Joan Ganz Cooney Center Finds Cause for Both Concern and Optimism in Billion Dollar...

Joan Ganz Cooney Center Finds Cause for Both Concern and Optimism in Billion Dollar Digital Media Industry Targeting Kids

D is for Digital, New Report Released at CES' Sandbox Summit
Analyzes Current Marketplace; Findings Include Shortfall of Digital
Educational Products; Paper Recommends Better Communication Between
Research Community and Media Developers and Urges Protection of
Children From Growing Commercialism
NEW YORK & LAS VEGAS--(Business Wire)--The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
(www.joanganzcooneycenter.org), a newly established production and
research institute studying digital media's educational potential,
today released their latest report, D is for Digital, at the
first-ever Sandbox Summit: A Playdate with Technology. The report's
key findings were unveiled by Executive Vice President of
Distribution, Terry Fitzpatrick during a keynote address at the
Summit, held in Las Vegas at the International Consumer Electronics
Show and produced by The Consumer Electronics Association and Parents'
Choice Foundation.

The 50-page study, the first to analyze the current interactive
media environment for preschool and elementary age children, documents
how the recent aging down and exponential growth of digital products
are shaping how children, ages 3-11, live and learn. Of the 300+
products studied, the paper found that most do not take advantage of
available research regarding children's educational needs particularly
in a global economy where literacy and learning requirements are fast
evolving. Among the findings, the survey yielded only two educational
video games (in an industry that generated $500 million in 2006 for
the top 20 titles alone) based on explicit educational curriculum
design available in the market.

The report also identified influential market trends with strong
potential for education; examined the type of informal learning
products on the market; and recommended ways to expand the
availability of quality educational media for children.

The report's recommendations to industry, research and
policymakers include:

-- Build Partnerships Between Research and Industry to Leverage
Knowledge. Tens of millions of dollars of public expenditure
on digital media research are not benefiting industry
practices and product design. Significant gaps in
informational exchange between the research community and
media developers are inhibiting valuable research from being
seen and incorporated into products, thereby limiting
potential benefit to kids. Findings should be disseminated
regularly to non-academics and digital industry leaders
through publications and events.

-- Place New Emphasis on Educational Videogame Development. An
untapped market opportunity exists with few video game titles
exhibiting an explicit educational purpose.

-- Encourage Intergenerational Interaction. The majority of
digital media products on the market are designed for use by
one child in front of one screen. With research documenting
the benefits of adult-child interactions and relationships,
the industry should break the mold of the traditional model of
one child per screen and encourage interaction.

-- Protect Children From Undocumented Educational Claims and
Commercialism. Changes in the advertising landscape support
action to ensure that marketing claims about the educational
value of digital products are validated by independent
research evidence. Industry and regulatory standards should be
devised to monitor the media in an effort to protect children
from improper commercialism in digital products.

"The study's findings are cause for both concern and optimism,"
said Dr. Michael Levine, Executive Director of the Joan Ganz Cooney
Center. "Kids today are spending almost as much time with media as
attending school, so there is an opportunity to create more engaging
educational products than ever before. Unfortunately, most of the new
digital products we reviewed, with notable exceptions, do not yet
promote the vital literacy, creativity and problem-solving skills
children need to succeed. The report documents how industry leaders,
working closely with experts in child development and research, can
develop interactive educational products that can leverage key market
opportunities and promote a new vision for learning and
entertainment."

The recommendations were derived from a review in Fall 2007 which
focused on mass-market informal learning products for children ages
3-11. The review recognizes and supports the evidence of growing media
use by young children and the expanding media environment based on
consumer market trends such as the popularity of virtual world web
sites, video content and user generated content. D is for Digital was
authored by Cooney Fellow Carly Shuler, an expert on marketing and the
educational toy industry, and a graduate of Harvard's Technology,
Innovation and Education program.

The D is for Digital report and executive summary are available on
the Joan Ganz Cooney Center website here.

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is examining new media platforms such
as the web, cell phones and video games to better understand their
role in children's learning and literacy development both in and out
of school. Focusing especially on the needs of disadvantaged children,
the Center conducts and supports research, creates educational models
and interactive media properties, and builds cross-sector partnerships
to scale-up best practices. Based at Sesame Workshop, the Joan Ganz
Cooney Center is stimulating a national dialogue on how interactive
technologies can be utilized to help accelerate children's learning.
The Center is named for Sesame Workshop's founder, who revolutionized
educational television with the creation of Sesame Street nearly four
decades ago.

Sesame Workshop
Ellen Lewis, 212-875-6396
ellen.lewis@sesameworkshop.org
or
Jodi Lefkowitz, 212-875-6497
At CES, 516-312-3378
jodi.lefkowitz@sesameworkshop.org
or
FerenComm for Sesame Workshop
Sheila Feren, 212-983-9898
sheilaf@ferencomm.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008