The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Sesame Workshop’s independent research lab, has launched a new initiative to help edtech companies work directly with kids on developing better literacy-focused products in the US. 

This Sandbox for Literacy Innovations program has put out an open call for applications from edtech companies working on products or media designed to help three- to 17-year-olds in the US market develop English literacy skills. The application window is open until August 29. 

Selected participants will benefit from six months of mentorship (through a mix of virtual and in-person meetings in New York) and guidance from JGCC’s literacy and learning experts based on the center’s research. Underwritten by the Walton Family Foundation, the program is entirely free. 

Participants will also have the opportunity to “co-design” (pictured at top) with small groups of real kids whose ages match their product’s target demo. Getting active feedback and observing in real time how children actually use the technology should be a huge boon at an early stage of development. 

This initiative could help make a dent in the declining numbers of kids who read or enjoy reading. Just one in three eight- to 18-year-olds (32.7%) surveyed by the National Literacy Trust earlier this year said they liked to read, and only 18.7% read daily in their free time. 

JGCC teamed up with six tech companies—including LeapFrog and Piknik/Sago Mini—in April as the first partners to go through the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations consultation process. LeapFrog’s executive learning designer Ben Miller had this to say about the experience: “It’s amazing to be able to come into this space and know that you’re in great hands with people who want to help build better literacy experiences for kids and address our nation’s reading epidemic.”

Image courtesy of Sesame Workshop.