pbs kids

From Studio G (not the Garage), it's the PBS Kids Go! classic reality game show. We're talking the challenges, the science, the creativity, and even the half-time quiz show! It's Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman! Listen today. 

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Today, Maria talks with Sonia Tiwari, a learning scientist and PhD candidate in Learning, Design, and Technology at Penn State University. Through her research, Sonia explores how children learn in informal environments using educational media and maker activities. She uses these insights to inform the design of creative learning environments, be it a classroom, a summer camp or a maker workshop.

Trained in electronic media, design and animation, she worked as a visual, game & user experience designer in the San Francisco Bay Area. Through her experience in educational games, she discovered the beauty of learning science and found her calling in early childhood education research. 

If you are a parent, you will learn a plethora of educational media resources to help you design the best learning activities for your children at home. 

If you are an industry designer, you will be inspired by Sonia’s journey that will offer you insights on how to explore and design a career path in game-based learning both in formal and informal environments. 

And if you are a professor in higher education, Sonia has a request and a call-to-action for you: when you are looking for a grad student, please be open-minded and welcome people with different backgrounds. 

This is a wonderful conversation with a visual designer and learning scientist who wants to put a smile on the face of learners by designing resources that are useful, beautiful, playful and funny!

 Where to find more about Sonia Tiwari:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Visual Design Portfolio

Mentioned in this episode:

PBS KIDS

Curious George on PBS KIDS

Peg + Cat on PBS KIDS

Resources for Parents on PBS KIDS

iNaturalist by National Geographic

Why Game Designers & Game Researchers Should Meet More Often

Can Color Influence Learning?

Yasmin Kafai

 Listen to this episode and explore:

How Sonia embraced her curiosity and creativity in high school (4:10)

Studying electronic media in India and character animation at the Academy of Art in San Francisco (6:32)

Being supported by her family to pursue her creative endeavors to (8:07)

Coming to the US to specialize in animation before working in the game industry (9:26)

Reflecting on the skills, Sonia developed as a visual and game designer (11:45)

How Sonia describes herself in one word (14:00)

Her decision to pursue her PhD in Learning, Design and Technology at Penn State University (14:42)

Sonia’s research in exploring children’s learning experiences using educational media (16:06)

How to assess that their children are learning through media engagement (19:21)

Examples of learning environments that Sonia designed in classroom and summer camp (21:42)

How Sonia incorporates her creative skills into the design of informal learning environments (25:24)  

The challenges that academic researchers face while designing educational games (27:07)

How traditional instructional designers can leverage the wealth of creative designers in the industry (30:22) 

Insights and resources for parents to help them design a learning environment at home (33:13)

Sonia’s ideas for designers who want to innovate in the future of learning from home (35:04)

How to design engaging maker activities online plus one example from Sonia  (36:51)

How to embrace storytelling in the design of learning experiences (39:25)

The role of age and culture in how children engage with educational media (41:48)

How Sonia’s son brings new meaning and contributes to her research (44:37)

Challenges and opportunities in the future of early childhood education; the role of practitioners and researchers (46:08)

The need to create opportunities for industry designers who want to build a career in Education (51:38)

What Sonia wants to leave her mark on within her lifetime (55:31)

Production team:

Host & Producer: Maria Xenidou

Introduction Voice: David Bourne

 Contact us:

impactlearningpodcast(at)gmail.com

 Music credits:

Like Lee performed by The Mini Vandals

Transition sounds: Swamp Walks performed by Jingle Punks

In this episode, Jess and Jess discuss the interesting background and career of Linda Simensky, Head of Content Creation for PBS Kids Network. How much tv is too much tv for our kids?  And does the quality outweigh the quantity? What about YouTube? Bad, Ok, Terrible? The Two Jess(es) ask this children's television expert everything!

Meet Linda!

As the Head of PBS KIDS Content, Linda Simensky collaborates with producers, co-production partners, PBS station programmers, and distributors throughout the development, production, post-production, broadcast and digital phases for PBS KIDS content. She leads the development of a multi-platform video content strategy, designed to respond to the quickly evolving media environment and meet the needs of current and future viewers. She spearheads new, experimental approaches for emerging platforms to engage kids and support their learning, developing a slate of content that represents the next generation of children. 
 
 Linda’s efforts in transforming PBS KIDS’ lineup for children over the past several years have brought PBS to the forefront of the children’s media space. The American public rates PBS KIDS as the most trusted educational media brand for children, and PBS KIDS programs consistently rank highly with moms and preschoolers. PBS KIDS has been named Channel of the Year in Kidscreen’s broadcasting awards for five out of the past seven years.

 Since joining PBS in 2003, Linda has worked with renowned producers to develop hit shows that now reach 72% of all kids ages 2-8 in the U.S. – from DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD and DINOSAUR TRAIN, to WILD KRATTS and ODD SQUAD.
 
 Before joining PBS, Linda was Senior Vice President of Original Animation for Cartoon Network, where she oversaw development and series production of "The Powerpuff Girls," among others. She began her career working for nine years at Nickelodeon, where she helped build the animation department and launch the popular series "Rugrats," "Doug" and "The Ren & Stimpy Show."  Linda is a frequent speaker and writer on the topic of children’s programming; she has presented at numerous animation and television conferences and her work has appeared in several books on animation and children’s media. She also teaches a course on “Contemporary Issues in Animation” at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Rebecca Levey, Amy Oztan, and Andrea Smith talk with Sara DeWitt about how parents can use tech and screens to help their kids' development.