ABSTRACT
Decades of research have attested to the power of media to educate children (see, e.g., Fisch, 2004 ; Honey & Hilton, 2012 ; Kirkorian & Anderson, 2011 for reviews). Considering that 98% of American children below the age of 9 years have at least one television set at home, 66% have a video game player, and 40% have a tablet (Rideout & Saphir, 2013 ), the ubiquity of media in children’s lives presents a unique window through which to provide substantive educational experiences to a broad and diverse audience of children, including those who may be underserved by formal and informal education. With this in mind, the US Department of Education’s Ready to Learn program is designed to promote early learning and school readiness (particularly among low-income children) by supporting the development, production, and use of educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families.
