Tag Archives: pbs kids

It’s hard to believe 15 years have gone by since the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop launched. Due to the visionary force of nature that is Michael Levine, the Center swiftly earned its reputation for being an organization that serves as a nexus between research, policy, and practice in children’s learning and media. It also quickly became known as a launchpad for emerging scholars, entrepreneurs, and multi-sector leaders committed to advancing kids’ learning through media. I joined Sesame…

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…

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…

Last week I attended Back to School – Learning and Growing in a Digital Age, an event which explored federal policy, e-learning, and digital literacy, sponsored by Common Sense Media, PBS Kids, USC Annenberg’s Center on Communication Leadership & Policy, and The Children’s Partnership. The session that impacted me most was Empowering Parents and Kids with Technology. What was fascinating about the speakers on this panel was that collectively they described the evolution of Internet and its perceived challenges facing…

May 2010: This year’s San Francisco Game Developers Conference, the largest annual game developers conference in the world, was marked by a notable focus on player-centered and social game play experiences. These trends began gaining momentum in years’ past, but with the breakthrough success of games such as Farmville on social networks like Facebook, the emphasis on player-centered design and social game play rang loud and clear in 2010. Game makers are tapping into the wealth of content and behaviors…

May 2010: This year’s San Francisco Game Developers Conference, the largest annual game developers conference in the world, was marked by a notable focus on player-centered and social game play experiences. These trends began gaining momentum in years’ past, but with the breakthrough success of games such as Farmville on social networks like Facebook, the emphasis on player-centered design and social game play rang loud and clear in 2010. Game makers are tapping into the wealth of content and behaviors…