:: Sandbox Summit ::

The New Playing Fields:
Building a 21st Century Sandbox

September 24, 2008

Katie Murphy Amphitheatre | Seventh Avenue at 27th Street | New York, New York 10001

The second Sandbox Summit, held in New York City on Wednesday, September 24, 2008, focused on ways today’s toys can foster creativity and critical thinking, skills that we rarely worried about when kids were happily playing with classic blocks and Playdoh.

But now that technology has become omnipresent in almost every new toy, the concern is that the products too often do the playing, while the kids do the watching. Dolls come with complete back stories; animals repeat the phrases they utter on TV; and so-called learning toys preach rather than teach.

The cofounders of Sandbox Summit, Claire Green and Wendy Smolen, put forth the challenge “How can we ensure that our children become active users, and not passive consumers of technology?” READ THE COMPLETE EVENT SUMMARY >

Agenda

Click links below to hear audio or click here to download all audio presentations as a single zipped file.

8:30 - 9:10 am | Welcome Remarks and Keynote
Claire Green and Wendy Smolen, Cofounders, Sandbox Summit
Andy Berndt, Managing Director, Google Creative Lab

We want our kids to be able to function in organizations that respect creativity, critical thinking,
and out-of-the-box solutions. How can we help them develop the skills they need to get there?

9:15 - 10:00 am | Panel Discussion
Play is the Way Kids Learn: What Do We Really Want Toys to Teach Them?

Moderator: Alexandra Kennedy, Editorial Director for Wondertime and Family Fun Magazines

Panelists: Jim Gray, Ed.D., Director of Learning, Leapfrog Enterprises; Michael McNally, Brand Relations Director, LEGO Systems; Mitchel Resnick, PhD., Professor of Learning Research, MIT Media Lab; Nancy Schulman, Director, 92nd Street Y Nursery School

10:15 - 10:40 am | Harris Interactive Presentation
Cracking the Toy Code: What Real Kids Want from Toys

Peter Shafer, Vice President, Harris Interactive

11:00 - 11:45 am | Panel Discussion
It All Comes Back to Innovation: The New Paradigm of Play

Moderator: Maggie Jackson, Journalist, Boston Globe, and author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age

Panelists:Alice Cahn, Vice President of Social Responsibility, Cartoon Network; Larry Hitchcock, Chief Executive Officer, Kidthing.com; Deborah Linebarger, Ph.D, Assistant Professor of Communication, University of Pennsylvania; Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D, Author, Einstein Never Used Flashcards

11:50 - 12:15 am | Fun Follows Function: Ten Tips for Developing Quality Toys
Carly Shuler, Fellow, Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, Educational Technologist

12:20 - 1:05 pm | Panel Discussion
Show and Tell: Stocking the Digital Playroom

Moderator: Barry Joseph, Global Kids, Inc., Director of the Online Leadership Program

Presenters: Margaret Johnson, Cofounder, Sabi Inc.; Mike Nakamura, Founder and CEO, Senario; Erik Beck, Network Producer, NextNewNetworks, Scott Arpajian, Cofounder, Dizzywood

1:10 - 1:30 pm | Preschool Gets Web Wise: Welcome to Sesame Street's Digital Neighborhood
Makeda Mays, Director of Education and Research, Digital Media at Sesame Workshop

Thanks to 360KID for audio recordings. Check back for links to videos recordings of sessions.

Speakers
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Keynote Speaker

Andy Berndt

Panelists and Speakers

Alix Kennedy

Jim Gray

Michael McNally

Mitchel Resnick

Nancy Schulman

Peter Shafer

Maggie Jackson

Alice Cahn

Larry Hitchcock

Deborah Linebarger

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Mike Nakamura

Margaret Johnson

Erik Beck

Scott Arpajian

Barry Joseph

Carla Engelbrecht Fisher

Carly Shuler

Makeda Mays