Tag Archives: co-design

We talk about kids and AI, and we talk about creativity and AI. But while we know that creativity impacts children’s development, identity formation, and learning, children’s creative experiences with AI are often left out of the conversation. Conversations around AI and kids tend to focus on AI literacy – teaching them the skills they need to understand and use AI in their everyday lives. Certainly these skills are important as AI continues to be integrated into our everyday lives,…

 I recently had the chance to chat with Michael Preston, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, for a new episode of the Designing for Children’s Best podcast, produced by the Designing for Children’s Rights Association. The result was an inspiring conversation between Michael and myself, Polina Lulu, regarding one of Michael’s recent talks, “Building a Positive Digital Future for Kids, with Kids—Together.” We dove into each of the title words individually and in relation to…

According to NAEP only 14% of U.S. students reported reading for fun almost every day in 2023 – 13 percentage points lower than 2012 – and average reading scores have declined for most sub-groups of 8th graders since 2020. Tackling this crisis in reading requires a multi-pronged approach to understand and address the challenges. The Advanced Education Research & Development Fund (AERDF) initiative Reading Reimagined has embarked on this work, in particular through funding research on how older children (ages…

March 7, 2024 Austin Convention Center Room 12AB The current edtech market is full of products that claim to fulfill lesson plans and make assessment easier for teachers. But what if, in addition to helping kids master important concepts, digital products could make learning truly impactful, and help diverse students and teachers feel empowered and engaged? We’ll talk about how we can bring kids and teachers into the design process in order to create kid-centered products that students enjoy using.…

What’s the secret to creating digital media products for kids that makes learning engaging and fun? We’ve found that including kids throughout the design process has many benefits: it empowers kids who find that their opinions are valued; designers gain a fresh perspective from the audience they’re creating for; and the product itself is often more impactful as a result. On Wednesday, September 27, the Cooney Center hosted a webinar to discuss the Cooney Center Sandbox with some of our…

What happens when you are trying to design a new technology for kids and things do not go as expected?  In the case of the University of Maryland KidsTeam, you might help create Nickelodeon’s Do Not Touch button—an interactive button that plays with kids’ desire to do exactly what they’ve been told not to do. This is an example of the Cooperative Inquiry method of technology co-design in action, where children engage in the design process in equal partnership with…

Creative tools for children should be designed to ensure that learning is playful and engaging. At Scratch, we believe that it is important to use a co-design process, ensuring that the needs and perspectives of our users—especially children—are taken into account at every stage. By involving young people in the design of ScratchJr and Scratch, we can create a platform that truly meets their needs and helps them to develop the skills they need to thrive in the digital age.…

Researchers gathered last month at the biennial Society for Research in Child Development conference in Salt Lake City to discuss the impacts of various technologies and media on children’s learning and development. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center was honored to organize a conversational roundtable inspired by the Responsible Innovation in Technology for Children (RITEC) initiative, founded by the LEGO Group and UNICEF and supported by the LEGO Foundation. On March 24,  2023, Cooney Center Senior Director of Research Medha Tare…

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…

Educational media for children should be designed to ensure learning is meaningful and playful. Children should actively engage with content, connect material to what matters to them, and have a joyful and social experience.1  However, research shows that many apps are not designed in ways that support these and other research-based principles.2 One way to ensure that new technologies meet children’s needs is to involve them in the design process. Allison Druin, a leader in the Cooperative Inquiry field and…