LISA GUERNSEY AND MICHAEL H. LEVINE HOW TO BRING EARLY LEARNING AND FAMILY ENGAGEMENT INTO THE DIGITAL AGE An action agenda for city and community leaders APRIL 2017 About the Authors About New America Lisa Guernsey is deputy director of the New America is committed to renewing American politics, Education Policy program and director of the prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. We generate big ideas, Learning Technologies project at New America. bridge the gap between technology and policy, and curate broad She leads teams of writers and analysts who public conversation. We combine the best of a policy research tell stories, translate research, examine institute, technology laboratory, public forum, media platform, policies, and generate ideas for new approaches to help and a venture capital fund for ideas. We are a distinctive disadvantaged students succeed. Prior to her work at New community of thinkers, writers, researchers, technologists, America, Guernsey worked as a staff writer at the New York Times and community activists who believe deeply in the possibility of and the Chronicle of Higher Education and has contributed to American renewal. publications including the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Find out more at newamerica.org/our-story. Newsweek, Time, Slate, and USA TODAY. She is co-author with Michael H. Levine of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens (Jossey-Bass, 2015) and author of Screen Time: How Electronic Media—From Baby Videos to Educational Software— About the Education Policy Program Affects Your Young Child (Basic Books, 2012). She won a 2012 gold Eddie magazine award for a School Library Journal article on New America’s Education Policy program uses original research e-books and has served on several national advisory committees and policy analysis to help solve the nation’s critical education on early education, including the Institute of Medicine’s problems, serving as a trusted source of objective analysis and Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8. innovative ideas for policymakers, educators, and the public Guernsey holds a master’s in English/American studies and a at large. We combine a steadfast concern for low-income and bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Virginia. historically disadvantaged people with a belief that better She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her two daughters. She is on information about education can vastly improve both the policies Twitter @LisaGuernsey. that govern educational institutions and the quality of learning itself. Our work encompasses the full range of educational opportunities, from early learning to primary and secondary education, college, and the workforce. Michael H. Levine is founder and executive Our work is made possible through generous grants from the director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Alliance for Early Success; the Foundation for Child Development; Sesame Workshop. The Center conducts the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the Evelyn and Walter research and catalyzes industry and policy Haas, Jr. Fund; the Heising Simons Foundation; the William and reforms needed to advance quality media experiences for all Flora Hewlett Foundation; the Joyce Foundation; the W.K. Kellogg children. Levine also serves on the executive team at Sesame Foundation; the Kresge Foundation; Lumina Foundation; the Workshop, where he focuses on educational impact for the global McKnight Foundation; the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; non-profit. Levine has served as an adviser to the White House the David and Lucile Packard Foundation; the Smith Richardson and the Department of Education and on several boards including Foundation; the W. Clement and the Jessie V. Stone Foundation. the Forum for Youth Investment, Journeys in Film, Woot Math, and Digi Learn. Levine contributes to national publications, Find out more at newamerica.org/education-policy. including Education Week, Slate, and the Huffington Post. He is the co-author with Lisa Guernsey of Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens (Jossey-Bass, 2015). About the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at He holds a PhD in Social Policy from the Heller School at Brandeis Sesame Workshop University and a bachelor’s in science from Cornell University. Levine lives in Teaneck, New Jersey with his wife. He is on Twitter The Joan Ganz Cooney Center is an independent nonprofit @mhl_jgcc. research and innovation lab that focuses on the challenges of educating children in a rapidly changing digital media landscape. Acknowledgments The Center collaborates with educators, media producers, policymakers, and investors to promote learning models that can be accelerated with emerging technologies. The Cooney We would like to thank the Joyce Foundation for its generous Center’s research and programs focus on literacy development, support of this work. We are grateful to Jason Quiara, our innovations in learning, and intergenerational engagement. program officer at Joyce, for his ongoing strategic guidance and support. We also thank Tonja Rucker and Katie Whitehouse at Find out more at joanganzcooneycenter.org. the National League of Cities for their input and valuable advice, as well as Shayna Cook of New America and Sadaf Sajwani of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center for their essential research contributions to this publication. INTRODUCTION Imagine these everyday scenes: A father and his success in this media-infused environment. Since two-year-old are in their library’s bookmobile, then, New America and the Joan Ganz Cooney checking out electronic and print picture books Center at Sesame Workshop have joined forces to they just enjoyed at story time. Kindergartners document initiatives using digital tools to connect select photos and drawings for their school’s annual with vulnerable families and improve educational multimedia slideshow. A grandmother and teacher outcomes. Interactive tools such as on-demand share a laptop, clicking on videos that demonstrate video and text messaging are being used to inspire Spanish-language word games for school and home. and reassure parents, to share learning materials Each day, parents, caregivers, and children are between formal and informal settings, and to building language and literacy skills for the 21st bring parents closer to their children’s learning. century, perhaps without even realizing it. Some communities are also taking steps to prepare educators as media mentors to help families and Every community in the United States has the children be choosy about media and learn how to potential to transform itself into this kind of use digital tools for learning. ecosystem that supports families and promotes digital inclusion. Resources for Digital-Age learning But so far, these efforts are sporadic and fragile. already exist in libraries, schools, multimedia Very few are fully sustainable or ready to scale up. spaces, and through parents’ personal smartphones, Community leaders need a plan. Our hope is that but localities are not often tapping into them to this agenda will generate that planning. Think of help families in need. Other local leaders do seek it as a companion to existing guidance, such as out digital approaches but risk chasing after what is the Building Blocks for Success framework from shiny and new if they lack the resources to critically the Center for the Study of Social Policy and the evaluate new tools and technologies. National League of Cities, which is already helping communities to build early learning communities. Promoting early learning through the support and Here we nudge leaders to modernize and think empowerment of families—especially those who digital as they do so. The following pages describe are under-resourced—has become an imperative for four actions to help community leaders prioritize: education leaders nationwide. In 2014, New America take stock, develop professional learning programs, published Envisioning a Digital Age Architecture invest in physical infrastructure, and create a cycle for Early Education to help leaders visualize of continuous improvement. The Internet and digital media are a large part of families' lives. THE STATE OF FAMILY ENGAGEMENT, At least At least At least EARLY LEARNING, AND of children of children of 72% 34% 88% ages 0 to 8 have used ages 2 to 10 use American adults mobile media devices, educational media use the Internet. DIGITAL EQUITY TODAY such as apps and tablets. every day. Pew Research Center, 2017. Common Sense Media, 2013. Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2014. Children and parents frequently learn with, Parents are using new tools to find resources. Percent of parents of 2-to-10-year olds who want more information and about, technology together. Many families about how to nd educational media, by parental education: want more guidance Among families in which the parent and child both use the Internet: on raising their kids in the Digital Age... % % % 61HIGH SCHOOL 5SOME0 51COLLEGE OR OR LESS COLLEGE ADVANCED DEGREE Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2014. 77% of parents say they have helped their children with using digital technology. 69% of parents say that if they knew more positive parenting strategies, they would use them. say their children have helped them. 53% Zero to Three, 2016. Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2014. Social media is one of many sources for parenting advice and information... And while schools are trying to build Parents earning less than $50,000 per year say the More than half beer networks for in-classroom use... library helps them nd of parents in a national survey said information for their children, allows 59% found parenting information while looking at social media content. that they needed more guidance In 2016, free access to the Internet, and locating quality educational 88% of school districts were meeting the provides quiet study spaces, broader Federal Communications Commission’s 42% received social/emotional support on a parenting issue. media to support their SCHOOL selections of e-books, and more children’s learning. minimum connectivity goal of 100 kbps, connecting students to interactive learning.