I met a bunch of Sesame folks at the CES Sandbox Summit in January and have been really excited to see them taking a lead within the industry in researching digital media for kids and connecting with other organizations working on this issue. They also inspired my recent BusinessWeek column. The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is holding an invite-only symposium in May (they will webcast it), which I am going to try to attend (busy travel month for me) -- I was very happy to see Common Sense Media and the MacArthur Foundation are both part of the program. What follows is an email interview I did with Michael Levine, who is the executive director of the new Joan Ganz Cooney Center @ Sesame Workshop.

Ypulse: What excites you most about the work the Joan Ganz Cooney Center plans to do?

Michael Levine: We have a great opportunity to start a new conversation in the United States and globally. What are the most innovative, creative ways to demonstrate the promise of digital media to help children learn and grow-up as compassionate, competent and connected human beings? Can the digital media be better deployed to meet the needs of the underserved who may otherwise lack the literacy skills, knowledge and perspectives needed to compete and cooperate in a global age?

We see so much discord and debate about the impact that media are having on children today. Of course we are concerned that children's healthy development must not be compromised. But we are not spending nearly enough time focusing on how interactive media can accelerate children's learning. The Cooney Center will work in three interrelated areas. We will support and disseminate new research on the impact of digital media on kids; develop new models of effective digital innovation; and challenge industry and government to invest more wisely in those models of greatest promise for children and families.

YP: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing parents and educators in this new media landscape?

ML: The biggest challenge for many educators, particularly those who are working in disadvantaged communities, is in pushing the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) envelope to a new place. National and state standards and expanded testing mandates are being used as a legitimate excuse, in all too many communities, to diminish creativity and child engagement in the classroom. We need a new approach that maintains the intended rigor and accountability of NCLB, but which leverages emerging science, and new media tools to demonstrate ways in which children in the 21st Century will need to cooperate, connect, and create their own meaning, while solving the problems of an interconnected world together.

Parents too are facing an enormous dilemma. The ubiquitous media choices in their family and work lives make it difficult to know when to limit children's exposure and use. So a new type of vigilance and attention to the evolving electronic playground is required. On the other hand, never have so many opportunities to learn about the world together with children been available, beginning in early childhood The cornucopia of choices is appealing, but a bit exhausting for most parents who are already a bit stressed! Parents are seeking advice and reliable guidance, and that is where organizations such as the Cooney Center can offer some help in suggesting ways to construct and balance a healthy media diet.

Ypulse newsletter readers: Please visit Ypulse.com for the rest of the interview.

YP: How will your work dovetail with or compliment the work the MacArthur Foundation is doing around digital learning -- what are the key differences?

ML: The MacArthur Foundation is doing outstanding leadership work to define both the new frontiers of scientific inquiry on digital media's potential application and in developing publicly accessible translations of that research. They are on the 'cutting edge' of showing leadership institutions a new vision of how digital media are already shaping youths' lives, and the potential to build a new approach to 24/7 engaged life-long learning. Their role also is in providing field-building incentives to innovators in creative technologies such as videogames, simulations and virtual worlds. I hope that they will succeed in their vital goal to stimulate a new public investment agenda, where institutions of learning -- including teacher preparation bodies, schools and extended learning centers -- begin to urgently reconsider their practices in shaping curriculum, teaching, assessment and professional development opportunities.

The Cooney Center hopes to work closely with the MacArthur Foundation and other philanthropies on extending these strategies to meet the needs of children in middle childhood, from ages 6-12, where we believe research has not yet advanced, but the opportunities to learn about children's preferences and capabilities are ripe for exploration. We will also place a sharp emphasis on children's literacy skills -- from the origins of learning to read and write, to the mastery of 21st Century literacies such as media, inter-cultural, problem-solving and creativity skills that are beginning to take shape during this age period.

YP: What do you hope to achieve at the first Symposium?

ML: The first Symposium on May 9th in New York City will be an opportunity for leaders from research, industry, education and the creative community to share their perspectives on how kids, ages 6-12 are learning in a digital age. We do not often have a chance to promote this kind of inter-sectoral dialogue, or to examine research and trends together, so we hope use our convening power to model a process which will hopefully take hold.

We will examine proven and promising practices that promote children's literacy development and chart a next stage agenda for policymakers and business leaders to consider. The center hopes to announce important partnerships between key organizations who are dedicated to using the digital media for constructive purposes. While the symposium in NYC is by invitation only, we will be webcasting and hope to draw a wide audience

YP: If entrepreneurs launching kids' sites are interested in partnering with researchers or integrating some sort of educational component to their products, what advice would you give them?

ML: Do your homework on which research centers understand the difference between basic, applied, and market-oriented research so that you will find those scholars who understand children's development and digital media, but who can also relate to your market interests. Get started by checking in with organizations like the Cooney Center. We would be delighted to make suggestions about the most effective and engaged research partners we have identified who might help you navigate the fast evolving landscape. And perhaps, if you are looking to develop new innovations for elementary age children, we can help establish a way to work together!

YP: Anything else you think Ypulse readers should know?

ML: The digital media environment for children is so fast moving that it pays to relax a bit and take a "wait and see" attitude on many current trends and "so called" innovations. Will the craze of the moment withstand the marketplace or quickly fade into oblivion? We are delighted that Ypulse is such an effective chronicle of all that is new and hope to be strong collaborators on a long and productive journey.

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