Fashion

Sesame Street seems to me to be pretty timeless. It is interesting to be an adult who grew up with Sesame Street. Literally. Kids of all ages love each of the furry (or feathered) characters. I know of a certain little boy who loves Elmo like his big sister did at his age! And it is without question that kids can learn from Sesame Street. That is why it is such a pleasure to be able to introduce you to Sesame Street’s NEW Digital books!

Moving Picture Books Teams up with Sesame Street:

Moving Picture Books is featuring a new series of Sesame Street digital books as part of its dynamic animated book library available at www.MovingPictureBooks.com. Six Sesame Street titles are available for download to computers and mobile devices. Each story includes bonus educational material featuring long-time cast member Bob McGrath who plays “Bob” on the award-winning children’s show.

These animated books can be viewed with or without the read-along English text displayed on the screen. Each title is eight to 10 minutes in length and closes with interactive questions and activities for viewers that pertain to the story. Titles including “Elmo Loves You,” “Rise And Shine,” “The ABCs of Cookies,” “Grover’s 10 Terrific Ways To Help Our Wonderful World,” “What Makes You Giggle?” and “Elmo Visits The Dentist” are available for $1.99 each.

“Moving Picture Books brings a new dimension to some of Sesame Street’s best-selling traditional books as they spring to life on the screen,” said Sesame Workshop’s Jennifer A. Perry, Assistant Vice President & Editorial Director, Worldwide Publishing. “We are always looking for new and relevant ways to extend the learning and fun of Sesame Street, and these Moving Picture Books provide a new media platform for parents and children to enjoy reading together.”

“Digital media offers a new technique for engaging children to read at an earlier stage of life,” said Dr. Robert Rider, Dean and Professor at the University of Tennessee’s College of Education. “Using digital media and animated picture books helps to attract the attention of kids and helps them focus on fluency, literacy and vocabulary in a way that advances them to a much higher level of literacy.”

Meg Lonon, the Vice President and Development Director for Moving Picture Books and mother of two young children, said, “Parents can read along with their kids or download a story for them to enjoy while they navigate through their busy days. Accessing these stories is easy and moms can take them along on car trips, to waiting rooms, grocery stores, sports practices or anywhere else they need to go. Sesame Street stories from Moving Picture Books are perfect for those who are just learning to read, those who read well and for those who are struggling.”

Moving Picture Books Sesame Street titles will also be available for download through iTunes starting April 5.

Moving Picture Books are designed to engage and inspire young readers. The read-along text versions of the books have been hailed by education professionals and parents as a great early reading tool. In addition, all of the books feature age-appropriate lessons that all parents can appreciate like caring, sharing, honesty and self-reliance. Lonon says, “Because they can be viewed on iPods and cell phones, they are a hit with children and parents everywhere you go.”

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization that revolutionized children’s television programming with the landmark
Sesame Street. The Workshop produces local Sesame Street programs, seen in over 140 countries, and other acclaimed shows to help bridge the literacy gap including The Electric Company and Pinky Dinky Doo. Beyond television, the Workshop produces content for multiple media platforms on a wide range of issues including literacy, health and military deployment. Initiatives meet specific needs to help young children and families develop critical skills, acquire healthy habits and build emotional strength to prepare them for lifelong learning. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org.

For more information or to download titles, visit www.MovingPictureBooks.com

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Rate this post! (No Ratings Yet)  Loading ... Written by Theresa Gould Filed Under Books And More, Technology Leave A Comment >>  Email This Post Tags: Children's Books, Digital Books, Educational, Elmo, Grover, Literacy, Moving Picture Books, Reading, Sesame Street

Media, technology, we can’t live with it sometimes when computers crash or any number of technological glitches occur. Yet most of us would agree that we cannot live without it either. The following is a guest article provided by our public relation rep on behalf of Dr. Eitan Schwarz, who is the author of a new book Parents, and Technology:An Instruction Manual for Young Families and Child Psychiatrist. It gives us all something to think about in this age of technology.

With the recent data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which showed that kids 8-18 years old are consuming an average of over 7 hours of media a day, and the launch of the iPad, youth media consumption is an extremely relevant topic and it is more important that ever that parents take an active role in how much media their children are consuming.

“Younger and younger children are now in charge of how they consume media, and they are mostly consuming junk,” explains Dr. Eitan Schwarz, MD DLFAPA FAACAP, author of Kids, Parents, and Technology: An Instruction Manual for Young Families and Child Psychiatrist. “Excessive consumption can cause emotional difficulties, as well as result from existing ones. Children need the thoughtful, active and positive guidance of their parents in this amazing Wild-West tech environment. Merely restricting access is just not enough.”

Dr. Schwarz offers the following tips for parents of infants through eight-year-olds worried about their children’s current and future uses of these technologies:

* Take Charge – Have confidence and take charge. You can manage this important area of your kids’ lives. Many parents too readily take a back seat and let kids take the lead. In what other important area of life would they let that happen?

* Media are Appliances – Start thinking of media as family appliances that must have positive values. Kids treat media as toys, but they are in fact adult tools with enormous power. Would you let your unsupervised young child use the telephone or oven? Only devices with proven benefits belong in children’s hands.

* Technology is Healthy – From infancy onwards, teach kids to appreciate technology as a healthy and routine part of family life. Starting young, children will learn that using technology is collaborative and social — and not an isolating solitary activity.

* Include the Whole Family - Create a new environment around the online family computer and other media to promote mutuality, fun, respect, and development for the entire family. Moving the home computer away from the wall and arranging seating all around it will make it a popular center for family life.

* Make Media a Positive Learning Tool – Just as you already shop for healthy food, harvest the positive opportunities offered by media. For example, for every age group there are wonderful Internet sites that offer a world of learning entertainment experiences.

* Create Healthy Media Rules - Tailor healthy media diets into daily menus for each child to provide development opportunities. For example, regularly require enough online time on sites that enhance good values and education enrichment.

About Dr. Eitan Schwarz

Eitan D. Schwarz, MD FAACA DLFAPA is a doctor who knows kids, media, and families. He is board-certified in both general and child and adolescent psychiatry. During his nearly 40 years of distinguished practice and teaching in a variety of public, private, and academic settings, Dr. Schwarz has been steadily learning about the needs of children and families. Since medical school at Johns Hopkins, he has also been studying the uses of technology in health care and the practice of medicine. Currently on the faculty of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, he has recently researched the use of digital media in play therapy with children. See www.mydigitalfamily.org.

Kids, Parents, and Technology: An Instruction Manual for Young Families is now available in ebook and book form.

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“Afingo.com – the fashion industry’s ultimate destination and one stop shop for all things style. From the streets to the runway, Afingo is the place to connect with cutting-edge designers, retailers, fashionistas, and inthebiz suppliers.”

“Afingo.com, a fashion-centric online forum that merges a marketplace with social networking.”

Afingo is a new website designed to combine fashion and social networking. Just launched last week, this is really cutting edge and potentially amazing for fashionistas! I’ve only read the press release and glanced at Afingo.com, but it sounds interesting enough to share with all of you here at The Fashionable Bambino. I did sign up and set up a profile, which is all very easy to do. Then it is just fun to take a look around and see what’s happening in the fashion world. Afingo.com seems to be filling a gap in some ways, but with so many social media networks popping up everywhere, it will take some time to see how well it really does in the long run.

Afingo.com is not just for consumers, but designers, inthebiz suppliers and retailers.

If you are interested in joining the creative community, visit Afingo.com to take a tour and sign up.

Below is an excerpt from a press release we received:

The very nature of fashion is its ability to reflect the political and social issues of society. One of the most transformational innovations in our modern history is the Internet and its profound effect on the way we work, live, communicate and share information. So it’s no surprise that the rise of social media has created dramatic changes in the way people interact with the digital world. According to a recent study by Hill & Knowlton, ‘27% of Generation Y says they are influenced by an online community or blog,’ making it evident that social media is undoubtedly a way of the future. In today’s social media environment, industries are being defined by consumers themselves trough opinions, reviews, ratings and blogs. Until recently, the fashion industry has been fashionably late to the social media party.

‘Traditionally, fashion has always been perceived as a personal experience for the consumer,’ says Liza Deyrmenjian, CEO & Co-founder of Afingo.com, a fashion-centric online forum that merges a marketplace with social networking. ‘The idea of going social is a bit unnerving and unfamiliar to the industry because many do not know how to translate these personal experiences online. Afingo.com is the first-ever Web-based roundtable where all four building blocks of the fashion world – designers, retailers, in the biz professionals and consumers – meet. We have designed a virtual cocktail party for anyone who loves fashion.’

Do You Afingo?

Launching in January 2010, Afingo.com will provide industry professionals and fashion groupies the ultimate one-stop destination to connect with all members of the fashion population. For consumers, Afingo.com will give exclusive access to learn about the latest fashion trends directly from their favorite designers. Designers and retailers can share behind-the-scenes industry information with customers in exchange for immediate consumer reviews and opinions.

‘Although fashion-centered Web sites exist, there is no venue where all components of the fashion community can converge,’ says Liza. ‘Afingo.com forges a relationship between the four main movers and shakers of the industry by creating an interactive dialogue.’

The multi-functional fashion portal allows consumers to offer input directly to designers and retailers about their collections, provides designers with necessary information to give consumers exactly what they want, assists retailers by selling products directly to consumers and helps ‘in the biz’ suppliers to develop a thriving business.

Social Networking: The Next ‘It’ in Fashion

The fashion industry has completely evolved from a time when designers and retailers relied on fashion shows and glossy magazines to generate “buzz” about their brand. From high-end department stores to local boutiques, the industry is utilizing social media to build brand awareness with consumers. In this new tech-chic environment, there’s more competition for consumer attention as traditional forms of advertising have become less influential.

According to Forrester Research Inc., ‘companies are shifting their marketing dollars away from traditional media and toward interactive media. The category will grow to $55 billion and represent 21% of all marketing spending in 2014, the company predicted in a July report. This year, marketers will spend $716 million on social media marketing, with the bulk of their online advertising budgets going toward search, display advertising and email.’ Ushering the fashion industry’s trend, Afingo.com effectively merges the ideas of designers, retailers, ‘in the biz’ suppliers and consumers via social media to attain well rounded and optimal results.

How will consumers benefit from Afingo.com?

Afingo.com allows each consumer to establish a profile page where they can connect with their favorite brands to rate new designs and directly purchase goods. This provides consumers with the opportunity to offer direct feedback to designers, and also helps them explore and discover new talent.

Afingo.com will run various contents and polls for users to win prizes such as shopping sprees and makeovers by celebrity stylists. Additionally, consumers are often given the opportunity to vote on specific things such as designers’ color swatches or retail stores’ inventory for an upcoming collection – giving them a voice into the fashion world for the first time.”

Top Fashion Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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How many of you have iPhones? And how many of you use applications for children? I’m really curious, so don’t be shy, leave us a comment. If you do use iPhone applications geared towards babies and children then this post will definitely interest you. We didn’t even know that there were applications for children, but neither of Sarah nor I have an iPhone either. I think if I had one and was out and about alot that this might be something to keep a little one busy while waiting for appointments or even driving in the car as a family. But I will let all of you iPhone users decide as you look at this new iPhone application for babies…

Especially for iPhone Users

Orange Design recently released a new brand for iphones. We are privileged to introduce you to the new brand, Learnl, and its first application for the iPhone—Learnl Baby: Animals. Designed for babies 6 to 18 months, it features hand-crafted animations, charming music and beautiful color photographs.

Last month, Orange Design announced the launch of Learnl Baby: Animals, the first in a series of colorful iPhone applications designed to make learning fun. Designed for children aged 6 to 18 months, Learnl Baby: Animals introduces kids to animals using engaging illustrations, photos, and sounds.

Designed with little hands in mind, Learnl Baby: Animals uses a simple, one-touch interface on iPhone and iPod touch. There are no buttons or gestures to memorize. Like turning pages in a magical picture book, each touch of the screen offers something new. First, the child sees an animated illustration of an animal while its name is said aloud. The child touches the screen, and the animal’s name is shown in animated characters. A third touch reveals a photo of the real-world animal along with the sound it makes. Touch by touch, children will learn 20 animals in all.

Unlike most other iPhone applications for kids, Learnl Baby: Animals is specifically designed to be easy enough for even a 6-month old child to use, but sophisticated enough to continue to entertain as babies grow. But it’s not just the simple interface that sets Learnl Baby: Animals apart from other iPhone baby apps. In every detail, Learnl Baby: Animals is designed to delight young children, whether it’s the hand-crafted animations, the charming music, or the beautiful color photographs of each animal. Whether at the zoo or on the small screen, babies find animals captivating.

Orange Design President Fred Sharples says,

Once my son was born, I downloaded several iPhone applications for him, but found them all too complex for his age. Babies see us using our iPhones, and they want to use them too. It turns out the iPhone is perfect as a learning tool: if it’s a simple enough game, even very young children can quickly learn how to interact with it. Plus, its constant availability gives parents a needed break during long car rides or delays at the airport.

Learnl Baby: Animals is now available in the iTunes App Store for 99 cents. Learn more at http://www.learnl.net/baby/animals

About Learnl

Learnl games reflect the belief that we all learn best when we’re having fun. Combining playfulness with education, each Learnl title is designed to be intuitive, approachable, and age-appropriate. Learnl encourages users to touch, identify, reason, create, and smile. For more information, visit  http://www.learnl.net

About Orange Design

Founded in 1999 and based in San Francisco, California, Orange Design offers broad expertise in interactive technology, from educational games to web and interface design. Orange’s work expresses clarity and engagement, whether the context is a game for the Leapster handheld learning system, an interactive election map for CNN.com, or original iPhone games. For more information, visit http://www.orangedesign.com

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Rate this post! (No Ratings Yet)  Loading ... Written by Theresa Gould Filed Under Technology, Unusual Leave A Comment >>  Email This Post Tags: Babies, Baby iPhone Apps, Children, Educational Tools, iPhone, iPhone Application, Learnl Baby, Learnl Baby Animals, Orange Design, Technology