Growing Readers in a World of Screens and AI

Ten years ago, Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens brought together voices from the fields of early childhood, developmental science, literacy, media, and technology to offer guidance on helping children learn to read in a digital age. This was before ChatGPT, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and before students’ literacy scores declined even further.

Since then, technology has evolved at breakneck speed. Nearly two dozen states have enacted laws centered on the science of reading. New methods of co-designing tools with educators and students have emerged, and there is new research on what is working—and what is not.

Join us for discussions reflecting on the past decade and the challenges innovators and educators face in today’s shifting education landscape. We will issue a call to action for learner-centered tools and policies, stronger R&D, and investments to promote equity. There is an urgent need to shape policy, research, and tools so that all children—especially those struggling to read and in under-resourced communities—can learn to read and love reading.

Co-hosted by New America, the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, and the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading.

With thanks to the Walton Family Foundation for its support of the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations and to the Children’s Pritzker Initiative for supporting our 2015 book Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens.

Agenda

2:30 pm - 2:35 pm | Welcome and Why We’re Here

• Paul E. Butler, President & Chief Transformation Officer, New America

2:35 pm - 3:00 pm | 10 Years Since Tap Click Read: What Have We Learned Since?

• Lisa Guernsey, Senior Director, Birth to 12th Grade Policy; Co-Founder and Director, Learning Sciences Exchange, New America
• Michael H. Levine, Senior Advisor of Impact and Partnerships, Kapor Center
• Ralph Smith, Managing Director, The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading
• Moderated by Chris Berdik, Science journalist and former staff editor at the Atlantic and Mother Jones

3:00 pm - 3:20 pm | Translating the Science of Reading to Educational Technology

• Angelica DaSilva, PhD, Fellow for Literacy and Technology, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop

3:20 pm - 4:00 pm | The JGCC Sandbox Initiative: Innovation and Co-Design

• Dan Lee, Head of Product, Lirvana Labs
• Drew McCann, Head of Learning, LitLab.ai
• Youngna Park, Product Lead, Superfonik
• Moderated by Medha Tare, Senior Director of Research, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop

4:00 pm - 4:35 pm | Ensuring Tech Helps, Not Hurts, in Learning to Read: A Call to Action

• An-Me Chung, Director, Teaching, Learning & Tech; Strategic Advisor, Education Policy Program, New America
• Sara Schapiro, Executive Director, Alliance for Learning Innovation
• Michelle Kang, Chief Executive Officer, National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Kris Perry, Executive Director, Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development

4:35 pm - 4:45 pm | Reflections

• Lisa Guernsey, Senior Director, Birth to 12th Grade Policy; Co-Founder and Director, Learning Sciences Exchange, New America
• Michael H. Levine, Senior Advisor of Impact and Partnerships, Kapor Center

4:45 pm - 5:30 pm | Reception

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