After television viewing patterns are reported, children select their Favorite Program for the past week. Then children go to the Reporting page where they describe the lessons that they learned from their favorite program. Finally, children post their reports to an animated boy or girl reporter on the site. Reward structures are embedded within the game to sustain children's interest over time. These winners receive Blue Ribbon and Gray Ribbon Awards, the colors of Georgetown University.
Children can also view their own reports in an individual, cumulative file.
After children earn sufficient points from sending reports, they enter the Bulldog Hall of Fame . This study aims to understand the ongoing natural viewing behaviors of children during middle childhood over the next three years. The prospective, longitudinal nature of this project will allow us to examine changes and continuities in children's selections of programs for viewing, their extraction of lessons, and their generalization of program themes to their own lives over time. The Children's Television Act of 1990 promises better programs for children, but independent evaluations are needed to ensure high quality programs. By providing a web site where children can report their weekly viewing habits, we can determine if educational television programs are attracting an audience, keeping that audience over time, and providing any lessons of value for the viewing audience.