We’ve brought together experts in learning: from teachers and administrators to game developers and mobile innovators. Presentations from leaders in R&D will share hard numbers and facts. You will receive highly sought-after digital media analysis, including trends shaping the industry. You will also have conversations with startup leaders breaking the mold. Come and be inspired and walk away with hands-on insight in best-practices in marketing and product development.
Doors Open Pick your badge and head into the theater.
Show Welcome Conference Chair: Tonda Bunge Sellers, President, Digital Kids® Media Emcee: Ted Tagami, CEO, Co-founder, Magnitude.io
Keynote: From Madden to Feeling Mad: My Path from Sports Games to Learning Games Trip Hawkins, Co-Founder and CEO, If You Can Company A legend in the gaming industry, Electronic Arts and EA Sports founder Trip Hawkins who created Madden NFL, is transitioning into the learning games industry, with his company If You Can, aimed at teaching 6-12 year olds how to use social emotional learning (SEL) to combat bullying. Learn how this industry leader plans to sell the iPad game, IF, (inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem) in a historically difficult space with a new business model that combines storytelling, game-play mechanics and compassion. The first chapter is free, with a required subscription for subsequent chapters.
State of the Learning Game Market and Selling to Schools A lifelong love for learning is essential for a 21st century education and according to GlassLab, we are failing at this task as eighth graders spend less than six hours a week on homework and up to 23 hours a week playing video games. Jessica Lindl of Glass Labs and Esteban Sosnik of co. lab will discuss how gaming companies can reach the 90 percent of 2-17 year olds who play video games by re-engaging them through school. Their reliable hard statistics on size, opportunities and trends will be an eye-opener. To bring it full circle, Shazia Makhdumi, Global Head of Ed Apps & Games at Google Play will speak qualitatively about geting educational apps and games into the hands of students. - Jessica Lindl, Executive Director, GlassLab - Esteban Sosnik, Executive Director, co.lab - Shazia Makhdumi, Global Head of Educational Apps & Games BD, Google Play - Scott Traylor, Chief KID, CEO and Founder, 360KID (Moderator)
The Power of Play in Learning Playful experiences are learning experiences. Play is an adventure in exploration, understanding, and growth. Play is about fun, but we also know that play is a crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to education. Studies show that games and toys are a key factor in sparking kids interest in a STEM career. So how can today’s kids brands harness the power of play to create experiences that blend fun and science in a meaningful way? Hear from Natalie Shahmiri, Marketing Director of Animal Jam on how they’ve successfully bridged the gap between education and play for kids around the world. -Natalie Shahmiri, Marketing Director of Animal Jam
User Interface Design: Bridging Digital and Tactile Play A new hot gaming device called Osmo attaches kid-friendly games to an iPad and with the help of a small mirror, expands play outside the screen. Its natural user interface encourages both real-world and online social interaction. Seasoned engineer from the game industry (Lucasarts and Ubisoft) and Google Engineer turned CTO Jerome Scholler will discuss marrying tactile toys with tablets and the theory behind intuitive user interface. (UI) Find out why user interaction should be simple and productive for our touch screen generation we are creating for. - Jerome Scholler, CTO and Co-founder, Osmo
The World is Today’s Classroom Thanks to technology, the classroom has expanded from concrete walls and print textbooks to include kids teaching kids with collaborative virtual tools, building a future in computer science. As science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) gains momentum in schools, companies like Tynker are successfully connecting schools, teachers and parents to reach important STEM initiative. Find out how Adobe Youth Voices Community and Curriculum, Career Technical Education and Common Core can impact a students’ after-school learning time. Don’t miss the chance to learn what research practices work best within the pre-school digital and interactive space in order to create the most effective, compelling content. - Jori Clarke, CEO, Circle 1 Network/KidsCom.com - Jennifer Kotler, Ph.D., Vice President of Research & Evaluation, Sesame Workshop - Krishna Vedati, Co-Founder and CEO, Tynker - Jeff Larson, Art and Technology Teacher, Balboa High School - Dan Tynan, “Modern Family” columnist, Yahoo (Moderator)
It’s lunch time. Sponsored by the Toy Industry Association
A Tapestry of Research on Kids and Digital Media The author of much sought after research will sew together some of her recent work for us. Vicky Rideout will discuss parenting in today’s world by highlighting the findings of various studies on the topic such as: a report from Northwestern University, Parenting on the Age of Digital Technology, Common Sense Media’s Zero to Eight study and a research brief charting trends in reading rates and achievement over time and among different demographics for children and teens and the Cooney Center’s study on educational screen media and parents’ attitudes toward them. - Vicky Rideout, Editor of Reviews and Commentary, Journal of Children and Media
Step Behind the Curtain Into the PlayMatrix and Power Will Belong to You: Have you heard of the PlayMatrix where age, developmental stage, content and context, device(s) and platform(s), culture and business intersect? David Kleeman of PlayCollective will reveal how anyone who works with children, including large and small companies, educators and families and communities, will benefit from the think tank’s research initiative this fall. - David Kleeman, SVP, Insights Programs and PlayVangelist, PlayCollective
Educational and Institutional Disruption: Reinventing Today’s Library Recognizing the importance of keeping libraries relevant, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded eight libraries four museums $1.2 million in grants to design learning labs. Tune in as one of the 12 winners, the San Francisco Library 21st Century Teen Lab, explains how to engage youth through 21st Century Literacy, including exploration of how things work in our everyday lives; how Smart phones have altered how younger generations ask questions; and why education and libraries must reinvent themselves in order to survive. - Megan Anderson, Youth Centers Manager, San Francisco Public Library
Crowdfunding: Who Has Been Successful and Why? Crowdfunding, the practice of funding a project or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large number of people, is a popular practice among both individuals and companies. Vikas Gupta, Co-Founder of Play-i, with a background from Google and Amazon who surpassed his goal in 4 days, shares all the behind the scenes. While Josh Chan, CEO of LightUp and Alice Brooks, CEO of Roominate both Stanford University Entrepreneurs will share their hurdles as well and a new generation growing companies like Moff, Inc., will share their secrets for reaching Kickstarter goals within the campaign’s first week. This is an opportunity to learn how to break through the marketing clutter with effective, targeted programs that turn ideas into thriving businesses. - Alice Brooks, Co-Founder, Roominate - Josh Chan, Co-Founder & CEO, LightUp - June Lin, Head of Community, Wonder Workshop - Reyne Rice, CEO, Toy Trends, Inc. (Moderator) - Akinori Takahagi, CEO, Moff Inc.
Level Up – Designing Games That Grow With a Child Between the ages of 4 and 8, kids mature at a rapid pace, progressing from mastery of learning to read to solving long division problems. The dynamics of an early learner offers the game dev community a unique challenge in delivering games that level-up and provide a natural cadence in learning to truly challenge and engage past a few play sessions. This panel will delve into the gamefication of education and offer up lessons for creating games that grow with the child to reinforce learning skills, encourage steady engagement and inspire academic exploration. - Nancy MacIntyre, CEO, Fingerprint (Moderator) - Noelle Millholt, Co-Founder, COO, Speakaboos - Teri Rousseau, President Educational Services, Reading Rainbow - Abby Jenkins, Director of Content, PBS KIDS Digital - Azi Jamalian, Co-Founder & Chief Learning Officer, Tiggly - Yuval Rechter, SVP, BabyFirst Mobile
From Pitch to Purchase: Tried-and-True Strategies for Appealing to Educators How are digital products selected at the general buyer, administrator, and teacher levels? In this session, organized and moderated by Common Sense’s Jeff Knutson, you’ll learn from San Francisco Unified’s Educational Technology Supervisor Michele Dawson and Archbishop Mitty High School’s Director of EdTech Diane Darrow about their chief hopes and concerns when they select edtech products. You’ll hear about developer pitches that have worked with them and those that haven’t. You’ll also learn which product characteristics — from learning design to privacy to efficacy — are most compelling to them. Finally, you’ll hear from Launchpad Toys’ Andy Russell about how he’s honed his pitch and product based on feedback from testing in schools. - Andy Russell, Co-Founder, Launchpad Toys - Michele Dawson, Supervisor, Educational Technology at San Francisco Unified School District - Diane Darrow, Director of Educational Technology, Archbishop Mitty High School - Jeff Knutson, Senior Editor of Education, Common Sense Media (Moderator)
After Show Networking at Marriott Marquis, 39th Floor’s View Lounge on the Corner of Fourth and Mission
The show continues tomorrow
See the Digital Kids Summit Entertainment Day Schedule
