Council to study use of Digital Media by Hispanic and Latino Families.

The National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL) and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop announce the formation of the Aprendiendo Juntos (“Learning Together”) Council (AJC). This multi-sector group of researchers, practitioners and policy experts will identify models and practical strategies that improve educational outcomes for Hispanic-Latino families through the deployment of digital technologies. The Council will utilize research in order to influence public and private sector investments in effective programs and practices.

The Council is developing new studies on a regional and national scale that focus on Hispanic-Latino families’ digital technology usage. Council members have completed a report reviewing existing research and best practices in the field, which is released today.

This summer, the Council will support innovative field studies directed by Dr. Vikki Katz of Rutgers University examining the roll-out of the national Connect2Compete digital media literacy initiative in select districts of California and Arizona. The Council will also conduct a special analysis of a national survey conducted by Ellen Wartella of Northwestern University of media usage by Latino parents and their children ages 0-10, to be released fall 2013.

“At NCFL we are continually working to develop, implement and improve innovative programs to support and accelerate intergenerational learning among families,” said Emily Kirkpatrick, vice president of NCFL. “The Aprendiendo Juntos Council is a great step towards linking research to program development, merging new technologies with vital learning opportunities.”

“Latino and Hispanic families are pioneers in adapting new technologies in their communications practices and approaches to parenting and learning,” said Dr. Michael H. Levine, executive director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. “The new AJC initiative is intended to better understand those research-based practices and policies that will support young families to grow and prosper in a digital age.”

In June 2012, NCFL convened the first Hispanic-Latino Families and Digital Technologies Forum in partnership with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and the National Council of La Raza. The Forum brought together some of the United States’ best researchers, innovators, thought leaders and educators dedicated to the vital topic of how, and in which contexts, today’s Hispanic-Latino families are learning from the rapidly changing innovations in information communications technologies. The Aprendiendo Juntos Council was established as a new working group.

For more information at http://www.famlit.org>