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Read all about it! Announcements from the Cooney Center, including information on our annual leadership forum and annual prize competition.
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Educators Find Digital Games Promising Tools in the Classroom According to National Survey
Joan Ganz Cooney Center Inquiry Finds Educators Are Using Digital Games in Reaching Underserved Students; Costs Are Main Barrier to Further Integration
New York, NY, May 2, 2012 - The first national survey of teachers who are using digital games as part of their students' instruction, released today by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, found that digital games are becoming a consistent and valuable part of classroom activities. Fifty percent of teachers of grades K-8 reported they are using digital games with their students two or more days a week, with 18 percent using them daily. The survey, Teacher Attitudes about Digital Games in the Classroom, conducted in collaboration with and support from BrainPOP®, was released at The NewSchools Venture Fund-Aspen Institute Summit in San Francisco. An accompanying series of video case studies of teachers who are using digital games in the classroom was also previewed.
iCARLY’S NOAH MUNCK AND ACTOR ZACHARY LEVI JOIN THE NATIONAL STEM VIDEO GAME CHALLENGE AS JUDGES
by Cooney Center Team
New York, NY, March 28, 2012 – The National STEM Video Game Challenge, a competition to motivate student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through playing and creating video games, announced today that actors Noah Munck and Zachary Levi will serve as judges for the competition.
Munck, best known for his role as Gibby Gibson on Nickelodeon’s hit series iCarly, and Levi, most recently seen in NBC’s Chuck, will participate in the youth portion of the competition which invited entries from students in grades 5-12.
“Playing is the fun and easy part, but to create a game takes skill and creativity,” said Munck. “I am excited to see what types of games students have come up with and how maybe some of today’s popular games have influenced their creations.”
Levi, who is also the founder of the website The Nerd Machine, said, “Games are so much more than just recreation. They challenge us on so many different levels. Competitions like the STEM Video Game Challenge are great ways to inspire and encourage students and educators alike, to take advantage of a great way to learn that just happens to be through gaming, and that just happens to be awesome.”
Other judges of the STEM Challenge include Warren Buckleitner, Editor of Children’s Technology Review; Michelle Byrd, Co-President, Games for Change; Milton Chen, Senior Fellow at The George Lucas Education Foundation; Allison Druin, Associate Dean for Research at the University of Maryland’s iSchool; Nick Fortugno, Founder, CEO, Playmatics; and Bing Gordon, Investment Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The winners of the STEM Challenge will be announced at a games and learning summit on May 22, 2012 in Washington, DC. The summit is being sponsored by AMD Foundation and The Entertainment Software Association and hosted by The Atlantic.
The National STEM Video Game Challenge is organized by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media in partnership with sponsors The Entertainment Software Association, AMD Foundation, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/ PBS KIDS Ready To Learn Initiative.
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop is an independent, nonprofit research center that is fostering innovation in children’s learning through digital media. The Cooney Center conducts and supports research, creates educational models and interactive media properties and builds cross-sector partnerships. The Cooney Center is named for Sesame Workshop's founder, who revolutionized television with the creation of Sesame Street. Core funding is provided by the generous support of Peter G. Peterson, Genius Products, Mattel, Inc. and Sesame Workshop.
E-Line Media is a publisher of game-based learning products and services that engage educate and empower, helping to prepare youth for lives and careers in the 21st century. E-Line works with leading foundations, academics, non-profits and government agencies to harness the power of games for learning, health, and social impact. Find out more at www.elinemedia.com.
Contacts:
Jodi Lefkowitz
Sesame Workshop
212-875-6497
jodi.lefkowitz@sesame.org
Brian Alspach
E-Line Media
732-490-6194
press@elinemedia.com
Kids Content Rules the Educational App Category
Study by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Finds Majority of Top-Selling Education Apps in iTunes Are Aimed at Preschoolers; Few Intended for School Use
New York and Las Vegas, January 12, 2012 - Among the chart-topping products for the iPhone and iPad in the education category in iTunes, apps for toddlers/preschoolers experienced the greatest growth (23%) in the last two years, according to an analysis conducted by The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. The study iLearn II: An Analysis of the Education Category of Apple’s App Store, presented at the 2012 International Consumer Electronic Show (CES) today, examines the fast moving market and future opportunities for development.
Educational Video Game Challenge Now Open For Entries
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media Launch Second Annual National STEM Video Game Challenge
New York, NY, November 15, 2011 - The National STEM Video Game Challenge opens today, aiming to motivate interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning by tapping into students' natural passion for playing and making video games. The annual competition, held by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media in partnership with sponsors AMD Foundation, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting/PBS KIDS Ready To Learn Initiative, Entertainment Software Association and Xbox 360, is accepting submissions of original video game concepts and designs from students and educators in four categories at stemchallenge.org.
New Report Examines Current Efforts and Outlines Actions to Raise the Quality of Teaching in Preschool and Primary Grades Using Digital Technologies
New York, NY, November 2, 2011 - The Digital Age Teacher Preparation Council, established by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, with support from the Joyce Foundation, released today the report Take a Giant Step, detailing a multi-sector action plan to enhance teacher education and a higher quality, 21st century approach to the learning and healthy development of children in preschool and the primary grades.
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media to Launch 2nd Annual Competition to Motivate Interest in STEM Learning
New York, NY, September 16, 2011 – The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media announced the sponsors and partners for the 2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge at the Digital Promise event at the White House today.
Kids' Digital Habits Shaped by Family Values
Report from Cooney Center Documents Parents' Concerns, Offers Priorities for Media Designers
New York, NY, June 6, 2011 - The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop today released the report Families Matter: Designing Media for a Digital Age, documenting how digital technology is changing the rhythm of family life. The report finds that families are in a transition period, one in which parents recognize the importance of technology in their children's learning and future success, but don't always grant them access to the newer forms of media transforming their own adult lives.
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media Award More Than $100,000 in Prizes to Students and Developers for Creating Video Games
New York and Washington, DC, March 30, 2011 - Aneesh Chopra, United States Chief Technology Officer, announced today the winners of the National STEM Video Game Challenge, a competition to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning by tapping into the natural passion of youth for playing and making video games, at the Newseum in Washington, DC. The first year of the Challenge featured competitions for students and developers. Twelve students from across the U.S. in grades 5-8 were selected as winners of the Youth Prize for their original game designs. In the Developer Prize category, for emerging and experienced game developers, the science themed game You Make Me Sick! was awarded the Grand Prize and a collection of math games titled NumberPower: Numbaland! received both the Collegiate and Impact Prizes.
"Three cheers for the National STEM Video Game Challenge for catalyzing this entertaining and educational approach to harnessing American ingenuity, all for the cause of science, technology, engineering and math education," said Chopra. "It is efforts like these that will ensure our nation's continued economic and technological leadership well into the 21st century."
"Always Connected": Young Children's Media Use on the Rise
Report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop Finds Young Children Are Embracing Mobile Media, Broaden Their Media Behaviors by Age Eight
(New York – March 14, 2011) With the media landscape rapidly changing, Sesame Workshop and The Joan Ganz Cooney Center today released the report Always Connected which examines the media usage patterns of young children. Among the report’s findings is evidence that media consumption patterns change considerably around age eight as children are developmentally able to engage in activities for longer periods of time, have more advanced motor skills and are developing more complex social relationships. Results also show that television is still the most frequently used medium, but mobile devices are becoming increasingly more popular with children. Four of the top five electronic devices owned by children are mobile platforms.
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Names Pam Abrams Director of Partnership Development and Strategy
(New York, NY – February 7, 2011) The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop announced today that Pam Abrams has joined the Cooney Center as Director, Partnership Development and Strategy. In this role, Abrams will develop and manage relationships with businesses, academic institutions and philanthropies that are crucial to the Cooney Center’s mission in harnessing digital media technologies to advance children’s learning. Abrams will report to Dr. Michael H. Levine, the Cooney Center’s Executive Director.
Parents Pass-Back Mobile Devices to Children But Are Skeptical of Educational Benefits
Report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center Finds Parents Doubt Educational Value of Mobile Apps But Support New Experimentation
New York, NY, November 10, 2010 - The explosive growth of mobile media is a current topic of discussion as parents, educators and scholars question whether young children should be using these devices. Learning: Is there an app for that?, a report released today by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, in collaboration with PBS KIDS Raising Readers and Hotspex, is the first report to inform the debate based on a national survey of parents and scientific observation of children's learning and interaction with mobile media. The report found that most parents let young children use their mobile devices despite perceptions that such play is not educationally beneficial. Counter to these concerns, the studies found that a new phenomenon has emerged -- the pass-back effect -- where parents hand smartphones, like the iPhone, to their young kids. The report details evidence on when and how mobile media can help young children by promoting literacy skills they can learn from high quality apps.
Educational Video Game Challenge Unveiled at White House
Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media to Award Youth and Developers Prizes for Creating STEM Based Video Games
New York, NY, September 16, 2010 – President Obama announced today the launch of the National STEM Video Game Challenge at a White House event as part of the national “Educate to Innovate” campaign. The Challenge aims to motivate interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning by tapping into students’ natural passion for playing and making video games. The first annual competition is being held by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and E-Line Media in partnership with sponsors AMD Foundation, Entertainment Software Association and Microsoft. Founding outreach partners include the American Library Association, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, The International Game Developers Association and BrainPOP.
White House CTO Announces Cooney Center Innovation Prizes at E3
New York, June 17, 2010 – The winners of the inaugural Cooney Center Prizes for Innovation in Children’s Learning, an educational media innovation competition launched by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, were announced yesterday by Aneesh Chopra, White House Chief Technology Officer and Gary E. Knell, President and CEO, Sesame Workshop, at the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) Games and Learning Summit held at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in Los Angeles. Project NOAH (Networked Organisms and Habitats) was selected as the winner in the Breakthroughs in Mobile Learning In the Breakthroughs in Literacy Learning: Innovate with The Electric Company category, Jay Schiffman was named the winner for his entry The Electric Company Heroes.
Video Game Competitions to Expand STEM Learning in the US
November 23, 2009 - WASHINGTON, DC - Supporting President Obama's call for a renewed focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), Microsoft Corporation, and the MacArthur Foundation today announced a suite of various efforts to engage and motivate students in STEM learning. The organizations will work with organizations, including The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, to harness the excitement surrounding computer and video games through a series of STEM-related video game design competitions.
Grover Visits Google: Breakthrough Learning Forum Begins Today
Forum Convened by the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, Common Sense Media, MacArthur Foundation and Google to Explore the Future of Digital Technology in Education
Mountain View, CA: October 27, 2009 - National leaders in education, science, technology and philanthropy will assemble today for the Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age Forum to develop recommendations for using digital media for education reform. The forum will also feature an exhibition of some of the newest innovations in education technology presently available. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, Common Sense Media, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Google, have convened the meeting at the Google campus in Mountain View.
Joan Ganz Cooney Center Report Identifies Video Games as a Potential Ally in Children’s Health
Report Recommends New Tech Strategy to Address Health and Educational Needs
New York and Washington, June 23, 2009 - As the President and Congress seek to reform the health care system and address the glaring gaps in our nation's educational performance, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop released a report today that specifies how increased national investment in research-based digital games can play a cost-effective and transformative role. The report Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health provides recommendations for the media industry, government, philanthropy and academia to harness the appeal of digital games to improve children's health and learning. Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Pioneer Portfolio, it was unveiled today at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.
Model Programs Spark New Opportunity to Transform Children's Education
New York and Las Vegas, January 9, 2009 - Mobile device use is exploding among children worldwide, cell phones and iPods are this generation's preferred form of social communication. More than half of the world's population now owns a cell phone and experts project that people will use cell phones as their primary means of accessing the Internet by the year 2020. However, most educators and parents have been skeptical, until now, about mobile devices' value in learning. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop issued a new study today documenting the untapped potential of mobile learning. The report, drawing on market trends and model programs, outlines the first-ever national mobile learning strategy, urging the Obama administration to make new investments in digital learning technologies and teacher training.
New Poll: Parents Conflicted About Role of Digital Media in Kids’ Lives
Vast Majority of Parents Say Digital Media Skills Are as Important as Reading, Writing and Arithmetic But Also Express Skepticism About Educational Potential of Digital Media
Results of the New Poll from Common Sense Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center to Be Unveiled at First Joan Ganz Cooney Center Symposium in New York on May 9
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and NEW YORK, May 8, 2008 -- In a new, nationally representative poll from Common Sense Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, American parents agreed by a wide margin that digital media skills are important to kids' success in the 21st century, but they also expressed skepticism about whether digital media could contribute to the development of skills such as communicating, working with others, and establishing civic responsibility.
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS KIDS Raising Readers Sign
On as Presenting Sponsors
Inaugural Gathering of Leading Industry Innovators, Educators, Journalists, Researchers and Policymakers Set for May 9 in New York at The McGraw-Hill Companies Building
Bing Gordon, Chief Creative Officer, Electronic Arts, Named Keynote Speaker
New York, April 16, 2008 -- As children everywhere tap into the new digital playground through gaming, mobile devices, and the Internet, educators, researchers, policymakers and high-tech industry leaders are joining forces to examine how these latest technologies are shaping the education of today's children. Galvanizing this effort is the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, an independent, not for profit research institute named for Sesame Street's visionary founder. Today, Center executives announced plans to host a May 9 symposium in New York, "Logging into the Playground: How Digital Media are Shaping Children's Learning." This first ever, invitation-only event will explore how digital media can improve children's literacy, learning and development.
D is for Digital, New Report Released at CES' Sandbox Summit Analyzes Current Marketplace; Findings Include Shortfall of Digital Educational Products; Paper Recommends Better Communication Between Research Community and Media Developers and Urges Protection of Children From Growing Commercialism
New York and Las Vegas, January 8, 2008 -- The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, a newly established production and research institute studying digital media's educational potential, today released their latest report, D is for Digital, at the first-ever Sandbox Summit: A Playdate with Technology. The report's key findings were unveiled by Executive Vice President Terry Fitzpatrick during a keynote address at the summit, held in Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics Show and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association and Parents' Choice Foundation.
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