About-Old
Adina’s Deck: Solving Cyber Bully Mysteries
Adina’s Deck is a thirty minute film, website and curriculum to educate 9-15 year olds about Cyber Bullying: Harassment using technology. Adina’s Deck was created, directed and produced by Debbie Heimowitz for her Master’s Thesis in the Learning, Design and Technology program in the school of Education at Stanford University. Jason Azicri developed, wrote and co-directed the pilot. Over fifty crew members and one hundred actors contributed to the pilot episode. To learn more about the research, development and production of Adina’s Deck click here.In the film, Skye, the most popular girl in the 8th grade, recieves threatening emails, text messages and voice-mails. She doesn’t know what to do, so her best friend Melody asks the tech-savvy Adina for help. When Adina says yes, her friend Clara is confused. Skye is stuck up, and has never been nice to them in the past, so why is Adina helping her? After an adventure, the girls learn about more than just the bullies identity– they learn about friendship and growing up in the digital age of technology. To learn about the cast and crew, read Internet Safety and Cyber Bullying Tips and explore Adina’s Room, click here.Adina’s Deck address the new problem of bullying by use of technology, which can result in severe psychological implications. Studies at UC Davis have linked the frontal cortex in the brain to evidence about uninhibited actions on the Internet. In addition, consequences of cyber bullying range from: depression, anxiety and academic difficulties; to suicide. Cyber Bullying can be more intense than regular bullying, as the the scars can last a lifetime.In the future, Debbie, Jason and the rest of the crew are hoping to create an educational multi-media company that produces new episodes, each addressing a different topic. If you would like to contact us regarding funding, please email: info@adinasdeck.comIf you are interested in bringing Adina’s Deck into your classroom or home, click here.The cast and crew are available for National Speaking engagements, school assemblies, library programs, PTA meetings and conferences. Please email us for more information!Thanks for visiting!Here are some answers to our FAQ:FAQQ: Why did you make Adina’s Deck?We (Debbie Heimowitz and Jason Azicri, co-creators) share the same philosophy: we think there aren’t enough educational shows that are both story driven and educational. Our goal is to make an on-going show that deals with and raises awareness of a different issue every episode.Q: How did this project get made?Debbie created the project for her Master’s Thesis at Stanford University. Jason joined the project as co-creator because he felt so strong about the topic. He’s a Counseling Psychology Student at Santa Clara. With both Debbie and Jason’s filmmaking backgrounds combined with their passion for socially conscious media, Adina’s Deck came into fruition. In addition, over 200 cast and crew members (including Bruce Drummond our awesome Web Designer!) volunteered their time, energy, talents and “Noah’s Spring Water:” the official water of Adina’s Deck.More information on the research and development of Adina’s Deck can be found here: http://ldt.stanford.edu/~debbieh/cyberbully.htmlThis includes information on how we designed the show, the learning goals, where we did our research, a synopsis, etc.Q: Why did you choose Cyber Bullying as the “pilot?”-Middle school counselors identified it as one of the top issues facing their students.Q: Is Adina’s Deck only for Girls?A: No. We originally designed the show to empower girls to use technology both in their daily lives and also to address problems. We conducted research and found cyber bullying to be the most prevalent in females. After evaluating extensive assessment results from both genders, we learned that males responded equally positively to the film as females. Many males actually ranked the show higher than females. In the future, we are designing episodes for both genders.Q: Why did you focus on Middle School age students, doesn’t cyber bullying happen at all ages?A: Absolutely, cyber bullying happens in adults as well as younger children. We found many students and school counselors tell us that 7th grade was when they saw a “peak” in Cyber Bullying. However, people of all ages will likely face cyber bullying in their lifetime, and thereby can still watch and benefit from the film.Q: What is your philosophy behind the show?A: Awareness and student empowerment. Having awareness of a particular issue helps the adolescent to deal with the issue. By showing a “model situation” in which two girls can jump in and help their friends, we are sending the message that kids can make change. Too often, young people “tune out” because they want more responsibility, but are told they are not “old enough”. Young people want to do good things. They want to help their friends. They just don’t know how. They haven’t been shown examples. This does not mean we advocate students dealing with issues by themselves, but understand that many issues can be dealt without adults.Official Website:
