Category Archives: Commentary

It seems like the older I get, the more time I spend with Lego bricks. Sure, I say that I buy the kits for my kids, but I’m always sitting on the floor next to them within minutes of opening the box. What’s more, the grown up part of me is impressed with the company’s business practices and fascinated by the way in which the brick itself has become such an iconic symbol all around the world. From a business…

In many ways, the audience for PEEP and the Big Wide World is what you might expect. Every day, thousands of preschoolers, parents, and educators log on to this award-winning public media project to explore math and science—by watching videos, playing games, and finding hands-on activities they can explore in their own homes and neighborhoods. But PEEP’s audience is unique in one important way: more than 20% of PEEP’s users are Spanish-speaking. This wasn’t always the case. The growth of…

For several years now, children’s literature has been venturing step by step into the digital field, with all the creative force and originality that the domain has shown itself capable of. Beyond the simple digitalization of content in PDF or E-pub format, many producers (Nosy Crow, Tank & Bear, Camera Lucida, Atomic Antelope, and Moobot Studio, to name just a few) are embarking today into digital storytelling and using it to its full potential. The development of immersive environments, auditory…

Almost every child in the United States plays video games—91% of children ages 2-17, according to NPD. But how many kids make their own video games? I could not find any reliable statistics. Nowadays, one barely needs to write a line of code in order to build a video game because there are so many platforms that make the process simple. Gamestar Mechanic, Unity, GameMaker, and Scratch are probably the most popular. Each one involves a different amount of complexity…

How many of you have NOT used technology today? Or the Internet? Those are questions I often ask in my presentation. It doesn’t matter how many people are in the room or what day or time of day it is, usually no one raises his or her hand. But even among people who, technically, have Internet access, digital inequities exist. They’re hidden and hard to find—until now. A recent report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center reveals while nine out…

Common Sense Media has launched Common Sense Latino, a dedicated page for  Spanish-language videos and articles. The initiative seeks to offer Latino families information and resources to navigate and thrive in our digital world. In creating Common Sense Latino, we’re responding to the overwhelming evidence that Spanish-speaking families want—and need—the latest information, guidance, and recommendations on media and technology. Today, according to the Census, Latinos represent 17 percent of the U.S. population, numbering approximately 50 million people. By 2060, that…

Remarks of Chairman Tom Wheeler at “Digital Equity: Technology and Learning in the Lives of Lower-Income Families” On February 3, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Rutgers University co-hosted a forum at New America in Washington, D.C. We released Opportunity for All?: Technology and Learning in Lower-Income Families  with presentations by authors Victoria Rideout and Vikki S. Katz, and a series of conversations around the issues of digital equity and access to broadband, with a focus on families with school-age…

Two distinct mainstream narratives about the Internet really stand out. The first worries that too much digital media will erode our collective moral fiber. The second hails the Internet as a great social equalizer. Both of these narratives end up looking pretty absurd when considered alongside a new study from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Some folks worry that civilization as we know it will crumble due to changes in the etiquette of communication and relationships; some…

This post was originally published on the Common Sense Media Kids Action blog and appears here with permission. Read in Spanish here. In today’s society, access to technology is the path to academic and economic opportunity. This is especially true for kids, who increasingly need access to computers, printers and the Internet to keep up with schoolwork. But too many American children still don’t have access to the technology they need to succeed. New research from the Joan Ganz Cooney…

The latest report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Getting a Read on the App Stores, provides an overview of what parents are most likely to encounter when they are looking for “educational apps.” The apps the team reviewed are ones that parents are likely to find on a variety of well-respected lists and have received awards for excellence. App descriptions were analyzed for a variety of features. The finding that was particularly interesting to me was that most app…