Last week I had the opportunity participate in a panel discussion at Sprockets, Toronto’s International Film Festival for Children and Youth (which, by the way, is a FANTASTIC event held in the new and equally fantastic TIFF building). The topic of the panel? Transmedia. Well of course. It seems that transmedia has blossomed into an […]
Monthly Archives: April 2011
Achieving e-Quality
April 27, 2011
As long as media have created content for children, there have been debates about what defines “quality.” From the “penny dreadfuls” to radio to comic books to music, and onward to TV and digital media, parents have been cautioned about wasted time, moral decay or learning delays. At the same time, creators and distributors of […]
iPhone Learning: A Mother’s Cautionary Tale
April 25, 2011
Where Will Digital Learning’s Killer Apps Come From?
April 22, 2011
At SCE, we aim to support and influence the emerging world of anywhere, anytime, any-device, access-for-all learning. Our vision, of course, relies heavily on high-quality digital media, and on aiding the people and organizations with the potential to create tomorrow’s innovative digital learning products. But we (and the field) have a problem: No one knows […]
Use Technology to Encourage Creativity and Build Skills
April 20, 2011
We are thrilled to have an outstanding lineup of speakers who will be participating in the Learning from Hollywood Forum. Here, Carla Sanger, President and CEO of LA’s BEST After School Enrichment Program, highlights uses of digital media for expanding kids’ experiences of the world, developing understanding and empathy for others, and energizing kids for […]

Michael Levine on The Open Mind
April 14, 2011
Tune into PBS this weekend to see Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s Executive Director Michael H. Levine, PhD on Richard Heffner’s The Open Mind. The program airs on Channel 13 in New York (check your local listings) this Saturday, April 23rd at 12:00 p.m. Together, Michael and Richard discuss some of the top concerns about kids, […]
The Wall Must Come Down
April 14, 2011
This May, a group of leaders from the creative media industries, education, research, policy, and philanthropy will come together at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts for the Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s Leadership Forum, where we will spend two days considering innovative ways to support young people’s learning with and through media. Entertainment is often […]

Protecting the Sticky Fingers
April 4, 2011
A few weeks ago I blogged about Fisher Price’s new iPhone case, a plastic case that protects the devices from the poking, prodding, and sticky fingers of young children. I commented on how we’ve figured out how to protect the device from sticky fingers, but questioned who’s protecting those sticky fingers from the device. Well, […]
Who’s Leading the Way: Digital Natives or Ex-Pats?
April 29, 2011
To put my thoughts into context, I offer the following assertions: Our public education system is failing; Incremental change to a failing system is the same as making no change at all; Kids today spend—on average—seven hours each day interacting with and through digital media; The digital world has become the “new vast wasteland” unless, […]