The concept of Children’s Television by Joan Ganz Cooney in the age of digital media

Abstract

J.G. Cooney’s children’s television project from the late 1960s is still developing, subject to change and evaluation. It was based on the belief that television can teach. “Sesame Street” turned out to be the most successful educational program for preschoolers. It was the result of a common effort of educators, psychologists and television producers. After a few decades, in a changed media landscape, when the screens became more and more present, again we can say that they can teach. This is mainly due to the possibility of focusing the child’s attention through digital tools. The article uses the method of historical analysis. It is used on the media and communication research to determine the context and background of the facts studied. In this article, the basic historical sources are the 1966 report by J.G. Conney and the reconstruction of the original project of educational television for children. The author of the report herself encourages a historical analysis of the text and its consequences by re-issuing the report, this time in a digital form in 2019. J.G. Cooney based her model on three basic pillars: pedagogy, psychology and television workshop. However, the television as it was then was not as “invasive” as the contemporary media, although it had already evoked very critical assessments. This contributed, among other things, to the discussion on the need to ensure public interest in the media. One of its elements is the use of technology for educational purposes. Today, children fulfill their developmental needs with the help of other tools and digital technologies hermetically fill their living environment. This situation is much more urgent than at the time of the creation of “Sesame Street” where many families (e.g. poor or immigrant ones) did not have such a wide access to technology. When creating the concept of using digital tools in education, the first project by J.G. Cooney should be treated as a key inspiration for creating a new model. As with the educational television project, in order to achieve the didactic goals, the cooperation of educators, psychologists and ICT specialists is needed. Only proper pedagogical planning can ensure success in the use of digital tools in didactics.