Cooney Center Blog

What's the good stuff?

by Pam Abrams | Feb 10, 2011 | View Bio |  (4)

In my first week on the job at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center I learned about two terrific Websites — Poptropica and Whyville. I dutifully recommended them to my brother and sister-in-law, who are ever in search of “good” digital media for their 8-year-old. "Thanks so much for these," Debbie responded. "So helpful. I was just about to search the web for some good math sites for Marta... she definitely needs practice that is also fun. She's holding her own but needs to pick up the pace. If you hear about any other sites or apps that are particularly good for math (second grade, counting coins etc.) please send them our way!"

Key Tags:  child development, parents, educators, whyville, poptropica, kaiser family foundation, always connected, media consumption, Pam Abrams

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Let's Play it Together!

by Mindy Brooks | Feb 7, 2011 | View Bio |  (6)

The Sesame Workshop research team has been following the development of a game promoting intergenerational computer literacy. Mindy Brooks shares some of the lessons they've learned about designing an educational game that appeals to both parents and kids.

How do you design a game to engage both parents and children to play together and ultimately enhance the child's literacy skills?

After hearing multiple exclamations from parents such as, "Watch out for that word!" or "No, that's not the "t" sound!", we (the Sesame Workshop research team) began to pick up on a very interesting pattern — parents did not understand they had an actual role in playing the game. In other words, they sat to the side and watched their children play, often making suggestions or corrections.

Key Tags:  educational research, Sesame Workshop, Mindy Brooks, game development, research, intergenerational, parents

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The iTot Challenge: Getting Young Children Ready in the Jetsonian Age

by Michael H. Levine, Ph.D. | Jan 26, 2011 | View Bio 

Reprinted from Huffington Post.

As President Obama discusses our State of the Union with a much needed focus on innovation, education and investment in America's future, let's focus on one area that is ripe for radical change: how digital media can be used for education and hands-on, lifelong learning beginning right from the start.

We need to focus more attention on the potential long-term effects of a major investment in the early years, especially in building an entirely new learning equation for the children who will graduate in 2025. New studies and stronger investments in children under 10 are needed because relatively little research or breakthrough program development has been done on the preschool and middle-childhood periods, which scholars in child development, behavioral and cognitive psychology, and neuroscience have pointed to as critical for all that follows.

Key Tags:  education, Obama, policy, digital learning, teachers, child development, media, kindergarten, achivement gap

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Looking Back to Move Ahead: Some Reflections on 2010

by Michael H. Levine, PhD | Dec 22, 2010 | View Bio 

This past year has been a difficult one for many families, especially for the nation's most vulnerable children. By some estimates, nearly half of all young children in the U.S. are at risk of falling into poverty should their parents face more economic stress. And the litany of disturbing statistics that were released this past year -- only 14 percent of African-American children are proficient readers by the 4th grade, and more than one-half of Latino youth drop out of inner-city schools, to name but two -- should make all of us pause to reflect. Unfortunately, education issues took a back seat on our national agenda to historically high unemployment rates, the debate over health care reform, and the rise of the Tea Party Movement. 

Lost in the maelstrom has been the need to focus fresh attention on the potential of a new educational approach to help children who are struggling learners get back on track. That is where the Cooney Center will be redoubling our efforts in 2011: We intend to do our part to ensure that all children, especially those in the "forgotten half," have access to high quality educational media content that can promote the next generation's healthy development and learning. Here are a few recent highlights and a brief look ahead.

Key Tags:  children, education, White House OSTP, U.S. Department of Education, STEM prizes, project noah, e-line media, research

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I want one, therefore I have one.

by Jennifer Kotler, PhD | Dec 13, 2010 | View Bio |  (2)

“Who has an email account?” we ask the second grade children sitting eagerly before us. Almost every hand goes up excitedly.

“And who has an S-account?” I then ask (saying the first non-existent thing that pops into my head). Almost three-quarters of the hands go up excitedly. I only heard one skeptical child turn to her friend and ask, “What’s an S-account?”

As we interviewed children across the country to gain a better handle on their responses to The Electric Company, we collected a lot of information about the most appealing shows, websites, books, and video games. Given that we have created content for The Electric Company on various platforms and in various formats, we continually seek to understand what our target audience has in their homes and which touch points will give us the greatest access to our audience. Our interviews with children take place in their schools or after-school settings and generally rely on self-report measures from the children to tell us what they have in their homes.

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The Confident Creator is the Anti-Copycat

by Mariel Goddu | Dec 8, 2010  |  (2)

This past August, the New York Times released an alarming article about plagiarism in U.S. higher education. Citing statistics from a Rutgers University study of 14,000 undergraduates, it reported that over 40 percent of students admitted to having copied text directly from the Internet. More frightening still, 34 percent said they did not consider plagiarizing from the Internet "serious cheating."

As college professors, high school teachers, and parents become increasingly exasperated with a population of copy-and-pasters that fails to see the harm in a practice that the academic community deems utterly unacceptable, the question arises: How can we ensure that the child of today will not plagiarize in her tomorrows of high school, college, and beyond?

Key Tags:  plagarism, information science, Mariel Goddu, creativity, Common Sense Media, digital literacy, 21st Century Skills, Yale, ReadWriteThink, Anne Dyson, New York Times

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Does a book by any other platform still smell as sweet?

by Ann My Thai | Nov 15, 2010  |  (6)

In today’s information-obese world, book reading has become a refuge from my click-happy, easily distracted, multitask-ery. But as books extend their reach into the digital landscape through the Kindle, iPad and the new Barnes & Noble Nook, I have to wonder: Does a book by any other platform still smell as sweet?

Key Tags:  ebooks, literacy, iPad, Kindle, Nook, reading, books, Ann My Thai, NEA

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Grantmakers for Education Remarks

by Gary E. Knell | Nov 5, 2010  

The end of World War II was a pivotal moment in our nation’s history – it was the first time in 150 years that the government made a serious investment in public education. And it was the beginning of a long-term demographic shift of historic proportions.  Soldiers returning from war were given opportunities to a higher education long considered only attainable by the wealthy classes.  Women who served their country during the war in factories, on the ball field, in schools, and in the military returned home to their families. 

Key Tags:  Gary E. Knell, Sesame Workshop, grants, funding, Grantmakers in Education, speech, education, digital

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