1. Melissa Napolitano September 21, 2012
Com 410 Assignment #3
In today’s world, children of all ages are exposed to many forms of media each and every day.
Our technological society offers a wide variety of interactive media to an extent that was seemingly
impossible years ago. In recent years, children’s media specialists have placed a strong focus on
cultivating products that benefit children both educationally and developmentally. This concentration is
due to the rapidly increasing amount of exposure children have to technology, television and the media
as a whole. Parents, child specialists, researchers and doctors have collaborated and debated the
effects of media on the world’s youth. After extensive studies, the results remain varied, along with
personal opinions about the effects of screen time on youngsters. Despite the negative stigma
associated with screen time, Disney channel, Nickelodeon, PBS and many others continue to create
programming for children. As of late, attention devoted to educational series has been on the rise,
revolutionizing the industry for years to come.
The contemporary children’s media artifact of discussion is the ever popular children’s program,
Dora the Explorer. The program was aired on Nick Jr. in the year 2000 and has since created hype
among parents and children alike. The creators, Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner,
successfully paired educational appeal and the factor of entertainment in this series.
The plot of the show is revolved around the adventures of an eight year old Latina girl named
Dora Marquez. With the help of her friend Boots, the guidance provided by Map and the handy
contents of Backpack, Dora must reach a destination and avoid the team’s arch enemy, Swiper the
fox.The creators of the program present Dora as a positive role model for children. Despite the fact that
Dora is a child herself, she is independent, athletic, family oriented and bilingual. Dora’s fun-loving
personality makes it easy for children to relate to her, and provides a safe place for learning. In each
episode, she subtly teaches viewers about her heritage and traditional values in addition to counting,

2. spelling, and reading in both English and Spanish. Being that the episodes are repetitive in terms of the
progression of each journey, the audience has the opportunity to actively participate in the program and
feel a stronger connection to the characters. Each episode is highly interactive, as Dora encourages her
viewers to follow along and repeat certain phrases, allowing for a greater retention rate of the
information being presented.
In my opinion, the progression of the series has enhanced interaction and learning for children
in a unique way. The introduction of a second language to children at a young age is necessary in
today’s society, especially Spanish. Dora was Nick Jr.’s first bilingual character, her success and appeal
to children and parents alike sparked the idea for a spin off series, featuring Dora’s cousin, Diego. His
show is called Go, Diego, Go!, following a similar plot as Dora’s series. Though Dora had both male and
female fans, it is safe to say that children tend to desire to watch programs that feature characters of
the same sex as themselves. Diego’s debut gained the attention of young boys, widening the reach and
the target audience. Now, the dynamic duo continue to enhance the growing minds of boys AND girls
worldwide.
Many parallels can be draw between Dora the Explorer and the age old favorite, Franklin. Both
Nick Jr. series provide an interactive environment for learning. Like Dora, Franklin is a friendly, playful,
smart young cartoon character. He provides a great environment for learning and can be classified as a
perfect role model because of his motivation to be successful and share his big heart with everyone he
meets. In each episode Franklin learns how to deal with real life situations, when it comes to
communicating with friends, family and teachers. Franklin is presented with a problem and is taught
how to work through it in the most effective way possible. He not only learns the lessons himself, but
teaches his viewers how to be a better friend, child or student. This series aims to teach children the
skills they need to be emotionally stable as they enter pre-k and kindergarten; meaning the creators
target developmental lessons as opposed to the educational ones we see in Dora. This is the main

3. variation I see when comparing the two hit series. Franklin focuses on life skills and development,
whereas Dora concentrates more on education that would occur in a classroom. Some other differences
are that Dora is a human and Franklin a turtle. Despite this they are both strong, well developed
characters with a large fan population. Like many other Nick Jr. series, these two were a huge success
and have changed learning for the youthful generations to come. With each passing year, the ability to
provide interactive learning through media is improving, expanding the minds of children to a limit that
once seemed surreal.