CES to Feature Toys
This article originally appeared in SLJ’s Extra Helping. Sign up now!
Lauren Barack -- School Library Journal, 10/13/2008 10:25:00 AM
Toys aren’t merely child’s play. Consider the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which has invited toy manufacturers to set up shop at the January 2009 event. The January 8–11, 2009 exhibit will feature a first ever Kids@Play summit.Kids@Play will offer exhibitions, presentations, and talks from some of the leaders in the digital toy realm along with experts in education and learning. Speakers include Gary Knell, president and CEO of Sesame Workshop, who will discuss how kids interact and adopt mobile phones, as well as Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, who will chat about teens and their experiences in the online world for the conference’s second day on January 9.
As most educators know, technology is changing not just the way children play—but how they learn. As computers become ubiquitous in schools and kids turn more and more to digital devices to communicate—and gather information—toymakers have adopted much of the technology that adults embrace as well.
However, knowing how to fuse technology with educational fun often rides a fine line between learning and distraction. While many libraries and schools have been swift in adopting digital learning tools, they also understand the need to keep students focused.
That’s what Kids@Play conference promoters hope attendees will glean—new ways to incorporate cutting digital technology into toys the best way possible. “After watching the CEA [Consumer Electronics Association] and toy industries grow up side by side, I’m convinced that CES is the crucial place where the two intersect to create a new generation of products and services that are innovative, inspiring and safe,” said Robin Raskin, founder of the Kids@Play summit, in a statement.
