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  The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is accepting fellowship applications now through April 15, 2015.  Fellows Program Overview Cooney Center Fellows participate in a wide range of projects and, in doing so, develop broad exposure to scholarship, policy, and practice in the field of digital media and learning. This professional development program offers opportunities to: Conduct research on digital media use among children and families; Publish research that responds to practical industry and practitioner needs; Expand the influence research has…

Our new report, Digital Media and Latino Families, takes stock of recent research that reveals widening use of digital media by Latino children, along with the multifaceted effects on their learning and their families. We find, empirically speaking, that the much discussed “digital divide” no longer hampers Latino families, as parents continue to buy mobile devices and computers shared with their children. But we also found that Latino parents report their children use electronic tools less often for school work or…

view Spanish translation “Yeah, when [my daughter] doesn’t know something, I go to YouTube. I see the video. And once I understand how it is, then I’ll teach her. I explain it to her.”   Elena, mother to 9-year-old Alicia, describes how she learns important information from the Internet to help Alicia learn about fractions. Alicia is of Ecuadorian descent and lives in a media-rich home with TVs, cable access, DVD players, multiple smartphones, a tablet, high-speed Internet access, and…

view English “Ajá, cuando (mi hija) no sabe algo, voy a YouTube. Veo un video y una vez que entiendo, entonces le enseño y le explico las cosas a ella”.   Elena, mamá de Alicia (9 años), describe cómo obtiene información importante en internet para ayudar a Alicia con las fracciones. Alicia es de ascendencia ecuatoriana y vive en una casa abundante en medios, con televisiones, cable, reproductores de DVD, varios teléfonos inteligentes, una tableta, internet de alta velocidad y…

We recently released Family Time with Apps: A Guide to Using Apps with Your Kids, a free interactive guide for parents and caregivers. The book features comic strips that parents and children can enjoy together, as well as tips on selecting apps that can help turn screen time into family time. Whether the challenge is preparing for a new experience like starting school, spending more time outside, connecting to distant loved ones, or reading together every day, the guide provides…

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 through and find high-quality resources. But do you know who is behind those lists? Are you confident the reviewers have selected the best apps for…

This week, we are thrilled to introduce you to Nic Badila, the winner of the Middle School Open Platform category. Nic, 14, designed Stemville, one of the most ambitious games we’ve seen. Stemville, a STEM-themed virtual world, invites students to pick a character and participate in games and activities to improve STEM skills. Even more impressively, Nic can program in over 8 languages and has his hands in every STEM-pot imaginable — from robotics, to development, and more. Nic’s first…

To celebrate Children’s Book Week, the oldest literacy initiative in the country, we asked Cooney Center staff members to reflect on their favorite children’s books: the books whose spines we wore out, even if we knew the words by heart; the books that sparked hours of laughter and debate with our parents and friends and the books that helped us to become life-long readers. Did your favorites make the cut? Executive Director Michael Levine’s childhood favorites were Where the Wild…

This is a big week for the Joan Ganz Cooney Center. It’s our fifth birthday! To celebrate, we’ve given our website a fresh new look. You’ll find it even easier to find the great content that we’ve got — our publications are now directly available from the top level navigation, and you can find related content even more easily. We’ve also made it easier to share links with your friends and colleagues directly from each page — so spread the…

Our friends at the Pearson Foundation have just launched Five Things I’ve Learned, a new website that shares the personal insights of education leaders who are working to improve learning for students, both inside and outside the classroom. The site launched this week with 54 educators, thought leaders, and innovators who are shaping the face of education today, including the Cooney Center’s Executive DirectorMichael H. Levine, who reminds us that relationships matter; that families matter; and that it’s important for all…