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JOAN GANZ COONEY CENTER ANALYSIS OF CHILDREN’S DIGITAL MEDIA MARKET SET FOR RELEASE AT SANDBOX SUMMIT

Center Will Explore Kids' Literacy Development in the New Digital Playground

New York, December 21, 2007 – THIS IS JUST DUMMY TEXT FOR THE ACTUAL PRESS RELEASE WHICH WILL BE AVAILABLE JANUARY 4TH. PLEASE CONTACT JODI LEFKOWITZ OR DIXIE CHING IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, a newly established research and production institute that studies digital media's educational potential, announced today that its first report, a scan and analysis of the children’s informal digital media market, will be released on January 8th at the first ever Sandbox Summit: A Playdate with Technology, part of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. D is for Digital examines how digital media are influencing both the preschool and elementary age informal education markets and considers new trends in the interactive toy, software and games industries. The 60-page report also makes recommendations to promote new product development to advance children’s learning. Sesame Workshop President and CEO, Gary E. Knell will introduce the report during his keynote address at the Summit, produced by The Consumer Electronics Association and Parents' Choice Foundation. (or “which will draw educators, toy manufacturers, consumer electronics companies, policy makers and media.”)

“The study’s findings are cause for both concern and optimism,” said Michael Levine, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. “While kids today are totally immersed in digital media, spending almost as much time with them as attending school, the number and availability of educational programs are woefully inadequate to meet demand. Industry leaders who develop new educational games, toys, and media hybrids based on solid academic research will make both a wise investment in a growing market, and a key contribution to preparing kids for the digital age.”

QUOTE FROM WENDY SMOLLEN OR CLAIRE GREEN?—how excited they are to be able to release such a great report...

D is for Digital author Carly Shuler is a Cooney Fellow at the Center and a marketing, toy and educational media expert. The recommendations were derived from a review she conducted in Fall 2007 which focused on mass-market informal learning products for children ages 3-11. The review recognizes and supports the evidence of growing media use by young children and the expanding media environment based on consumer market trends such as the popularity of virtual world web sites, video content and user generated content.

About the Joan Ganz Cooney Center:
Focusing on the needs of young children, The Joan Ganz Cooney Center (www.joanganzcooneycenter.org) conducts and supports research and the creation of new media properties.  It is stimulating a national dialogue on how interactive technologies can be utilized to help accelerate children’s learning. Based at Sesame Workshop, the Center is examining new media platforms such as the web, cell phones and video games to better understand their role in children’s literacy development both in and out of school.  The Center is named for the Workshop’s founder, who revolutionized educational television with the creation of Sesame Street nearly four decades ago. "

About the Sandbox Summit:
The Sandbox Summit: A Playdate with Technolgy (www.sandboxsummit.org) will examine the way kids play in today's digital world and showcase the latest high-tech gadgets and media that they're using. The combined conference and exhibition will bring together educators, toy manufacturers, consumer electronics companies, policy makers and media to discuss how technology is changing the ways kids play, learn and connect in the new digital world. The Summit is a project of the Parent’s Choice Foundation, and is produced by Claire Green, Wendy Smolen, and Robin Raskin, veterans of the toy and digital world.

About CEA:
The Consumer Electronics Association (www.CE.org) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $148 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,200 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also sponsors and manages the International CES - Where Entertainment, Technology and Business Converge. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA's industry services.

Contacts:

Ellen Lewis
212-875-6396
ellen.lewis@sesameworkshop.org

Jodi Lefkowitz
212-875-6497
jodi.lefkowitz@sesameworkshop.org