Children and media newsletter 3/2010

This newsletter is about the field of Finnish Media Education. It is a part of Children and Media is an Action Plan initiated by the Ministry of Education and Culture, Deparment for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy, Division for Cultural Policy, Finland.  Newsletter is published three times in a year.

Contact Person: Leena Rantala, leena.rantala(a)minedu.fi

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CHILDREN AND MEDIA NEWSLETTER 3/2010

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MEDIA TOOLS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare

The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and Folkhälsan have combined their efforts to produce a handbook titled Media Tools for Early Childhood Education. The handbook contains nearly fifty separate activity tips that are especially designed for educators working with children between the ages of 3 to 5. The handbook is intended to encourage educators to acquaint themselves with the kind of media that children are fascinated by, as well as to make use of media in order to support interaction within children’s groups.   The activity tips are divided under three headings: Creating a safe environment, directing play, and strengthening educational partnership.  2000 copies of the handbook have been printed, and it is available to order from The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare web shop.

Five educational events for early childhood educators have also been organised around Finland, as well as two open meetings for parents, a visit to a family club and three family cafes. The media education educators of The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare have also visited parent-teacher meetings as well as received additional training on the effects of media on pre-school-age children. The Project was presented at the 2010 Educa National Trading Event for Educators as well as the Early Childhood Education event.

Contact:
Suvi Tuominen
Tel. +358 (0)75 324 5441
suvi.tuominen(a)mll.fi

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MEDIA SKILLS LEARNING PATH  IN BASIC EDUCATION  – AN INFORMATION PACKAGE
Centre for School Clubs

During the past autumn, the Centre for School Clubs has been coordinating a project with the objective of compiling an information package for the use of class- and subject teachers. The result of this work is the publication titled Media Skills Learning Path in Basic Education.  The publication also includes a section titled media education quality criteria. Dr. Ritva-Sini Merilampi has functioned as the leader of the work group.  The objective is to deliver the publication to all primary and secondary schools in Finland as well as representatives of local education and culture departments during February and March.

All media education materials produced by the Centre for School Clubs will be presented at the Educa National Trading Event for Educators on 28-29 January 2011 at the Club’s stand number 3h41. Ritva-Sini Merilampi, Lea Olli and Suvi Törrönen, who are all members of the work group that brought out the publication Media Skills Learning Path in Basic Education, will give a presentation at the Educa Fair’s Tietoisku-platform on Friday 28 January 2011 from 3 to 3.20 pm. The topic of the presentation is Media Education: a hobby for a few or an activity for all?

Contact:
Suvi Törrönen
suvi.torronen(a)kerhokeskus.fi

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CHILDREN, MEDIA AND LIBRARIES
The Finnish Library Association

During 2010, the media education projects in libraries have focused on regional training. A two-day training session for local educators (22 participants) was organised in Lahti. The two topics of the training were Creative Media Education and the Individual, the Group, and the Media. The Mikkeli City Library organised a training session on creative media education for 50 participants. For instance, the municipal library of Ranua has organised day-long communal training events on social media aimed for the employees of the libraries as well as the  youth workers of the municipalities of Kolari, Kemijärvi, Inari and Kemi as well as the neighbouring municipalities. In total, 70 people participated in these sessions.  In Ranua, the local library has also cooperated with the schools in teaching information management and safe internet use to more than 100 children in the course of the year. 

An action plan for media education in libraries titled Library Education and Media Education will soon be finished, and it is to be distributed at the Educa event. The Children, Media and Libraries project will finish in February 2011. In future, media education in libraries is to be coordinated via the Kirjastot.fi (Libraries.fi) portal.   A media education website dedicated to library professionals within the Kirjastot.fi portal will be finished in early 2011. During 2011, the intention is to focus especially on the operative side of media education.   For instance, joint training sessions have been planned with the Media Education Centre Metka.

Contact:
Pirjo Sallmén
Tel. +358(0)50 375 7686
pirjo.sallmen(a)lasipalatsi.fi

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CHILDREN’S WEB SERVICE OKARIINO
Kirjastot.fi / Helsinki City Library – Central Library of Finnish Public Libraries

The technical aspects of the Okariino service are currently receiving their finishing touches and the content is getting to be completed. In the course of the past autumn, schoolchildren around the country have started testing and using the beta-version of the Okariino service. The service has also been further introduced in libraries and schools. In 2011, Kirjastot.fi will produce both Swedish language activities and a section for small children within the service. Further plans involve the building of a story game and a character generator, as well as developing a virtual literary art circle and a service titled “Ask the Family Pesonen” within the portal. As part of the Okariino –activities, authors writing for children and young people will also produce a storybook around the subject of children and media.

Contact:
Katja Kyllönen
katja.kyllonen(a)kirjastot.fi

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MEDIA EDUCATION FOR SÁMI CHILDREN
The Indigenous People’s Film Centre Skábma

The primary objective of the Sámi children’s media education project in 2011 is to develop media- and film education in the Sámi region whilst taking into consideration the educational particularities of the Sámi culture as well as safety issues brought on by new technology.   The objective is to promote media literacy through trainings and the production of materials as well as to draw attention to the safe use of media by Sámi children. The plan is to develop and produce training and information material on media education in the Sámi language for educators, instructors, parents and other adults working with children.

The practical operation of the project consists of the following sections: 1) Organising media workshops that take the Sámi culture into account, 2) Compiling an information base on Sámi media- and film education, 3) Producing  Sámi language media education material for schools, day-care centres and organisations as well as 4) Employing traditional Sámi skills in order to promote media literacy and Sámi media education in educational institutions.

Contact:
Tarja Porsanger
Tel. +358 (0)50 433 3757
tarja.porsanger(a)samediggi.fi

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MEDIAEDUCATION.FI –PORTAL AND THE CHILDREN’S MEDIA BAROMETER
Finnish Society on Media Education

The new developments of the Mediaeducation.fi –portal are nearing finish. The service has attracted 40700 visitors in the past year. Around 94% of visitors are Finnish. Most of the foreign visitors come from Sweden, Great Britain, and Germany. There are nearly 800 registered users. Users upload content, such as materials, comments and “thumbs-ups”, to the site nearly every day. The Finnish Society on Media Education’s online blog on the website of the “Meidän perhe” magazine (Our Family) has been viewed nearly 3000 times.  Next year, the mediaeducation.fi –service will also boast a new and improved toolkit for parents as well as a “Media Moment Machine” that provides ideas to people working with small children regarding media education with different groups of children and different media equipment.

The investigation into the use of media by children aged 0 to 8 years coordinated by The Finnish Society on Media Education has progressed. Qualitative tests in day-care centres as well as the peer student interviews of 1st and 2nd grade students have been completed. A second, extensive round of questionnaires will be performed for parents, and the process of analysing the answers will start at the beginning of December. The results of the investigation project will be published at the More Than Just Child’s Pl@y? Media Education in Early Childhood - Meeting for expert’s on 10-11 February 2011. The event will be organised in cooperation with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare. The results and analysis of the investigation will be published in both electronic and print form in the course of February 2011. During 2011, The Finnish Society on Media Education will continue the investigation by performing a comprehensive study on the use of media and media education experiences among primary school age children.

The address of the Mediapuuhaa blog: www.perhe.fi/blogit/mediapuuhaa

Contact:
Rauna Rahja
Tel. +358 (0)50 594 2275
rauna.rahja(a)mediakasvatus.fi

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GAME THEMED TRAINING SESSIONS AND EVENTS FOR PARENTS 
Media Education Centre Metka

Training sessions with the title Digital Games in Early Childhood Education were organised in five different locations in the autumn of 2010, and approximately 240 people took part. According to feedback, the participants enjoyed being able to experiment with different digital games themselves and by that means to develop a more positive attitude towards games and gaming. The participants also liked the fact that the theme of gaming was approached from different angles (playing, making one’s own games, age limits and game reviews).

Games for the Whole Family –events, directed to parents and children, were organised during the autumn in the municipal library of Joensuu, the Joensuu City Library, and at Niipperi School in Espoo. The events allowed parents and children to play digital games together, and parents were provided information on the age limits of games, among other issues. In total, around 300 people took part in the events. The events for parents were organised in cooperation with the Finnish Board of Film Classification, YLE’s Media Bus and the Finnish Games and Multimedia Association Figma.

Game-themed educational workshops for children were organised around the country of Finland for pre-school and school age children in library and school premises.  The games workshop involved playing and online game and talking about games, gaming and age limits for games. At the end of the workshop, the students developed a plan for a game of their own as a group. In total, around 300 children took part in the training events.

In the beginning of 2011, the Media Education Centre Metka, in collaboration with the Mannerheim League for Child Welfare and the Finnish Parents’ Association, will start an extensive nation-wide project called Media Education Skills for Parents. The objective of the project is to support and strengthen the parents’ media education skills. The project involves activity-based events for children and their parents as well as professional educators around Finland. Metka will also produce more media tips and media moment –materials for library professionals in 2011. The themes of the materials are music, sound, mobile and photograph.

Contact:
Ms Anu Ruhala
Tel. +358 (0)40 836 0292
anu.ruhala(a)mediametka.fi

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HIIRIPIIRI AND NEW TOOLS FOR EDUCATORS
Save the Children Finland

In 2010, the distribution of the Hiiripiiri (Mouse House) materials has been increased to reach nearly 15000 children in day-care centres and schools. Over 5000 copies of the teacher’s guide for the use of the materials have been distributed to schools and day-care centres over the past year. With the teacher’s guide, the materials have become even more popular. Towards the end of 2010, the materials have been marketed extensively at related fairs and events as well as through the Journey of Discovery –campaign. In 2011, the distribution of the Hiiripiiri materials will continue. In addition, new media education tools for educators and parents will be developed, especially in order to promote children’s participation.

Contact:
Ms Riitta Kauppinen
Tel. +358 (0)50 433 1260
riitta.kauppinen(a)pela.fi

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TEACHING PACKAGES USING MEDIA ART
AV-arkki – The Distribution Centre for Finnish Media Art

In 2011, Av-arkki will complete the new teaching packages Visiitti (a visit) and Box. The teaching packages use media art as learning aids for media education. The teaching packages are easy to use and designed as lesson-long introductions to media art. The teaching packages can be rented, and they include a printed guide to teachers –brochure as well as a lesson-long DVD-compilation of media art for different age groups. Along with presentations and analysis as well as discussions of the artwork, the learners can use simple AV-tools to complete assignments related to the individual themes at hand. The printed material can soon be downloaded free from the AV-arkki web service. The teaching packages can be rented directly from AV-arkki from February 2011 onwards.

Contact:
Ms Hanna Maria Anttila
Tel. +358 (0)40 557 0320
director(a)av-arkki.fi

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RESEARCH AND TEACHING MATERIALS ON STEREOSCOPIC 3D
Stereoscape Ltd.

A media education project coordinated by Stereoscape Ltd. will begin in January 2011. The project involves researching stereoscopic 3D from a media educational viewpoint and letting its audience know about the most important issues and concepts related to its media-technological evolution. As part of the project, an audio-visual production 2-5 minutes in length will be produced. The content of the production will be used as basis in research projects performed in cooperation with the Aalto University’s Department of Media Technology. The emphasis is on stereoscopic expression aimed at children of early childhood education age as well as its psychological and physiological impact on that group. As part of the project, Stereoscape Ltd. is responsible for developing teaching materials relating to stereoscopic 3D for adults working with children of early childhood education ages.

Contact:
Mr Tomi Luostarinen
Tel. +358 (0)40 736 1999
tomi.luostarinen(a)stereoscape.fi

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A GUIDE TO FILM EDUCATION
Finnish School Cinema Association 

In 2011, Finnish School Cinema Association will produce a handbook titled A Guide to Film Education for Teachers. The emphasis will be on the needs of pre-school and early childhood education.  The handbook will make use of Finnish School Cinema Association’s existing learning materials, which are always built on a single film. The guide will compile, in one handbook, practices from different learning materials as well as film education applications that can be used with all films. The guide will also include a section on film theory for educators and teachers, clarifying concepts of film education and cinematic narration. Since it is not possible to view an unlimited amount of films in schools and day-care centres, the guide provides tools for film education that are time-wise strictly limited to lessons. The tools include tangible assignments and exercises related to each subject presented.  

Contact:
Ms Marjo Kovanen
Tel. +358 (0)40 176 3018
marjo.kovanen(a)koulukino.fi

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PROJECT EVALUATION AND THE MEDIA EDUCATION PLANNING PROJECT
Foundation for Cultural Policy Research Cupore

The Foundation for Cultural Policy Research Cupore will carry out a project evaluation over the first half of 2011. The project will evaluate the different projects financed and performed under the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Children and Media -programme over the years 2005-2009. The projects involved are media education projects in libraries, development projects of the mediaeducation.fi –portal, and media education projects for Sámi children. The evaluation will be performed by Senior Researcher Tarja Savolainen.

A planning project for national media education coordination and promotion will start in January 2011. Cupore and the Finnish Board of Film Classification will cooperate with the planning project. The Project is related to the Government proposal on the reform of the Act on Audiovisual Programmes (HE 190/2010). The Bill puts forward the suggestion that the Finnish Board of Film Classification should be remodelled to become a Media Education and Audiovisual Programme Centre. One of the Centre’s key functions would be to promote media education and children’s media skills in cooperation with other official bodies and organisations working in the field of media education. Responsible for the media education planning project is Senior Planning Officer Juuso Peura.

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WHAT IS THE CHILDREN AND MEDIA NEWSLETTER?

The Children and Media Newsletter contains information on media education projects that have received funding from the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Children and Media –programme.

Contact:

Project Planner Ms Leena Rantala

Ministry of Education and Culture

Department for Cultural, Sport and Youth Policy

Division for Cultural Policy

Tel. +358 (0)9 160 77206,
Mobile +358 (0)400 380 542 

leena.rantala(a)minedu.fi