Screen vs. Screen

Does it matter which video screen America's children are staring at? Is it worse to have a child watching too many hours slack-jawed and glassy-eyed in front of the television, or is it worse for a child to be constantly zapping digital baddies on a game console or is it worse to be compulsively checking Facebook? Or are they equally bad?

Researchers weigh in on this question in an Associated Press article.

Someone's Gonna Pay for This!

Television networks have a harder time earning a profit than they used to, and it's not all the recession's fault. Audiences and advertisers are bailing. It looks like the Internet is the future of everything.

So the broadcast networks created Hulu as a place where they could experiment with how their shows could make a profit online. Meantime, Google, Apple and others have some good ideas about how to bring TV to your nearest computer or smartphone.

But the networks are finding that free online shows are bad for the bottom line. So the broadcast networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox) are restricting online access to shows while putting pressure on cable and satellite providers to pay to run their shows. Yahoo News reports.

Good News for Cal State Transfers!

I received this email from Kevin Meza of the Transfer Center...

Hello,

Additional funding was acquired by the CSU system for this academic
year. MANY CSU campuses are now accepting applications/admitting
students for winter and/or spring of 2011. CSULA, Cal State Long
Beach, and San Diego State are a few of the more popular campuses for
our students, but the complete list can be found at: www.csumentor.edu

This is a great opportunity for many of our students who are ready to transfer.

Kevin


Kevin Meza
Transfer Center Coordinator
Glendale Community College
1500 N. Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818) 240-1000 ext. 5820

I Am Shocked, SHOCKED...

Most of you won't recognize the cultural reference, but it's famous. In the classic film Casablanca, Claude Rains plays a corrupt police inspector who is "shocked, shocked" to find gambling going on in Rick's Cafe' American ... just before he is quietly given his roulette winnings.

For this Medianote, please excuse Your Humble Blogger if he is shocked, SHOCKED to find lying going on in political advertising. NPR reports.

Do Gamers Make Better Warriors?

Does it really matter that gamers can pick a war and pick a side, shoot digital bullets and spill digital blood? Does it make the players more aggressive in real life? Do the skills learned in the game translate into battlefield prowess? One real-life pondered these questions in a National Public Radio commentary.

New Meaning for the Term "Light Snack"

According to a study just released, people who stay up late to watch TV and play video games don't get fat simply because they are sedentary and snacking (although that certainly doesn't help). It may also be because the unnatural amount of light they get at night may mess up their body rhythms and metabolism.

This medianote was based on a brief article in the Los Angeles Times.

Are Funerals Free Speech Forums?

The far edge of the First Amendment is often defined by people with disturbing messages. If these messages have social or political content, they are often protected. An exception, however, is invasion of privacy. In a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court, the issue is whether an anti-gay religious group can picket the funerals of dead soldiers. NPR reports.

Is Privacy Dead?

Movies, television reality shows, radio programs and other media routinely turn intensely personal moments into entertainment. But what about when college students secretly turn their web cameras on each other? The result, we found out recently, can end in tragedy.

This medianote was about the suicide of a freshman at New Jersey's Rutgers University after his romantic encounter was captured by his roommate's webcam and broadcast over the Internet. NPR reports.

Transfer Workshops

Here is an email from Kevin Meza, who recently spoke to all of my MC101 classes...

We are now in the official college application period. Let your students know it is time to come on up to the Transfer Center and apply for fall 2011! Applications for the UCs and CSUs are due November 30th. USC is due February 1.

We have a complete menu of application workshops: CSUs, UCs, USC and "The Common Application" (414 colleges use The Common Application for admission). We will also hold personal statement workshops. Here is our calendar of events:

http://vision.glendale.edu/index.aspx?page=1516


Kevin Meza
Transfer Center Coordinator
Glendale Community College
1500 N. Verdugo Road
Glendale, CA 91208
(818) 240-1000 ext. 5820

Want to Teach? Look Here!

This conference looks like a good place to start if you're an aspiring teacher...

14th Annual

Road to Teaching Conference

Santa Ana College

Saturday, Nov. 20, 2010



Registration is now open!

www.fullerton.edu/cct


Keynote Speaker: Alastair Inman, California Teacher of the Year 2009