If you’re a parent or educator thinking of purchasing some apps this holiday season, you may decide to consult one of a growing number of lists and websites highlighting educational apps for young children. It makes sense to consult the reviews: With thousands of educational apps filtering into the market, it’s increasingly difficult to wade […]
Monthly Archives: December 2014


National STEM Video Game Design Workshops at Libraries and Museums
December 11, 2014
The fourth National STEM Video Game Challenge is well underway this year, with students from middle school and high school programs across the country creating their own video games. We can’t wait to see the results of their hard work as the submissions begin rolling in—we’ve always been blown away by their creativity! Game design […]

Remarks at the White House Summit on Early Education
December 10, 2014
On December 10, 2014, President Obama hosted the White House Summit on Early Education. Michael Levine was invited to participate in a panel on Equity and Excellence in the Earliest Years hosted by Megan Smith, Chief Technology Officer of the United States and Shannon Rudisill, Director of the Office of Child Care. The following are […]

White House Summit on Early Education
December 10, 2014
Today, President Obama is hosting the White House Summit on Early Childhood Education, with a coalition of philanthropic, business, education, advocates, and elected officials committed to expanding access to high-quality early education. The Cooney Center’s Founding Director Michael Levine will deliver remarks on Equity and Excellence in the Earliest Years at a panel hosted by […]

Parents Ask: Why Is It So Hard to Find Good Apps?
December 9, 2014
We recently released a new guide for parents called Family Time with Apps that features several resources, including Moms with Apps, to help parents find quality apps for their children. We invited them to describe their efforts to help families find age-appropriate apps and games that protect their kids’ privacy. At Moms with Apps, […]

Disrupting Education, Playfully
December 8, 2014
On November 19th, I covered the biannual Social Innovation Summit held in San Francisco for the Cooney Center and my colleagues at the Disruptor Foundation. The summit brought together over 1,000 leaders interested in identifying, exploring, and actualizing partnership opportunities across the Business, Technology and Community sectors. I came to the conference eager to learn […]

Can You Turn Screen Time into Family Time?
December 4, 2014
Can you turn screen time into family time? Our new resource, Family Time with Apps: A Guide to Using Apps with Your Kids, provides tips on how apps can be a part of family learning, communication and connecting to one another. Starting today, it is available to download for free from the iBook store. The […]

What’s in Store Today: A Snapshot of Kids’ Language and Literacy Apps (Part 3)
December 2, 2014
Over the past few months, we’ve shared some highlights of the literacy app analysis that we are conducting with New America to learn more about the apps that families and educators are using to help children learn skills such as alphabet recognition, phonics, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. We have been digging into the app store, […]
Shiny Appy Children
December 16, 2014
Reprinted with permission from The Guardian. With Christmas holidays round the corner, many parents are considering the pros and cons of digital books. Storyapps are a hybrid of books, short films and digital games. In the Nosy Crow Cinderella app for example, children do not just hear and read the story. They can dress Cinderella’s […]