13. Educational Media for Children: Insights for parents, educators, and creators (Joe Blatt)

With many children spending more than 40 hours every week in front of “screens”, what is the impact of growing up immersed in this media world? Educational media is a growing industry, but there is no regulation for what can be labeled as educational. How can parents and educators identify quality educational material? To discuss the research and practical insights on what good educational media and technologies entail, I am joined by a leading expert in children’s media.

Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) Senior Lecturer, Joe Blatt is Faculty Director of the Technology, Innovation, and Education program. He has received HGSE’s highest faculty honor, the Morningstar Award for Teaching Excellence. As Joe was one of my professors during my master’s degree, I know first hand what an inspiring teacher he is, and his courses are extremely popular among students every year. Joe’s research and teaching focus on the effects of media content and technology on human development, learning, civic behavior, and informal learning. Joe has created television series and interactive media for many types of informal learning environments.  He was the executive producer of Scientific American Frontiers, and made documentaries for NOVA, and close to 100 other programs for public broadcasting. He also advises major media and technology companies, including Sesame Workshop, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and Google.

Joe Blatt: https://www.gse.harvard.edu/faculty/joseph-blatt

Resources Discussed:

Common Sense Media: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/

Tap, Click, Read: http://www.tapclickread.org/