RSVP: Call 718-789-8170 or register by email

In this forum hosted by the LAMP as part of Internet Week New York, the office of the Brooklyn District Attorney, media professionals and media scholars come together for a discussion about the many issues and concerns regarding young people and the Internet. Topics will include current regulations, controls, social networking, gaming and the growing digital world surrounding young people, their families and their futures.

According to a recent survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 65% of parents closely monitor their children’s Internet use, and 18% believe they should monitor Internet usage more closely than they do now. However, there is much debate over appropriate methods of monitoring a child’s Internet activities. Some experts argue that concerns over Internet safety have been blown way out of proportion, while others say that current measures are far from adequate.

“Parents are more likely to get involved with their child’s online experience when they know more about how to monitor it,” claims D.C. Vito, Executive Director of The LAMP. “We want to encourage families to talk about media and how they are used.”

All are welcome to contribute to the conversation with Brooklyn College Media Studies professor and LAMP Educational Director, Katherine Fry, Ph.D., who will moderate the forum with the following panelists:

• Rachel Dretzin, Executive Producer and Director, PBS Frontline documentary, Growing Up Online
• JoEllen Fisherkeller, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Culture and Communication, NYU
• Kevin O’Donnell, office of Kings County District Attorney

2-4PM

at Prospect Park YMCA

Parents and Educators
3 Sessions (1st session basic info for those with minimal web experience)

Creating an online presence
In this workshop, we’ll learn how to make a MySpace/Facebook page or create a blog. We’ll discuss the decisions about how to present yourself online and what that means, as well as what impact that can have on personal privacy. We’ll also discuss how you can get involved with what your kids are doing online, how you can help their experience be rich and safe.

Skills:

• Learning some html
• Putting together images and words
• Critical thinking

Cost: FREE!

Email us or call (718)789-8170 to sign up!

4-5:30PM

at Prospect Park YMCA

Ages 10-late adolescence
4 sessions

Exploring commercials/PSAs

Learn how advertising works through persuasion techniques. Use what you learn to produce your own commercial, then use it to produce a “talk back” response to a TV commercial.

Skills:

• Script-writing
• Storyboarding
• Creating narrative
• Camera work
• Editing
• Using persuasion techniques
• Critical thinking

Goals: collaboration, taking responsibility for a role in collaboration, understanding and critiquing persuasive tactics

Cost: FREE!

Email us or call (718)789-8170 to sign up!

10-11AM

at Prospect Park YMCA

Grades K, 1, 2
3 sessions

Let’s make a Video poem
In this workshop, we explore the different ways media use techniques to grab your interest. We explore different visuals, the use of sound, and other methods. Then, the group decides the theme of the poem that they will create as a team. Each group member contributes a drawing and words to collectively make a poem that is both seen and heard on video.

Skills:

• Camera work
• Writing
• Drawing
• Teamwork

Goals: collaboration, understanding how images are put together on videotape, celebrating emerging artistic and writing skills

Cost: FREE!

Email us or call (718)789-8170 to sign up!

4-5:30PM

at Prospect Park YMCA

Grades 2,3,4
4 sessions

Publishing a newspaper
The group chooses an area for the newspaper to cover, such as the neighborhood or school, and then goes through the step-by-step process of writing, designing, editing and taking photographs for their very own local newspaper.

Skills:

• Journalistic writing
• Interviewing
• Copyediting
• Layout
• Photojournalism
• Graphic design

Goals: collaboration, carrying out one’s job at the paper, using publishing software, understanding the construction of news, how decisions are made

Cost: FREE!

Email us or call (718)789-8170 to sign up!

Un-Commercial
4-6PM

3) “Create an Un-Commercial”

Ages 10-late adolescence
3 sessions
Re-making commercials
In this workshop, the group selects an existing commercial taped from television. The commericial is then “enhanced” with truth statements.

Skills:

• Editing
• Critical thinking

Goals: collaboration, understanding and critiquing persuasive tactics

Media Lit Town Hall
7-9PM

In the News
4-5:30PM

5) “What’s In the News? Making a Newspaper”
Grades 2,3,4
3-4 sessions
Publishing a newspaper
The group chooses an area for the newspaper to cover, such as the neighborhood or school, and go through the step-by-step process of writing, designing, editing and taking photographs for their very own local newspaper.

Skills:

• Journalistic writing
• Interviewing
• Copyediting
• Layout
• Photojournalism
• Graphic design

Goals: collaboration, carrying out one’s job at the paper, using publishing software, understanding the construction of news, how decisions are made

Slam Poem
4-6PM

7) “Make a Slam Poem”
Age 12-Adolescence
3-5 sessions
Slam/Hip-hop poem
Award-winning slam poet Darian Dauchan demonstrates and breaks down the craft of writing and performing slam poetry. Darian then works with each student to develop their own technique and style; at the end of the workshop the class performs their poems.

Skills:

• Writing
• Speech presentation
• Performance

Goals: translation of a personal message into a performable format, understanding how inflection and gesture can influence/win over an audience