Category Archives: Commentary

Years ago, when I was a lowly graduate research intern crunching data in Sesame Workshop’s content research department, I saw firsthand the great care with which the organization created high-quality educational media for kids. My journey into education research started just as the internet arrived in NYC public schools, which kicked off an exciting movement that was mobilized by all kinds of new activity to make it possible to connect every school to each other and to the world beyond.…

In my 12 years at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center—from 2008 to 2020—I developed the research chops and professional network required to do what I do now as a program director at the National Science Foundation. But what I’m most grateful to the Cooney Center for, and what I believe made me who I am today, are the people I worked with on the fourth floor of 1900 Broadway. These people were family to me. They’re still family to me.…

The following article was originally published on Net Family News and appears here with permission. Even though the United States is the only country on the planet that hasn’t ratified the nearly 34-year-old UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, US-based companies that serve kids and teens around the world no longer have any excuse not to uphold their rights. Why is that the case? Not “only” because young people’s lives are now “digital by default,” as psychology professor Sonia Livingstone wrote, or…

Lloyd Morrisett (November 2, 1929 – January 15, 2023) was the co-founder of Sesame Street and Children’s Television Workshop, and a founding board member of both the Workshop and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. It is hard to overstate the value of his clear vision, his wise leadership, and his enduring impact on children and families, public media, and society at large. Today we honor him by inviting individuals who knew him well or worked with him to share a…

As our digital lives continue to evolve into new mediums and devices, traditional online safety efforts are inevitably falling short. A new Aussie project, In Real Life, is re-imagining the landscape of online safety education by centering the perspectives of young people. Reimagining Requires New Ways of Creating For our team at PROJECT ROCKIT – Australia’s youth-driven movement against (cyber)bullying – elevating youth lived experience as expertise is central to our ability to remain relevant and impactful in an ever-changing…

I started working at the Cooney Center out of college and grew to be the Research and Program Manager for the National STEM Video Game Challenge—a role that took me from Pittsburgh to the White House. As the Challenge grew, so did I. I was determined to understand how to guarantee positive outcomes from kids’ technology use. After lengthy conversations with my mentors at the Cooney Center, I pursued a dual PhD/MBA between Oxford and Yale focused on technology and…

“What would Joan do” is a question children’s media professionals can ask as we explore the pedagogical possibilities of new digital tools. Early childhood researchers have long noted that children often “think like a scientist” as they explore novel materials or situations. Likewise, viewers may imitate their favorite television character, as when preschoolers try broccoli after seeing Elmo do the same. Children, youth, and individuals of all ages can learn to think and act like artists, authors, naturalists, mathematicians, philosophers,…

“I know the right answer is to tell an adult, but I would not tell an adult. I would ask my friend Lucy for advice.”  This was a 7th grader’s response to a quiz question about cyberbullying.  The student was clear that while she knew the “correct” answer, it wasn’t the action she would take in real life. Schools tend to focus on talking about digital wellness, encouraging students to earn “cyber-savvy” certificates or creating “be kind online” posters- but…

Jason Yip was a Cooney Center Fellow from 2013-2014 and remains a frequent collaborator through his work with KidsTeam UW. My time at the Cooney Center (2013 – 2014) came immediately after a stint as a doctoral student at the University of Maryland (UMD). At the time, I was completing my PhD in curriculum and instruction in science education, with some work in child-computer interaction. While I had a lot of projects at UMD (such as investigating the way children…

Jenny Ng was at the Cooney Center as an administrative coordinator in 2019. She’s currently a project manager at Noggin.   I am a mom to three young children and a proud alumna of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center! I had the great opportunity to join the team in June 2019. Although I am no longer at Sesame Workshop, it was a pivotal moment in restarting my career growth and in reigniting my sense of self within a team –…