Tag Archives: pbs

Kids had fun using Design Squad Maker, saying they liked “figuring out a problem to solve” and “making something useful with my hands and figuring out how it works and how to fix and make it better.” When science and engineering learning in schools takes a back seat to math and reading, a child’s extended community can fill in the gaps. According to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) elementary school science position statement, “Tapping into the broader scientific community…

Unlike kids in the 70s, tweens and teens today are posting, dancing, and streaming across platforms from TikTok to Twitch. They have no interest in being corralled to discrete brands or destinations. They enjoy a banquet of high-quality digital offerings that are ready when and where they are. And they’re always one step ahead of us. While just about everything has changed in terms of media consumption, something essential has not: kids’ curiosity and desire for agency. The Corporation for…

The following post is part of a series springing from the Cooney Center’s joint initiative with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, By/With/For Youth: Inspiring Next Gen Public Media Audiences. This is a project aimed at exploring the role of public media in the lives of young people by taking stock of the current landscape and imagining a future that public media can build alongside teens and tweens. With that in mind, we are inviting public media practitioners who are already…

On Thursday, March 12, 2020, PBS SoCal, KCET and the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second-largest district in the nation, announced a plan to provide Pre-K–12th grade educational programming throughout the daytime on PBS SoCal, KCET, and KLCS channels. This partnership has the potential to serve more than 600,000 students across Southern California. This multi-platform initiative includes robust digital resources, created in collaboration with KQED in San Francisco, through our online platform, PBS LearningMedia. Public television has long served…

You may have heard that television programming in the 1960s was called a “vast wasteland.” by then-FCC Chairman Newton Minow. From the beginning, Lloyd Morrisett and I were both convinced that television – which was capturing the attention of children as nothing else was – did have the power to educate as well as to entertain and we set out to prove it. It was back in 1966 when I wrote my original report, The Potential Uses of Television in…

Youth Services Librarian Claudia Haines recently hosted a family screening of the new PBS Kids show Molly of Denali at Homer Public Library in Homer, Alaska. This post from her blog is republished here with permission.   I’m always looking for media, in all formats, that authentically reflects Alaskan families’ experiences. Today, a new show produced by WGBH in Boston for PBS Kids does that and more. I’m excited about the show, and the advanced screening we offered at the library…

If you were born after 1990, are the parent or grandparent of someone born after 1990, or a children’s media producer of any age, Ready To Learn (RTL) has probably touched your life. Launched in 1994, RTL is a U.S. Department of Education-funded initiative that provides about $25 million annually for the creation of educational media (TV, computer games, apps, and more) designed to promote school readiness. RTL funding has gone to the production of legacy media properties that existed…

Rhys, 10, is an aspiring game designer in Texas who uses Gamestar Mechanic to create worlds to play in. He talks about the importance of stories and creating challenges to engage players. Thanks to Edutopia and PBS for sharing this video from the upcoming documentary Is School Enough? More videos in the Web series (on Edutopia) and an hour-long broadcast special (on PBS) to come in Fall 2013.  

Neil Shapiro, of New York City’s WNET13,recently interviewed Joan Ganz Cooney, the founder of the Sesame Street and co-founder of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, for the Pioneers series.  The Center applies Ms. Ganz Cooney’s ground breaking 40 year old question, “How can emerging media help children learn?” by bring it into the 21st century digital space. (If the video doesn’t load, click here.)   Watch Pioneers of Thirteen: Joan Ganz Cooney on PBS. See more from THIRTEEN Specials.

I heard a great interview this morning on NPR’s Morning Addition: For Halloween, TV Scares That Are Still Kid-Friendly, addressing the question of how scary is too scary? Elizabeth Blair spoke to folks from Nickelodeon and PBS Kids, who are both airing specials this week, including an Arthur episode guest starring none other than an [animated] Neil Gaiman. Horror has been making a comeback in the last few years, and the kids’ media space is no exception. From a revamped…