Joan Ganz Cooney Center: Into the Digital Future

Daniel Kelley is the associate director for the Center of Technology and Society at the Anti-Defamation League. Daniel joins Laura and Jordan to discuss how online hate manifests in online spaces, particularly in the online games world, and how positive steps are being taken by civil society and technology companies to combat these issues.

Amanda LaTasha Armstrong joins Jordan and Laura to discuss issues around race and representation in games and online platforms. They discuss thinking about who's represented in media—from television to games. They discuss the power dynamics and social issues that children experience within real-world environments, and how technology and media can perpetuate these issues.

Kimberly Voll is a game developer, researcher, and co-founder of the Fair Play Alliance. In this episode, Kimberly joins Laura and Jordan to talk about her earliest experiences with video games, her interest in artificial intelligence, understanding games as social ecosystems, and the challenges of combating toxicity in digital spaces.

Teens & tweens have complex interests, questions, and opinions, their own devices & fewer options in educational media than younger children. Michael Preston discusses the “missing middle” audience, approaches to playful learning, and redefining digital wellbeing on the #intothedigitalfuture podcast

Alicia Blum Ross is a Public Policy Lead for Kids and Families at Google and the co-author of Parenting for a Digital Future: How Hopes and Fears about Technology Shape Children's Lives. In this episode, Laura and Jordan welcome Alicia to discuss how parenting has changed in response to technology, balancing the benefits for children against the risks, and the importance of digital literacy.

“Pursue yourself!” Roblox developer Quazar shares his story of self-expression and identity through digital media on the #intothedigtialfuture podcast. For anyone who has ever felt different, outside, or even bullied, online spaces for community and creativity can be healthy and supportive outlets. Hear how Quazar's Vision Park, a quirky 1980s-themed, neon theme park has become a safe digital place for players to escape to and find community.

During the pandemic, parents found creative ways to make family time special, with movie nights, multigenerational Tiktok dances, and even hanging out in Roblox with their kids. “Families are really doing their best to make this time as special as they can manage to make it,” says David Kleeman, Senior Vice President of Global Trends at Dubit. Tune in to hear more about what experts are seeing this year as we all navigate a reality where “down on the corner is up on the server.”

What are Child Rights in our digital world? Sonia Livingstone is working to ensure a balanced approach to design and policy to allow kids to make the most of opportunities afforded by technology while protecting them. Balance might mean weighing the risks of being online with opportunities for learning, or finding approaches to parenting that let the family strike a balance with digital spaces and face-to-face experiences.

Parenting in a pandemic has forced kids to rely on technology more than ever before, yet as we work through this challenging time, Dr. Jenny Radesky hopes for a silver lining where parents can use the time together to better understand their kids' relationships to technology. Join Jordan Shapiro (Senior Fellow, Joan Ganz Cooney Center) and Laura Higgins (Director of Community Safety & Digital Civility, Roblox) as they discuss parenting, digital wellbeing, and the possibilities of child-centered design to improve health and learning with Dr. Radesky.