K12> [WWWEDU] Join PBS KIDS' ARTHUR on a Communication Adventure at pbskids.org/arthur

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From: "Mary Watkins" ?Mary_Watkins@xxxxxxxx?
To:  ?wwwedu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx???
Sent: 06 May 2003 09:18:36 -0400
Subject: [WWWEDU] Join PBS KIDS' ARTHUR on a Communication Adventure at 
pbskids.org/arthur
 
Join PBS KIDS' ARTHUR? on a Communication Adventure at pbskids.org/arthur

Much of the attention in the media surrounding kids with disabilities 
focuses on the kids
themselves and the challenges they face with the world around them. But 
what about the
kids that don't have disabilities? How can children better understand 
others who may seem different at first, but really are more like them than 
they realize?

The ARTHUR Web team at WGBH is creating a series of new interactive games 
that help kids explore this issue. In the first game "About Face"? live 
now on the ARTHUR Web site at http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/aboutface ? 
Arthur tells a story, and kids help Pal choose the facial expression that 
best describes how certain ARTHUR characters would feel in given 
situations. The game is designed to enforce the idea that facial 
expressions communicate information. The concept is especially important 
when communicating with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

"About Face" is one of four new features that will be added to the ARTHUR 
Web site over the spring and summer as part of ARTHUR's season-long focus 
on communication differences. The Season 7 episode "Prunella Sees the 
Light," which encores on PBS May 21 (check local listings), and its 
companion educational outreach initiative, encourage hearing and sighted 
children to become more aware of how their peers who are deaf, hard of 
hearing, blind, or visually impaired learn, play, and enjoy many of the 
same things that they do.  

"The season focus on communication differences is an extension of some of 
the original goals of the series," says WGBH executive producer Carol 
Greenwald. "Since its 1996 premiere, it has been a priority that ARTHUR be 
accessible to all children. In addition, we have always strived to help 
children have positive attitudes and to accept and include others, in 
spite of their differences. The new Web features are a fun way to help 
kids do this."

Look for these features at http://pbskids.org/arthur over the spring and 
summer.

? About Face: LIVE NOW!
http://pbskids.org/arthur/games/aboutface  

? You've Got Braille: Launching May 2003.
Kids can create coded braille messages to keep or pass on to friends.

? Fern, The Effective Detective: Launching June 2003.
In this feature, kids will hone their observation skills and learn the 
benefits of using descriptive language, both of which are important, 
especially when communicating with someone who is blind or visually 
impaired.

? Sign Design: Launching July 2003.
This feature will give kids the tools to learn some basic finger spelling 
and signing skills through demonstration and application.

Currently in its seventh season, ARTHUR remains one of the most watched 
children's television programs among two- to five- and two- to 
eleven-year-olds, with more than 11.5 million weekly viewers (Source: 
Nielsen Television Index September 2002 through January 2003). ARTHUR has 
won numerous awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award and four 
Daytime Emmys?three in the Outstanding Children's Animated Program 
category. The series has recently been nominated for two more Daytime Emmy 
Awards, including another for Outstanding Children's Animated Program. 
Based on the best-selling books by Marc Brown, ARTHUR is produced for PBS 
by WGBH Boston and CINAR Corporation. The award-winning ARTHUR Web site is 
http://pbskids.org/arthur.  Funding for ARTHUR is provided by a 
Ready-To-Learn Television Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department 
of Education through the Public Broadcasting Service, the Corporation for 
Public Broadcasting, and public television viewers. Corporate funding is 
provided by Libby's? Juicy Juice?, Post? Alpha-Bits? Cereal, and Chuck E. 
Cheese's?.

ARTHUR is committed to making quality television accessible to all 
children. Since its premiere in 1996, the series has been closed captioned 
for viewers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Thanks to a grant by the 
Department of Education, ARTHUR is now the only program on television to 
have both standard and edited captions (for young children with hearing 
loss who are not yet fluent readers). ARTHUR also made history in 1997 
when the series became the first daily program described for viewers who 
are blind or visually impaired. Every ARTHUR episode is closed captioned 
and described by the Media Access Group at WGBH. Funding for closed 
captioning of ARTHUR is provided by WGBH and by the U.S. Department of 
Education. Description funding is provided by WGBH.

WGBH Boston is America's preeminent public broadcasting producer, the 
source of nearly one-third of PBS's prime-time lineup as well as the 
award-winning children's series ARTHUR, BETWEEN THE LIONS?, and ZOOM?. 
Under the leadership of vice president Brigid Sullivan, the WGBH 
children's lineup leads the field in educational multimedia (including the 
Web, broadband, and interactive television) and in technologies and 
services that make media accessible for people with disabilities. WGBH has 
been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia 
Awards . . . even two Oscars. In 2002,WGBH was honored with a special 
institutional Peabody Award for fifty years of excellence. For more 
information visit http://wgbh.org.

CINAR Corporation is an integrated entertainment and education company 
involved in the development, production, postproduction, and worldwide 
distribution of nonviolent, quality programming and educational products 
for children and families. CINAR?s Web site is http://www.cinar.com.
####

May 2003

Press contacts
Elizabeth Cot?
WGBH Boston
(617) 300-5336
elizabeth_cote@xxxxxxxx

Lesley Taylor
CINAR Corporation
(514) 843-7070
ltaylor@xxxxxxxxx

Photography contact
Amee McNaughton
WGBH Boston
(617) 300-5339
amee_mcnaughton@xxxxxxxx

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