Category Archives: Research

In Families Matter, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop’s most recent research report (released May 2011), I take an ecological approach to chronicling how digital media are shaping childhood, parenting, and family life (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). I do so by sharing findings from two complementary studies: a national survey of parents of 3- through 10-year-olds, and in-depth case studies of two young Latina girls and their families. Gabriela Guzman and Sierra Ramirez’s cases provide rich examples of the potential…

Yes, this is another piece about the SpongeBob study. I wanted to provide my thoughts on it both from a scientific research perspective, but also as someone who has to help make production decisions even when there is not enough time and resources to do a thorough scientific study. Often we have to hypothesize about why particular content supports or detracts from children’s learning.   For the 2% of you (completely unscientific poll) who might be reading this but who…

Research Assistant Meagan Bromley reflects on our most recent time in the field for the Cooney Center’s E-Book QuickStudy. Find out what our research team has been up to lately as well as how you can get involved in our upcoming follow-up study this week! “Oh yes, I read Miss Spider on the iPad at home, and I play other games on it too.” – 5-year-old boy on the “game” of reading   When Sesame Street first began, researchers were…

Cooney Center Research Associate Ingrid Erickson is teaming up with Ruth V. Small from Syracuse University and Eric Meyers from the University of British Columbia to co-edit a special issue of the journal Learning Media & Technology on the topic of digital literacy in informal learning environments. I’m excited to be co-editing an upcoming special issue of the journal Learning, Media and Technology that will be published in late 2012. We’re seeking proposals for papers that will focus on the…

Just over a week ago, I had the pleasure of assisting members of the Cooney Center staff in a two-day research study at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in Queens, NY. The study, conducted in corroboration with NYSCI, focused on the interaction between children (ages 3-5) and their caregivers when reading two different science books: one regular book and one on the iPad. Would the iPad serve as a distraction to children or would it actually promote as…

In January, I attended a workshop dedicated to games, assessment and learning hosted by the MacArthur and Gates Foundations and the USC Game Innovation Lab. The workshop brought together game designers, educators, and researchers to work together on designing games around various curricula topics that would be engaging, educational, and contain features to allow for the collection and feedback about how players were faring when engaged in the game. The conversation went beyond what players could learn from games: We…

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…

How can technology allow us to provide teachable moments and meaningful interactions across challenges of everyday life? How can a single parent who works until 9:00 at night help a child with homework assignments after school? Is there a way for distant relatives to read story books together with young children despite being far apart? What would a video game for children and grandparents to play together look like? These are just a few of the possible scenarios that characterized…

Today, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop are releasing a new report entitled Always Connected. The report is a synthesis of data from seven studies and presents a comprehensive look at young children’s media use over the past five years. As someone who is interested in research methodology, and as one of the authors, the report has encouraged me to think more carefully about the way we define and measure media use. Measurement of media use taps into…

Attending the DML 2011 Conference this week in Long Beach? Don’t miss our workshop, The New Coviewing: Supporting Learning through Joint Media Engagement, Thursday, March 3, at 2:30 pm in International Ballroom II. The Cooney Center, together with the LIFE Center, has been working throughout the 2010-2011 academic year to better understand the new coviewing (aka joint media engagement) with digital media. In this effort, we’ve been trying to identify modes of participation with media (including mobile, interactive, and online)…