LEGO Idea Conference 2019
2019-04-01 - 2019-04-03
The three-day LEGO Idea® conference offers a vibrant, playful and thought-provoking environment for group dialogues and impactful workshops. Participants from around the world come to debate, share insights, inspire and get inspired on topics within children’s learning, education and development.

The next conference will be held on 1-3 April 2019. This year’s theme is:
Unlocking the Power of Parenting.

ASU GSV Summit 2019
2019-04-08 - 2019-04-10
The ASU GSV Summit draws more than 4,500 leaders in education and talent tech. Attendees at this year’s summit will include CEOs, investors, school, district and university leaders, media, enterprise learning and talent leaders, politicians, foundation leaders and policy makers.

https://www.asugsvsummit.com

69th Annual International Communication Association Conference
2019-05-24 - 2019-05-28 | Washington, DC, Washington, DC, Select a Country:
The ICA 2019 conference theme of Communication Beyond Boundaries aims for an understanding of the role of communication and media in the crossing of social, political and cultural boundaries that characterize contemporary society, and encourages research that crosses the boundaries of research domains, of particular fields of research interest, and of academia and the outside world.

For more information, visit https://www.icahdq.org/page/2019Conference.

NAMLE Conference 2019
2019-06-26 - 2019-06-28 | Washington, DC, Washington, DC, Select a Country:
The theme for the 2019 National Association for Media Literacy Education conference is A Path Forward: Elevating Conversation, Unifying Voices. The conference is designed to provide a platform for including voices from diverse disciplines as we explore the future of media literacy in a rapidly shifting media landscape.

To learn more and to register, visit namleconference.net.

Play Make Learn 2019
2019-08-08 - 2019-08-09 | Venue Madison, Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, Select a Country:
The Play Make Learn Conference promotes high-quality learning opportunities for educators, researchers, developers, designers, foundation leaders, policy makers, musuem and library professionals, and school leaders who are dedicated to promoting making, gaming, and playful learning. Play Make Learn provides hands-on workshops that engage the audience in cutting-edge learning science ideas and experience; keynote speakers who have expertise in communicating state-of-the-art design, education, and research; demonstrations of new and upcoming games and technology; and networking opportunities meant to spark new projects.

Learn more and register.

2019 Connected Learning Summit
2019-10-02 - 2019-10-05 | University of California, Irvine
The mission of the Connected Learning Summit is to fuel a growing movement of innovators harnessing emerging technology to expand access to participatory, playful, and creative learning.

The Connected Learning Summit represents a merger between three community events with this shared vision and values: the Digital Media and Learning Conference, the Games+Learning+Society Conference, and Sandbox Summit. With a unique focus on cross-sector connections and progressive and catalytic innovation, this event brings together leading researchers, educators and developers.

Learn more and register

CSforALL Summit 2019
2019-10-21 - 2019-10-23
The CSforALL Summit is a multi-day convening focused on rigorous, inclusive and sustainable computer science for all US students. There will be two plenary sessions where you will hear from both local and national stakeholders impacting systems change within CS education and highlighting their 2019 commitments. This year’s event takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah from October 21-23, 2019.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center’s Executive Director Michael Preston will lead “Leveraging Public Media to Inspire All Kids to See Themselves in Tech,” a fireside chat with Debra Sanchez from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Milton Chen, senior fellow and executive director emeritus of the George Lucas Educational Foundation during the Systems for CS session on Tuesday, October 22.

View the full agenda

The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens 2019
2019-10-29 09:00 - 11:00 (America/New_York)
The Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens 2019, an update to the 2015 study, is a big-picture look at how young people in America are engaging with media and explores differences by race, gender and socioeconomic status. The study reveals a huge increase in the amount of time tweens and teens are spending watching online videos and using devices for homework, even as the digital divide persists.

Please join Common Sense for a presentation of this research, followed by a panel discussion with child development experts, researchers, and educators, about how tweens’ and teens’ daily lives are affected by media and technology at home, at school, and in their communities.

The event will take place at Sesame Workshop at 9am on Tuesday, October 20, 2019.

Featured SpeakersJames P. Steyer, founder and CEO, Common Sense
Anya Kamenetz, author and education correspondent, NPR
Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Vicky Rideout, VJR Consulting
Michael Robb, senior director of research, Common Sense
LaVerne Srinivasan, vice president, national program and program director, education, Carnegie Corporation of New York
Emily Weinstein, postdoctoral research fellow, Harvard Graduate
School of Education

Register here
There is no charge to attend, but seats are limited and advance registration is required.

National Center for Families Learning 2019 Conference
2019-11-04 - 2019-11-06
The Families Learning Conference is the premier event focused on innovative strategies and practices in family literacy and learning, two-generation education, and parent and family engagement. Attending the conference will equip attendees with tools and strategies to use right away with the students, families, and communities they serve.Presented by the country’s top experts, sessions will be available in: Adult Education, Early Childhood Education, Funding and Sustainability, Library, K-12 Education, Parent Leadership, and Research and Policy.In addition to gaining strategies and resources, attendees have the opportunity to engage in networking events that inspire action.Visit http://conference.familieslearning.org/ for more information.

FOSI 2020 Annual Conference
2019-11-21
The Family Online Safety Institute’s 2020 Annual Conference theme is “2020 Vision: The Future of Online Safety.”

Leaders from industry, government, law enforcement and non-profits will come together in Washington, DC to collaborate and innovate new solutions to Internet safety challenges. There will be keynotes, plenary panels, breakout sessions, alongside exhibits and a networking reception.

Michael Preston, the Cooney Center’s executive director, will participate in a panel on designing for children.

Learn more and register for FOSI 2020 here

2020 NETA Conference & CPB Public Media Thought Leader Forum
2020-01-26 - 2020-01-30 | Arlington, VA
The NETA Conference and CPB Public Media Thought Leader Forum is dedicated to the foundational cornerstone of Public Media: Education. Attendees represent station leadership, education, community engagement, marketing, promotion, production and content to learn from national thought leaders and engage in hands-on discussions. This year the conference will explore the future of education and media, with a focus on the following areas: Media in the Classroom, Content, Community Engagement, Station Management, and Youth Voices.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center will share highlights from our Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) Project with representatives from PBS SoCAL and Idaho Public Television, who were on project teams that were recipients of our Spark Grant awards.

Future of Childhood Summit
2020-03-03 - 2020-03-05 | San Francisco, CA
Event postponed

After much deliberation, the Future of Childhood Summit has been postponed. The planning team at Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Google are disappointed not to be able to host the Summit this March.We will share more details as soon as we are able to do so.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and Google will convene a Summit aimed at realizing our most positive visions of childhood in this tech-saturated age. This invitation-only event will bring together leaders from industry, research, education, and advocacy to create a unified vision of the future of childhood, in which all children grow up in a world where their interactions with media and technology enrich their learning, wellbeing, and safety. The summit will kick off on the evening of March 3 with an opening session and reception followed by two days of conversation and hands-on planning. We will reflect on how to nurture, empower and protect children while building new skills. The summit will be an opportunity to engage in discussion across industries and disciplines, and also develop a shared agenda for the decade ahead.

LEGO Idea Conference 2020
2020-03-09 - 2020-03-11 | Billund, Denmark
Cancelled

The LEGO Idea Conference invites thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, government representatives and social innovators to share their insights on new ways of learning that will equip and empower children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. Each LEGO Idea Conference features some of the most inspiring and influential speakers on topics related to learning, education and early childhood development. From young protagonists trying to change the system to established voices who are part of a deep-rooted way of thinking about learning and education.

View the conference website

ASU GSV 2020
2020-03-30 - 2020-04-01
GSV takes on society’s greatest challenge: Ensuring everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the future. Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual ASU GSV Summit is the industry catalyst for elevating dialogue and driving action around raising learning and career outcomes through scaled innovation. ASUGSV website

Parenting for a Digital Future
2020-07-29 12:00 - 13:00
Wednesday, July 29, 2020
9:00am PT / 12:00pm ET / 5pm BSTPlease join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center in celebrating the release of Parenting for a Digital Future, a new book by Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross that offers a balanced, in-depth exploration of the realities of parenting today. The authors will be joined by Anya Kamenetz, an education correspondent for NPR and author of The Art of Screen Time in a conversation hosted by Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center.

Together, they will discuss the challenges facing parents as they grapple with a digital age that is full of both opportunity and risk. What does a child’s growing independence mean in terms of digital technology, when the risks of online activity may be eclipsed by the public health dangers of the pandemic? Where do parents of tweens go for advice?

The event is free and open to the public.

Register here»
Learn more about Parenting for a Digital Future here »
Learn more about The Art of Screen Time here »

Speakers:

Sonia
Livingstone
Alicia
Blum-Ross
Anya
Kamenetz
Michael
Preston

FOSI 2020 Annual Conference
2020-11-18
This year’s Family Online Safety Institute’s Annual Conference, “Building Resilience,” will cover the many changing elements of online life, for ourselves, our families, and our world. The inherent obstacles and vast benefits of the digital world have become apparent to all of us now more than ever, and we look forward to the new challenge of examining these issues against the backdrop of a quickly changing social and cultural landscape.

Join Cooney Center Senior Fellow Mary Madden in a fireside chat with Facebook’s Antigone Davis at 1:15 PM ET.

For more information and to register, visit https://www.fosi.org/events/2020-annual-conference

The Future of Free Play in the Digital World
2020-11-20 08:00 - 17:00
On World Children’s Day, November 20, 2020, the Digital Futures Commission will launch ‘The future of free play in the digital world.’

The work of the Digital Futures Commission will be introduced by Baroness Beeban Kidron, 5Rights Foundation, followed by a panel discussion chaired by Professor Sonia Livingstone OBE, London School of Economics, with Ann Phoenix, Kate Cowan, and Chris Batemen, to mark #WorldChildrensDay. They will introduce Digital Futures with a panel exploring the future of free play in the digital world.

November 20, 2020 11:00 AM-12 PM GMT (6:00 AM EST)

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gxTYaQ-3TPiUsaLHX37-GQ

Reframing Education for the 22nd Century
2021-04-07
2020 was a year unlike any we have experienced before … until 2021. We have witnessed the “hoaxification” of the COVID-19 pandemic, massive civic unrest in response to long-tolerated systemic racism and injustice, continued denial of climate change in spite of an increasingly inhospitable natural environment, and most recently, a violent insurrection seeking to disrupt democracy and encourage authoritarianism.At the root of these issues is more than a conflict between change and the status quo: it’s the difference between equitable and sustainable societies and life-threatening imbalances in power and privilege.One critical challenge is that our education systems are fundamentally designed to advance individualistic goals over collective success. Even “21st century skills,” such as collaboration and communication, are implemented in ways that fall short of their goals. As educators, we have a moral imperative to rethink our work so that children are prepared to bend, if not upend, the arc of history toward progress for the common good.Education should foster in each and every child an egalitarian mindset — a positive sense of oneself as a worthy individual rooted in valued cultural traditions, able and disposed to construct a view of reality from multiple perspectives and act in collaboration with others toward the common good. To develop an egalitarian mindset, we might consider these questions:
School climate and culture: What features of present-day school structures and cultures should students never or rarely experience?

Pedagogy, Curriculum and Assessment: What about current teachers and teaching, curriculum, and assessment should students never or rarely experience?

Technology: What should be the normative experience of every child with regard to technology, including AI? What should they never or rarely experience?
How would these changes lead to egalitarian mindsets?The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the Center for Global Education at Asia Society invite you to participate in a series of provocative conversations with the goal of reframing the purpose of education as the foundation for a social movement toward equality and sustainability. We hope that you will join us.Dates: Wednesday, April 7, 14, and 28 (Skipping April 21)
Time: 1 PM US EDT for 75 minutes
Format: A weekly series of salons encouraging the free flow of ideas around how to build an education system for the 22nd century focused on the common good. In partnership with

The Augmented and Virtual Reality Policy Conference
2021-10-21
In the last decade, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have evolved from niche tools for enthusiasts and high-tech industries to more widely adopted communications technologies that have the potential to transform the way people communicate, collaborate, and learn. As AR/VR solutions gain traction across sectors, they will raise important policy considerations-some of which are already a part of broader tech policy discussions, while others will be unique to these technologies. Through a series of expert talks and panels, this half-day virtual conference organized by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and the XR Association will explore the role of policy in AR/VR innovation and identify priority areas for policymakers to consider as these technologies continue to expand.
JGCC Executive Director Michael Preston will be speaking beginning at 1:25 PM EST on Thursday, October 21st, as part of the Lightning Round: Priorities for an AR/VR Policy Agenda panel.

Register for the conference here.

Learning at Home While Under-Connected and the Role of Public Media
2021-10-26
Learning at Home While Under-Connected: Lower-Income Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic follows up on 2016’s Opportunity for All? Technology and Learning in Lower-Income Families to uncover the perspectives of lower-income parents with children ages 3 to 13. In March and April 2021, researchers Vikki Katz and Victoria Rideout led a national survey of more than 1,000 parents. The report delves into the experiences that these families had while many children were learning at home during a time when many school buildings were closed. It provides timely, pointed, and thought-provoking insights on the challenges of being under-connected when trying to support young students at home without adequate devices and internet connections.From the earliest days of the pandemic, public media organizations around the country mobilized to address the needs of their communities. This panel will explore the role that local public media stations can play in diagnosing community needs and sharing learning resources for all children and families.

The webinar will take place on Oct. 26, 2021 at 12:00 PM EST.

IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces
2022-03-12 - 2022-03-16
The IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR) is the premier international event for the presentation of research results in the broad areas of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/XR). Since 1993, IEEE VR has presented groundbreaking research and accomplishments by virtual reality pioneers: scientists, engineers, designers, and artists, paving the way for the future. This event will be held entirely virtually from March 12th-16th.

To register, click here.

ASU+GSV Summit 2022
2022-04-04 - 2022-04-06 | San Diego & Virtually
Started in 2010 with a collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU) and Global Silicon Valley (GSV), the annual ASU+ GSV Summit connects leading minds focused on transforming society and business around learning and work. Their north star is that ALL people have equal access to the future.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop are presenting a number of sessions:

TIP OF THE SPEAR: EARLY CHILDHOOD (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SESAME WORKSHOP)TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2022 11:00 am – 11:40 am COVID, Innovation, and the Future of Early Childhood Education 2:10 pm – 2:50 pm Playtest with Kids, a New Free Online Resource from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center 3:00 pm – 3:40 pm The Growing Importance of Social & Emotional Development and Learning 3:50 pm – 4:30 pm Co-design with Kids: Enabling Meaningful Child Participation in the Private Sector in a Digital Era 4:40 pm – 5:20 pm Kids Media Confronts the “New Normal”: What Blended Learning Will Look Like Post-Pandemic WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 10:10 am – 10:50 am Early Childhood AI and Voice WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2022 11:00 am – 11:40 am The Edge of Early Childhood Education

The conference will be held simultaneously virtually on HopIn and in-person in San Diego, CA, from April 4-6, 2022. To register to attend virtually, click here. To register to attend in person in San Diego, click here.

2022 AERA Annual Meeting
2022-04-21 - 2022-04-26 | San Diego & Virtually
Each year, the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting is the world’s largest gathering of education researchers and a showcase for groundbreaking, innovative studies in an array of areas. The 2022 Annual Meeting is a dual-component conference with sessions offered on-site in San Diego, CA, and other sessions offered on a virtual platform. This year’s meeting theme is “Cultivating Equitable Education Systems for the 21st Century.”

The conference will take place Thursday, April 21 – Tuesday, April 26 in San Diego and virtually. To register for the event, click here.

Dust or Magic Asimolar
2022-06-03 08:00 - 2022-06-05 17:00 | Venue Monterey, CA, Monterey, CA
Dust or Magic Asimolar is an opportunity for participants to catch up on the current state of children’s media, in one of the most beautiful locations in the world by way of talks, laser critiques and demos. Dust or Magic has a long tradition of deep dive conversations and honest critiques in a commercial-free setting. Participants leave with a sense of where things have been, and where they are going framed in child development theory. Watch this overview video from previous Dust or Magic events at Asilomar.

The Cooney Center is proud to present the Playtest with Kids toolkit at Dust or Magic.

Games for Change 2022
2022-07-13 - 2022-07-16
For nearly two decades, the Games for Change Festival has been a destination for developers, educators, researchers, students, and other game-changers who want to make an impact through video games or immersive media. This year, the Festival is back in person in New York City on July 13-14, and then online from July 15-16.

Please join the Cooney Center for our panel on XR and learning!
XR’s Potential for Student-Centered Learning
Date: Thursday, July 14
Session Time: 1:45 PM – 2:30 PM EDT
Location: The Microsoft Technology Center (11 Times Sq, New York, NY, 10036) Immersive media is relatively new to the classroom but has the potential to inspire and empower students and educators. Our panel of teachers, developers, and researchers will explore XR’s potential for engagement and impact, immersive media experiences that support student-centered learning, and the results of the XRA’s recent survey of teenagers on their understanding and use of XR technologies. Michael Preston, ED, Joan Ganz Cooney Center
Peirce Clark, XRA
Idris Brewster, Movers and Shakers NYC
Ellen Flaherty, Unity
Kevin Merges, Rutgers Prep Learn more and register.

All Tech Is Human: Youth, Tech, and Wellbeing Panel + Mixer
2022-08-17
All Tech Is Human and the Australian Embassy in DC are teaming up for a mixer + panel gathering for researchers, designers, advocates, technologists, academics, and more that are working at the intersection of technology, wellbeing, and youth. This will be a 2-hour panel + mixer for 75 org leaders, researchers, youth advocates, Trust & Safety professionals, academics, designers, entrepreneurs, and more!

Speakers include the Cooney Center’s Senior Director of Research Medha Tare, PhD, Zoom’s Counsel on the Trust & Safety team Chanel Cornett, and Arielle Geismar, an organizer around mental health, social media wellbeing, and women’s & LGBTQ+ rights.

Learn more.

Playtest with Kids
2022-09-08
Please join the Children’s Media Association of the Bay Area and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center for a one-hour virtual event featuring the Playtest with Kids toolkit. The free interactive resource features methods and case studies to help teams get actionable insights when playtesting their products with children. We’ll talk with experts who will share what they’ve learned about how to effectively gather insights from kids (including remotely!) and how playtesting has impacted their product design. Come prepared to learn and to ask questions!
Thursday, September 8, 2022
2:30 pm PT / 5:30 pm ET
Please see the Children’s Media Association site for details.

2022 NETA Conference and CPB Thought Leader Forum
2022-09-18 - 2022-09-22
The NETA Conference is dedicated to providing public media professionals with meaningful and relevant connections to the people and ideas that are at the heart of our mission to educate, engage, and entertain. This year’s event is a hybrid conference, taking place September 18-22, 2022, in Charlotte, NC and online.

The Cooney Center is pleased to present “A Seat at the Table for Tweens and Tweens in Public Media: Lessons from Established Youth Programs,” featuring some early results from a field study conducted with public media stations across the country. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data gathered from over 200 public media stations, this study aims to create a baseline understanding of where the field is at in 2022 when it comes to tween and teen programs, content, and engagement. Following a presentation of findings, the session will invite participants to think together about its implications: What do they want to see happen to support greater impact when it comes to youth audiences? Where do they think the field should go? And how do they want to be a part of it?Learn more and register for the conference here.

Media Literacy Week: Building Toward Digital Well-being for Children
2022-10-26 20:00
Join Children’s Media Association, the LEGO Group, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, and NAMLE for an interactive virtual session where we will investigate the questions: what is children’s digital well-being? why is it important? and how can we all build towards it? We’ll share new research and plans from the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) initiative and hear from experts in child development, gaming—and you! Let’s explore how we can all play a role in building a better digital landscape for children.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022
8:00pm – 9:00pm ET
Register here

FOSI 2022 Annual Conference: Trust & Assurance: Online Safety in an Uncertain World
2022-11-14
This year’s FOSI conference convenes the best online safety thinkers, practitioners, and experts from around the world for high-level discussions and debates, engaging networking opportunities, and a first-class exhibition of online safety technologies, products, and services. Attendees will have the chance to explore topics such as content moderation, privacy policies and practices, safety in the metaverse, digital wellbeing, and much more.

Cooney Center Executive Director Michael Preston will speak at a morning breakout session at 11:30am, “Inside a Child’s Mind: Tech Use Through the Formative Years,” with Rebecca Parlakian (Zero to Three), Dr. Michael Rich (Digital Wellness Lab, Boston Children’s Hospital), and Dr. Ellen Selkie (University of Washington).

Learn more about the conference and register here.
