Our Mission

Watch our Intro to the Center video.

The Cooney Center is an independent research and innovation lab that catalyzes and supports research, development, and investment in digital media technologies to advance children's learning. The focus of The Cooney Center is on literacy development for diverse learners. Programs address vital foundational capabilities, such as reading and writing, with a special emphasis on struggling readers who risk educational failure if they do not master basic competencies by grade 4. The Cooney Center is also focusing national attention on evolving "new literacies" that children need to compete and cooperate in the 21st century. Major initiatives focus on inter-cultural understanding, media literacy, and advancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) learning -- all of which have become critical in an interconnected world.

 Core Focus Areas

The Cooney Center concentrates its activities on four primary areas:

· Research: supporting interdisciplinary research among leading scholars engaged in the educational and developmental aspects of new media innovation. Fellows from academia, industry, and policy help the Cooney Center advance its action research mission. The Cooney Center develops practical knowledge to meet the research needs of media producers and tracks new trends through its series of industry research reports.

· Production: collaborating with media companies (commercial and nonprofit) and independent producers to design and test models and prototypes based on academic research. Partners currently include Google, Nokia, the USC Game Innovation Lab, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and E-Line Media.

· Investment: initiating public/private partnerships, making new applications available to commercial investors for further development, and collaborating with distributors to influence product launches. The Cooney Center also runs an annual prize competition to reward and recognize innovation in children's digital media.

· Policy: catalyzing policy change by disseminating research and convening leadership across pivotal sectors to inform national debate and stimulate effective reforms. The Cooney Center's 2009 Leadership Forum: Breakthrough Learning in a Digital Age, hosted at the Googleplex, attracted more than 200 thought leaders from research, policy, education, and industry. Recent research publications on the potential of video games and mobile platforms for children's learning have received wide attention in the media and among national and state policymakers.