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News from The LAMP! Our February Illuminations Newsletter

The Lamp — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:48:14 +0000

The LAMP Illuminations

February 2010

In This Issue

Spotlight: Chesley Andrews, The LAMP’s Web Designer

Highlight: “Digital Nation” Reviewed

Gaslight: February in Media History

News from The LAMP!

The LAMP is all set for its spring programs with Rooftop Filmsand Brooklyn Technical High School, as well as PS 107 and other pilot workshops. We’ve also been working on our library of free LAMPlit resource guides, as we’ve put out a revised version of Beginner’s Guide to Going Online and recently published Check Out the News!, our guide to basic news literacy. Visit our Resources page to download both of them for free today!

And, it’s the perfect time to schedule LAMPcamp–The LAMP’s media literacy summer intensive launched last summer for teens. Check out our LAMPcamp videos, and email us or call 718-789-8170 for more information!

Spotlight: Chesley Andrews, The LAMP’s Web Designer

This month, we interviewed Chesley Andrews, web designer for The LAMP. Last summer she took on the daunting task of overhauling our website, and launched her own studio,Dossier. We talked to her about her inspiration, how she approaches her projects and the business of web design.Click here for the interview!

Highlight: “Digital Nation” Reviewed

On February 2nd, PBS Frontlinepremiered “Digital Nation,” the follow-up to writer/producer Rachel Dretzin’s “Growing Up Online” (Douglas Rushkoff also shares writer/producer credit here). Emily Long, The LAMP’s Communications Director, wrote about the documentary on The LAMPpost, plus her “compelling review” caught the eye of HASTAC. DId you watch “Digital Nation”? Tell us your thoughts on The LAMPpost!

To help us continue our services as New York City’s only nonprofit organization giving free media literacy workshops to parents, youth and educators, please consider a small tax-deductible donation. Your donation goes to work immediately supporting workshop equipment, supplies, and administrative and facilitator fees.

The LAMP will not share or sell your email address. Period.

Vote for The LAMP on Change.org!

As part of Change.org’s Ideas for Change in Americacontest, The LAMP has proposed an increase funding for media literacy programming which would support our work in New York City and lead the way for similar funding in other cities.Vote for The LAMP, and help us make it to the final round for meaningful media literacy funding. Vote now!

Gaslight:
February
in Media History

In honor of Black History Month, The LAMP dedicatesFebruary’s Gaslight to African American pioneers in journalism.

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News from The LAMP! Our October Illuminations Newsletter

The Lamp — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:46:43 +0000

The LAMP Illuminations

October 2009

In This Issue

Spotlight: Claire Mysko

Highlight: Update on Flip and The LAMP!

Gaslight: October in Media History

Happening now at The LAMP…

The LAMP is off to a busy start for the 2009-2010 school year! We’re doing a short-form documentary program at the Brooklyn Prospect Charter School, and Family Video workshops at the Mount Hope Housing Company in The Bronx. We’ll also be presenting at the Business Development Institute’s Nonprofit Social Communications Case Studies on October 28 at New York University. And, watch your email for an invitation to a very special event!

Spotlight: Claire Mysko

This month, we interviewed author Claire Mysko, co-author of “Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby.” Released this month, Claire and Magali Amadei (former model, now mom and body image activist) tackle the body issues many women experience before and after pregnancy, some of which are exacerbated by a baby-crazed media. An award-winning expert on body image and self-esteem, Claire gave us an inside look on how the book was developed and why having a positive body image is especially important for new and expecting mothers. Read our complete interview with Claire, or simply buy the book!

Highlight: Update on Flip and The LAMP!

Since February, The LAMP has been a member of the Spotlight Program with the makers of the bestselling Flip Video Camera. When you donate one camera for $150 to The LAMP, Flip will throw in a second to match! Now, the program has upgraded to include the Flip Ultra with 120 minutes of recording time. When you buy a Flip for The LAMP, you know that your donation will make an immediate impact. Flips are an easy way for students to create and edit their own short films and snapshots, plus they help us document our work. If you’re interested in making a donation, just send us an email for more information!

The LAMP will not share or sell your email address. Period.

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The LAMP recommends: “Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?”

In a world of “baby bump watch” and “get your pre-baby body back!” headlines, it’s no surprise that 88% of pregnant women worry about how pregnancy will change their bodies and self-esteem. Now, body image experts and authors Claire Mysko and Magali Amadei have responded with their new book, “Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? The Essential Guide to Loving Your Body Before and After Baby.” We love it for cracking the media veneer of what really happens to a pregnant woman’s body, and Publisher’s Weekly loves it too: “The concepts and solidarity here should prove valuable for millions of American women.” Check out The LAMP’s exclusive interview with Claire Mysko, and buy the book!

Gaslight:
October in Media History

October saw the death of one American media icon, and the birth of another. Want to learn more? Check out this month’s Gaslight entry!

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The LAMP’s summer plans, Meet Paul Mihailidis, and more : It’s The LAMP’s June Illuminations!

The Lamp — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 14:47:00 +0000

The LAMP Illuminations

June 2009

In This Issue

Headlight

Spotlight: Paul Mihailidis

Highlight: Nettysworld.com

Gaslight: This Month in Media History

Headlight

As we move into summer, keep an eye on The LAMP! In July, we have LAMPcamp as part of the Prospect Park YMCA’s Summer Day Camp, more LAMPlit, a revamped website and much more. And, click here to read about our exciting work with the Social Venture Consulting Program, created by Grassroots.org and University of Maryland to help grassroots nonprofits like The LAMP bring innovative ideas to life.

Spotlight: Paul Mihailidis

Occupation: Asst. Prof. of Media Studies, Hofstra University, and Director of Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change (Austria)

Favorite blogs: IFC.com/MakeMediaMatter, Politico, MediaMatters.org

Favorite websites: Salzburg.umd.edu, aocmedialiteracy.org, PBS IdeaLab, ESPN

Summer Plans: This summer I’m doing a bunch of things. 1) I’m now teaching a summer course at Hofstra, while 2) writing a report for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) on Media Literacy and Youth. The report surveys existing media literacy initiatives in the US and globally, and makes recommendations for how funding organizations can
better support Media Literacy initiatives worldwide. After the report is finished, I’ll be 3) traveling to Mexico City (hopefully…) as a guest scholar at Iberoamericana University, where I’ll be teaching a graduate seminar and meeting with the Iberoamericana faculty to discuss various
possible research initiatives. Once I’m back, I’m getting 4) married! on July 18th. Then on July 25th 5) my wife and I are heading to Salzburg, Austria for one month, where I am the Director of a global media program called the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change. The program gathers over 50 students and 10 faculty from all over the world to
explore media’s role in global society. So it’s a busy but productive summer to say the least…
How are you involved with the IFC Media Project? I’m the creator of the 5A’s of Media Literacy Framework, used by IFC in conjunction with it’s Media Project initiative, MakeMediaMatter. IFC wanted to launch a pro-social initiative around Media Literacy to help empower young media makers to understand the influence their production will have on individuals, communities and society. They found my work, and we began to have discussions as to ways we could build a site that would help youth and young adults reflect on their media use and production. They used the 5A’s framework-Access, Awareness, Assessment, Appreciation, Action-to launch this initiative. We’ve been involved in panels, discussions, we’re writing regularly for the blog, etc. It’s been a great collaboration so far.

What is your favorite part of teaching media studies? My favorite part of media studies is helping students look at the media they spend so much time with daily from a new angle. Media studies is a subject that remains forever fresh. It’s something students can engage with, and it’s my job to make them see the connections between media use, their role as
individuals in community, and democracy. I always start my courses by stating: “Anything you don’t see with your own two eyes comes from a mediated source of information.” That simple premise is the jumping off point for some interesting, relevant, and current discussions!

Highlight: Check this out!

If you have, or know, very young children, check out this website designed for kids ages 2-7. The Australian site, Nettysworld.com, allows kids to play games that focus on how to use the Internet safely. There are about five or six adventures that children can choose: making friends, exploring the net, getting things off the net, staying safe on the net, even using smart phones. There’s a section for parents that encourages them to play the games along with the children and talk with them about using the Internet. This seems like a really great idea, especially for the youngest Internet adventurers.
–Katherine Fry

The LAMP at Media Conversations!

On Saturday, June 6th at 1pm, The LAMP screened student work and hosted a discussion about its activities at the sixth Media Conversations conference with Fordham University and the Pratt Institute. Katherine Fry and D.C. Vito answered talked about the challenges of teaching media literacy, gave some background on The LAMP, and discussed future goals.

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Gaslight: This Month in Media History

June 1, 1980: Debut of CNN, world’s first 24-hour news network. Click the image above to see their first broadcast!
June 15, 1869: Celluloid is patented by John Wesley Hyatt in Albany, NY. Nine years later, the first attempt at motion pictures takes place on the same day.
June 24, 1901: First exhibition of Pablo Picasso’s artwork takes place in Paris. The artist is just 19 years old.

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The LAMP will not share or sell your email address. Period.

To help us continue our services as New York City’s only nonprofit organization giving free media literacy workshops to parents, youth and educators, please consider a small tax-deductible donation.

The LAMP hits the conference circuit, meet Megha Kohli, check out Finding Dulcinea: It’s The LAMP’s May Illuminations!

The Lamp — Tue, 05 May 2009 22:03:18 +0000

The LAMP Illuminations

May 2009

In This Issue

Headlight

Spotlight: Megha Kohli

Highlight: FindingDulcinea.com

Gaslight: This Month in Media History

Headlight

On April 30, The LAMP was proud to be part of the 5th Annual MOUSE Squad Educators Conference at Rockefeller Center. Education Director Katherine Fry and Executive Director D.C. Vito led a workshop about media literacy, historic uses of media, and how media and people have adapted to changing needs. Fry and Vito will also represent The LAMP on Saturday, June 6 at another media literacy conference hosted by Fordham University and Pratt Institute, talking about LAMP workshops and our efforts to promote media literacy. In addition, The LAMP is developing an exciting new partnership with Girl Scouts New York, and is also busy planning LAMPcamp plus other special summer events! Be sure to check The LAMPpost and follow us on Twitter (@thelampnyc) for details!

Spotlight: Megha Kohli

Occupation: Student at NYU (and the very first LAMP intern!)
Hometown: Tulsa, OK

Favorite blogs: Jezebel, Epicenter on Wired.com,NYU Local

Favorite websites: Wired.com, Wikipedia, Twitter

Favorite books: Brave New World, Amusing Ourselves to Death, anything by David Sedaris

Favorite meme: LOLCats, without a doubt. Fail Blog is a close second.

How do you see new media being used in the classroom? As a media student, most of my classes involve some level of discussion about new media and its effect on society. I had one class in particular, however, that took this further by with a class blog. We would publish our assignments on the blog and comment on each others’ posts, allowing our classroom discussion to continue throughout the week when we weren’t in class.

What is your favorite LAMP workshop story? I loved working with the kids at PS 107 in the short-form documentary workshop. I was really blown away by their insight and perspective on the different issues they were confronting in their documentaries. They were very opinionated, but also more informed than I would’ve expected–certainly more informed than I was at their age!

Highlight: Check this out!

Web publisher findingDulcinea is a free research and teaching tool dedicated to presenting the best information and resources on the Web. FindingDulcinea ’s education e-newsletter directs educators, parents and students to credible and quality online resources. Topics covered in recent weeks: theworld’s greatest libraries ; the original 13 British colonies ; and the history of basketball . School Library Journal’s Joyce Valenza reviewed and recommended the site : “What does findingDulcinea do right? It organizes. It evaluates. It creates context. It is conscious of design. It GETS media.” If you’re not able to visit findingDulcinea’s education section every day, have it come to yours: sign up for theeducation newsletter.

Want LAMP in the fall?

We know it may seem like a long time away, but it is not too early to start thinking about LAMP workshops in the fall! Our calendar fills up quickly, and we need time to arrange for the resources we need. If you want your child’s school or community to host LAMP workshops,send us an email and we’ll be in touch!

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Gaslight: This Month in Media History

May 7, 1946: Tokyo Telecommunication
is formed, later renamed Sony.
May 19, 1912: The Associated Advertising Clubs of America held its first conference in Dallas, TX.
May 25, 1994: Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn returns home after a 20-year exile. He was expelled in when his three-volume work exposing the Soviet prison system, The Gulag Archipelago, was published in the West. It later won the Nobel Prize.

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The LAMP’s April Illuminations!

The Lamp — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:58:42 +0000

The LAMP Illuminations

April 2009

In This Issue

Headlight

Spotlight: Kathie McKenzie

Highlight: Check this out!

LAMPcamp is coming!

Gaslight: This Month in Media History

Headlight

If you’re not online with The LAMP, you’ve been missing out! We recently added several new videos to our YouTube channel, having finished our Family Video Workshop with P.S. 102 and our short-form documentary workshop with P.S. 107. We’ve also posted loads of new photos on our Flickr page, and you can click here to find pictures from our workshop with MOUSE on persuasive advertising techniques. And, we were featured on Mashable.com with American Red Cross,The Humane Society of The United States and Greenpeace as a recommended nonprofit to follow on Twitter. See what all the fuss is about, and connect with us online using any of the links on the right-hand column!

Spotlight: Kathie McKenzie

Occupation: Graduate student at FIT in a museum studies programfocusing on textile conservation (and LAMP alum!). Also a wife, mother, PTA volunteer and intern at Cathedral of St. John the Divine at the Textile Conservation Lab.

Family: Husband: Greg Pitkoff, two children: Chloe (9) and Thatcher (7), crazy corgi: Missy (4) and my mother (Eileen McKenzie) is a frequent part of our lives.

What did you discover in the Family Video Workshop? I really liked the purposefulness of the workshop. It wasn’t about catching an event or a cute moment. It was about what we would say about ourselves as a family. My daughter and son both had ideas about what they wanted to do and some of that was included. We did some short interviews as well, but in the end, it was pretty much the things we do on car rides and at the dinner table — which I thought really captured our family dynamic. I really learned that we all have completely different styles and ideas about things!

What was your favorite part of the workshop? I liked watching the clips of different families. It was interesting assessing each family and what was realistic and what wasn’t. It brought out the different dynamics (real and fictional) of families. And it made me think about the idealized version of your own family versus the reality of the individual personalities in the mix of our family. My children really loved actually making the video.

What surprised you in the workshop? For the “skit” our family was given characters: father & son, place: upstate NY, event: moving 100 miles away. I was surprised at how literal our family was. Also my son and daughter just couldn’t envision a family with just a father and son, so the plot they wanted to go with was that the father and son were moving to be with the mother and daughter. To them family is the make up of our family. Most other families came up with comedies, but we went with realistic drama! It hadn’t even occurred to us to be funny!

Do you and your family look at media differently since taking the workshop? I don’t know if we look at media differently — we were already skeptical viewers! But I definitely learned a good deal about our family. Each person had really different ideas about what our family video should say about us. My husband wanted the interviews, my son wanted to perform, my daughter wanted to play a game and I wanted it to be us interacting. In the end I think we all got what we wanted and the video hopefully would give someone a pretty good idea about who we are and what we value as a family.

Highlight: Check this out!

Here’s an interesting interactive game for kids: A company calledFun and Function, which makes toys and equipment that help kids develop essential skills and provide therapies to kids with special needs, recently launched a website called ByKidsOnly.com. The site lets kids aged 5-13 design, post and vote on clothing, expressing their sense of style and personal sensitivities to things like fabric, tags, seams and other factors tied to the fit and feel of what they’re offered to wear. Every six weeks, a new category of clothing is highlighted, and registered participants on the site are able to submit and vote on ideas for that category. The current category is shirts, but dresses, skirts and pajamas are scheduled as well. The most popular designs have a chance of being incorporated into actual garments produced and made available for sale on the site. Check it out and tell your friends if you like it!

–Katherine Fry, Ph.D., LAMP Educational Director

LAMPcamp is coming!

It’s official: This summer, we will be offering a one-week media literacy summer camp through the Prospect Park YMCA! We will divide middle school-age students into separate boys and girls camp, and look at gender messages as perceived by them through the media they interact with. They’ll also learn the persuasive techniques marketers use to craft their message for each gender, and they will create their own media projects to address all of our findings. For more information about how to sign up, contact the Y at 718-768-7100.

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Gaslight: This Month in Media History

April 3, 1955: The ACLU successfully defends Alan Ginsberg’s Howland its publisher against obscenity charges.
April 12, 2000: Napster Inc. is sued by Metallica for piracy and copyright infringement.
April 13, 1964: Sydney Poitier becomes the first African American to win a Best Actor Oscar, for his role in Lilies of the Field.

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