Category Archives: Industry

Cynthia Chong is an educational media researcher whose research focuses on how the design of educational media can affect young children’s learning and the way they interact with them, as well as how parents and teachers use these technologies to teach. She recently began reviewing educational apps for 3- to 8-year-olds on her blog, A Matter of App. We’ve invited Cynthia to tell us a little bit more about this blog and why it’s important for parents, educators, and designers…

Here at the Cooney Center, we often talk about the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration, and I love it when talented people from different sectors of the industry get together and do something great.  Last week, brilliant app developer Andy Russell of Launchpad Toys joined forces with one of my favorite kids-tech writers, Dan Donahoo of WIRED’s GeekDad blog, on what I think is an extremely important initiative.  The pair has released the Children’s App Manifesto, which was unveiled via this…

Technology has transformed many things.  Most things. I remember one of my amazing professors at the Harvard Ed School, the venerable Chris Dede, asking us to imagine walking into a number of different spaces.  Picture a movie theater.  A bank.  An airport.  A living room.  Can you tell whether you are in the past or present?  Probably.  Now, picture walking into a typical classroom.  If it weren’t for the clothes and hairstyles, in many cases you wouldn’t be able to…

We’re pleased to help our friends at Reading Rockets spread the word about their great new mobile site. But even beyond the great content that the site provides, they’re also offering the chance to win some great prizes, including an iPod Nano. Rachael Walker shares more information on the new mobile website and how to win below: For more than ten years, Reading Rockets has been spreading the word about research-based reading instruction and offering the latest information on what…

Games is the hottest word. Last week, on June 24th, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center launched the Games and Learning Publishing Council. It came at the end of the Games for Change week and the day after AMD Foundation’s Changing the Game Partner Summit. To put a fine point on it, one of the distinguished members of our new Council is Alex Games, Microsoft’s new Education Design Director. Alas, his pronunciation rhymes with llamas. The Cooney Center’s Games and Learning…

… stays at App Camp?  I certainly hope not!  Because I was lucky enough to attend last month’s Dust or Magic Children’s App Design Institute, and the pure magic of this conference needs to be shared. For the second year in a row, an intimate group interested in children’s apps came together for a three-day event that included presentations from designers, reviewers and other industry experts as well as demos and brainstorm sessions.  There is no way I can summarize…

When I was in Toronto a few weeks ago for the Sprockets panel on transmedia, I had the chance to walk (ok, run) through the Tim Burton exhibit in the new TIFF building. This exhibit reminded me of a few things. First, that I am way overdue for a re-viewing of Edward Scissorhands. Second, that trips to the museum have been replaced with trips to the grocery store since I left New York and had a baby. And finally, the…

Today, The Electric Company will re-launch its third season with an all new transmedia story, “The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet.”  Airing in a new segment at the end of the TV series and a new area of the website, this transmedia story engages and immerses participants in an experience through multiple forms of media, each element making a unique contribution to the story. Here, key members of the interdisciplinary team behind this new transmedia effort share…

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, it seems like Apple has taken one step in the right direction. Recent accounts of children unknowingly racking up thousands of dollars through in-app purchases…

With the recent release of the iPad 2, I was not at all surprised when Catherine suggested that I write this week’s blog about kids and the iPad. Considering the bulk of work we’ve been doing in the area of kids and apps, I thought this would be an easy topic. But when I actually sat down to write, I found it difficult to settle on a niche. In the last few months in The New York Times alone, David…