In recent years, there has been a big increase in new electronic media products for very young children, including those as young as one month old. A driving force behind this new market is the advertising and package labeling that makes claims about the educational benefits of specific products. A Teacher in the Living Room? Educational Media for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers examines the educational claims about commercially available educational media products (videos and DVDs, computer software, and video games) for very young children and what kind of research has been conducted to substantiate the educational claims.

The issue brief was released at a briefing in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, December 14, 2005 that included a panel discussion featuring: Gary Knell, president and CEO, Sesame Workshop; Marcia Grimsley, senior producer, Brainy Baby videos; Julia Fitzgerald, vice president of marketing, VTech; Suzanne Barchers, Ed.D., editor-in-chief and vice president, LeapFrog; Sandra Calvert, director, Children's Digital Media Center, and professor, Georgetown University; Warren Buckleitner, editor, Children's Technology Review; and Dimitri Christakis, M.D., pediatrician at Children’s Hospital in Seattle and professor, University of Washington.

Agenda

Speaker Biographies

Issue Brief — A Teacher in the Living Room? Educational Media for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

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