Research

There is a lot of news articles available about children and social networking which reinforces the reason for why we have decided to educate them on it.

Such articles include

• BBC (2008) Children Flock to social networks. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7325019.stm
• Mail online (2009) Social websites harm children's brains: Chilling warning to parent from top neuroscientist. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html
• Times Online (2008) Children's social network pages 'must have privacy lock'. Available at: http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article3663312.ece

The information that we found interesting were that "Ofcom's survey of 5,000 adults and 3,000 children found 49% of those aged between eight and 17 have a profile" and that Ofcom also stated "almost 60% of children use social networking sites to make new friends." (BBC, 2008) The latter quote gave us the idea behind the scenario for the video. Hopefully the video will demonstrate to children the negatives to choosing being on the internet instead of playing with friends, and the positives to playing with friends instead of going on the internet to make new friends.

Another quote that encouraged us to make a project on children and social networking is from the article from Times Online (2008) "Tanya Byron, the psychologist on the BBC TV show Little Angels, said that children and parents needed better education on internet safety. Personal profiles on social networks are typically created without security features, but privacy settings can allow the pages to be accessed only by friends."

During our research we also visited the Decode exhibition at the V&A. This inspired us to create a mosaic/pixelated type interface, which will feature a face and certain pixels will be the buttons to different parts of the project. Also, the exhibition made us realise how much interactivity has developed in todays society and that it is an important factor in gaining audiences attention. In particulars the works by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer (make out) and Ross Phillips (video grid) interested us the most.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/microsites/decode/

More Ideas...

With regards to the interface, we have been discussing how it will look and what it will consist of. At the beginning an introduction will pop up, explaining what the audience will need to do and what they will learn. In the introduction the text will go across the screen as if it is being typed, and a sound effect of a sci-fi typewriter will play in the background. We have decided to

use a plain face, maybe a cyber-face and to that add an effect which we found from the following website:

http://studioartist.ning.com/photo/717108:Photo:45073?context=user

This is known as the mosaic effect, which will consist of a numerous amount of mug shot pictures. A

neutral face will be used, an example of this is the profile of iRobot as shown in the picture below:

The idea is that when you move the mouse around the screen, when touching different pixels, options will pop up, these being buttons, which then lead to different interactive options. The e-learning headings may consist of the following buttons, such as:

1. Consequences of networking (Video)

2. Quiz Game

3. Matching Pairs Game

4. Safety tips (words will come together by flying all around the screen and the join together)

5. Help services (Contacts services of the CEOP for advices)

Theme:

The theme that we have decided on for the project is sci-fi/space. On the Bestival website we found a background which has inspired us to go ahead with this theme, one because it can be related to networking and also this will provide a point of interest for younger audiences.

http://www.bestival.net/

However, the colours we wish to use are similar to the image below:

Final Decision

So, our final decision is the e-learning project on Networking.

Our reasons for this is that it is a current issue, and the usage of the younger generation is increasing. Therefore education on this subject is highly useful.

Research

Caught in the Web- http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00qp1pm/Newsround_Caught_in_the_Web/

This programme clearly puts across our idea, however the web page that corresponds with this programme looks extremely boring due to it involving a lot of text. So our aim is to create this information into an interactive piece for younger audiences so they can have fun whilst learning.

Research now commences...

First Ideas

1. Networking

Target audience: 10- 16

Brief: This will be looking into identity theft, network security and includes safety advice for the younger generation on dangers of networking and how risky the world wide web can be.

Ideas for project:

1. Statistics on identity theft within this age range

2. Statistics on illegal usage of the target age group.

3. Story which provides information of a certain scenario.

4. Create a 'how-to' video on how to be safe on the internet.

5. Interface= face made up of small squares, similar idea as the 'Pin Art' office toy.

2. Children's learning and interactive game

Target audience: 3- 6

Brief: This would be focusing on encouraging younger audiences to have fun whilst learning. This would allow the target audience to interact with recent technology that is now so

dominant in Western culture. The concept behind this project is to educate younger children on the risks of obesity and how to avoid it.

Ideas for project:

1. Storytelling

2. Different exercises led by children

3. Interactive game on healthy eating using images and sounds not words.

4. Interface= based on the Cbeebies kids programme 'Lazy Town'.

3. Student Financing

Target Audience: University students- 18+

Brief: To educate university students on how to save money and make the most of the student finance. Also to educate on how to be environmentally friendly.

Ideas for project:

1. 'How-to' video on renting, shopping tips and managing bills.

2. An interactive game where students can gain cooking tips.

3. Recipes

4. Interface= based on the Kingston University colours and logo.