While everyone else in my family was stuffing themselves with turkey stateside, I was attending a public relations conference in Munich. The topic was the role Web-based audio and video PR will play in the future. I didn’t learn anything new, but I did realize we are all on a path of no return. The World Wide Web, and all its technical wizardry, is here to stay.
I’m a wee bit of a technophobe. It’s not entirely true, but I tend to view gadgetry as an ersatz for truly living. So whenever someone approaches me with anything that can only be enjoyed with a plug or batteries, I falter and resist.
Life for our children looks a lot different than it did for us as we grew up. They have to learn how to deal with computers one way or the other.
Enter Adina’s Deck, a Nancy Drew meets Ghostwriter teenage foursome who solve cyber-mysteries at school. Whether it’s online dating, plagarism or cyber-bullying, this series addresses some real-life issues like no other show I’ve seen.
(the others are pending financing). Even my son, who tends to grow impatient with ‘real-life’ programming, as opposed to cartoons, loved it. My daughter, who is taking a short three-hour course about how to use the Internet tomorrow, enjoyed the themes throughout the series, too. It makes her feel grown up to type on a keyboard, like her mom. She has grown so fond of my old laptop that I’ve promised to give it to her if she keeps up her grades this year.
Thankfully, we have insightful directors such as Debbie to lean on when our children’s minds seem filled with online chatter. A group of positive role models, the clan in Adina’s Deck fosters honesty, integrity, and the type of problem-solving lacking in most television programming today. Recommended for children ages 8 to 13, this award-winning series promises to help us parents unlock the mysteries of today’s tweens with a nice dose of ethics tossed in!
Today at 3pm, Ciera Trussell, “Clara” will be volunteering to host a screening at the Boys & Girls Club in Placerville, CABen on dvdDance of the Dead hdFarce of the Penguins psp . Come watch the new episodes, meet Ciera and learn about the show!
Cyber-bullying, chat room predators and the lure of engaging in online plagiarism are all potential hazards facing young people today. A new educational DVD to help kids cope with these issues is being shown at schools and youth organizations across the country, and parents can check it out for free this weekend.
Called “Adina’s Deck,” the stories revolve around the efforts of a group of middle schoolers, led by the tech-savvy Adina, to investigate their classmates’ online dilemmas. The name comes from the deck of cards members must pull from in order to discuss their problem. It’s also a reference to what Adina’s parents gave her after taking away her computer for getting kicked out of school for cyberbullying.
The first in the series, “Adina’s Deck: Solving Cyber Bullying Mysteries,” was released last year and dealt with the story of a popular but “stuck-up” girl who was being harassed online. The ensuing investigation revealed that the culprit was her supposed best friend.
Two new half-hour episodes dealing with online predators (“The Case of the Online Crush”) and the prevalence of cutting and pasting homework assignments from the Web (“The Case of the Plagiarized Paper”) make their Bay Area premiere Sunday at the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito.
Shot in the Bay Area with a volunteer cast of local actors, “Adina’s Deck” is the brainchild of Debbie Heimowitz, who developed the series as part of her work on a master’s in education that she received last year from Stanford.
Before Heimowitz and writing partner Jason Azicri, who’s getting his master’s in family therapy at Santa Clara University, begin work on a new script, they research the topic. They say they often find that issues are misunderstood. For instance, for the online predator episode, they discovered that most men who target young women in chat rooms don’t lie about their age and are attractive.
“A lot of females think they won’t be hurt by someone who’s good looking,” Heimowitz says.
In the show, the investigation reveals that not only is the online predator exactly who he says he is, but he’s also carrying on an e-mail affair with another club member.
For the show on online plagiarism, Heimowitz said she strove to counteract the attitude she found among young people that copying essays and other material off the Internet is wrong only because you could get caught. “It’s not wrong because you can get in trouble. It’s wrong because you’re stealing someone else’s work.”
To illustrate this point, a character in the show actually gets away with plagiarizing from the Web, only to have her artwork stolen and turned in under someone else’s name.
2 p.m. Sun. Free. Cerrito Speakeasy Theater. 10070 San Pablo Ave., El Cerrito. (510) 814-2400. www.adinasdeck.com
Many of you asked about Callbacks. We have already made calls for today. Between 1-2 out of every 10 people who auditioned were invited back this morning.
Amy Jussel, founder of ShapingYouth.org wrote about us today on her blog based on an interview we had. We are flattered. We have been so busy preparing for auditions we were blown away by her thoughtful and generous account of our project. You can read her article here
Here’s the blurb about her non-profit: Shaping Youth,Last Chance Harvey dvdrip a new nonprofit consortium of media and marketing professionals concerned about harmful messages to children. S.Y. uses tools & techniques of industry insiders to flip creative content in a healthier direction. Her counter-marketing workshops have been a huge hit with kids and adults alike and will launch to the public soon. amy@shapingyouth.org
Thanks to everyone who came out and auditioned on Day 1! We will be notifying our first group’s Callbacks no later than this Thursday.
Parents- we really appreciate those of you who drove or flew up to Walnut Creek. We were overwhelmed with your dedication and generosity! If you were from Santa Monica, Burbank, Nevada or Sacramento, I’m talking about you!
We can’t wait to meet the rest of you, auditioning for the first time on Sat. May 17th.
Already this is going to be challenging… with so many talented people who came out already… we have had over 800 submissions so far & auditioned a total of 50 already.
THANKS AGAIN!
Megan, Debbie and Jason (as well as Zoe, Katie, Kristen, Katherine and Michael)The Hard Word on dvd
Auditions for Episodes 2 & 3, start this upcoming Sat. May 10th in Walnut Creek, CA.
If you are between the ages of 12-16 and would like to be considered, please email: adinacasting@gmail.com with your picture, age and any acting experience. We have a lead role for the part of “Michael” a black (or black-mixed) male ages 13-16; as well as many other supporting roles.
To download our audition flier for your school, family and friends, click here ->.flyer11.pdf
We are excited to welcome Emily, our new Intern on Adina’s Deck. Many of you will be talking to her at some point. Here’s more about Emily!
Emily Bronstein is the new intern at Adina’s Deck. She is a third year
Political Science Major at UC Berkeley. This San Diego native is also very
involved in her sorority and even facilitates a student taught class at
Berkeley. In another vein, she simply cannot stand wooden pencils (this
last sentence is just a joke).
Amelia Varni, “Adina,” Kelcie Stranahan “Skye,” Cristina Delvalle “Haley” and Donald Lett II “The Counselor” made an appearance at the SF Film Festival at Wondercon along with directors Debbie and Jason. Nick Myggen from the camera department was there too. Here are some pictures from the event:
And… The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo! I’d forgotten about this one until reading that the actress Irene just got married.
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I found this clip of the show on YouTube. How I miss the good ol’ Nickelodeon days! Hopefully Adina’s Deck can help re-inspire the type of programming that I want my kids to watch one day.
NEA Today’s writer Cindy Long posted a fabulous article about Cyber Bullying. We were interviewed for the story and Adina’s Deck is one of the links. The story is below; and you can read the entire article here.
Silencing Cyberbullies
Digital sticks and stones can’t break bones—but they can hurt even more. What educators can do to curb bullying in cyberspace.
by Cindy Long
Ryan Halligan was bullied so relentlessly at school, he finally learned kickboxing to defend himself from the physical assaults. But when the attacks moved online, he had no way to fight back, and no refuge. Day and night, he received e-mails and instant messages from classmates ridiculing him and calling him a loser. When a pretty girl at school pretended to like him online but later revealed she was only joking, the taunting e-mails and instant messages increased, only with even more venom. A few weeks later, in October 2003, Ryan hanged himself in his family’s bathroom. He was 13 years old.
Now, Ryan’s father travels to schools around the country to share the events that led up to his son’s suicide and to warn educators and students about the dangers of cyberbullying. “Please don’t ever forget Ryan’s story,” he says, “or the fragility of adolescence.”
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic technology to deliberately harass or intimidate. Unlike the schoolyard bully of yesteryear, the cyberbully can hide behind online anonymity and attack around the clock, invading the privacy of a teen’s home. With young people spending most of their free time online or texting their friends, digital bullies not only have ready access to victims, but also an audience—because without witnesses, virtual bullying loses its punch.
According to Pew Research, about one third (32 percent) of all teenagers who use the Internet say they have been targets of some form of cyberbullying that ranged from receiving threatening messages and having their private e-mails or text messages forwarded to having an embarrassing picture posted or rumors about them spread online.Michael Jackson’s This Is It
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for lessons about Internet Safety, cyber bullying, relational aggression, decision making, and technology. If you aren’t local to Dublin, CA you can still purchase Adina’s DeckScary Movie 3 the movie
Adina’s Deck was accepted into the 2008 International Family Film Festival in Los Angeles! The film will be screened between April 28th and March 2nd, time TBD. Their official website is: ifffl.orgGodsend movies
Barbie Presents: Thumbelina movie downloadIFFF’s Mission Statement: IFFF promotes socially responsible films and screenplays suitable for a general audience and expresses a fundamental respect for the positive values of life. The IFFF promotes and encourages the creation and sharing of family film and screenplay product through film exhibition, professional and children’s hands-on film camps, seminars and post-film discussions. Any subject matter may be covered.
The festival takes place from Feb. 22-24 at WonderConGetting Even with Dad download at the Moscone Center South. More than 100 films from around the world will be shown in a 400-seat theater on the 2nd floor, room 250. WonderCon
is the largest comic-book and popular culture convention in Northern California, hosting more than 20,000 visitors during its three-day run. It is the sister event to Comic-ConLadder 49 movie download
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic technology to deliberately harass or intimidate. Unlike the schoolyard bully of yesteryear, the cyberbully can hide behind online anonymity and attack around the clock, invading the privacy of a teen’s home. With young people spending most of their free time online or texting their friends, digital bullies not only have ready access to victims, but also an audience—because without witnesses, virtual bullying loses its punch.
