The Sesame Workshop unveiled its Joan Ganz Cooney Center today, named after Sesame Street's creator and aimed at literacy development. The center will "conduct and support research, create new media properties, and stimulate a national dialogue on how interactive technologies can be utilized to help accelerate children’s learning," according to a release. Its first report, "The Enduring Power of Pow! Wham!: Children, Digital Media, and Our Nation’s Future," finds that while the digital media play a huge role in kids' lives, they rarely provide educational content. The center has appointed three leaders: Michael H. Levine has been named executive director; Ann My Thai will oversee partnerships with high-tech and gaming industries and direct organization and growth; and Dixie Ching will direct the center's research.
