{"id":25683,"date":"2025-03-28T12:01:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T16:01:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/?post_type=initiative&#038;p=25683"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:29:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T16:29:23","slug":"sandbox-for-literacy-innovations","status":"publish","type":"initiative","link":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/initiative\/sandbox\/sandbox-for-literacy-innovations\/","title":{"rendered":"Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"core-blocks-wrapper default-cnt\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"365\" height=\"268\" src=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-365x268.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26263\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-365x268.png 365w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-1024x752.png 1024w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-768x564.png 768w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-1536x1127.png 1536w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-2048x1503.png 2048w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-400x294.png 400w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/SLI-banner-thumbnail-with-illustration-1-600x440.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 365px) 100vw, 365px\"><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations aims to help developers incorporate evidence-based research and co-design methods with kids to create more effective literacy products. With generous support from the Walton Family Foundation, we are working with teams whose products are at an early stage in the development process to strengthen their literacy pedagogy and co-design more engaging and effective edtech with children. We collaborate with developers who are creating products that address literacy skills for a diverse population of learners across age ranges, from preschool to tweens and teens.<\/span><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Participating companies work with Cooney Center experts over a six-month period to infuse early-stage products with research-based approaches to literacy development, co-design with children, and designing for the whole child. We will then continue to track the uptake of design choices and product performance in the classroom or at home.<\/span><\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Applications are now closed.<\/span><\/h4><figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Joan-Ganz-Cooney-Center-SLI-partnership-overview-new.jpg\" alt=\"\"><\/figure><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Partnership Criteria<\/h4><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Sandbox for Literacy Innovations will be open to all entities who are:<\/span><\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">working on an interactive technology or media supporting English literacy development;\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">for an audience of children or youth (ages 3-17) for use in either school or at home; and\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with a United States market focus.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Partners must be willing and able to commit to a six-month engagement including regular virtual meetings and in-person co-design sessions in New York City, and ongoing periodic reporting\/engagement for two additional years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn more about the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations:<\/h4><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"About the Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U4WuatZwAn0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Product Partners<\/h4><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learn more about our <a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/04\/28\/six-partners-join-the-joan-ganz-cooney-center-sandbox-for-literacy-innovations\/\">current product partners here<\/a> and read what they have had to say about the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations below:<\/p><div style=\"position: relative; width: 100%; height: 0; padding-top: 56.2500%; padding-bottom: 0; box-shadow: 0 2px 8px 0 rgba(63,69,81,0.16); margin-top: 1.6em; margin-bottom: 0.9em; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 8px; will-change: transform;\"><iframe style=\"position: absolute; width: 100%; height: 100%; top: 0; left: 0; border: none; padding: 0; margin: 0;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.canva.com\/design\/DAGr76ei7I4\/DaaY0SJdKYNtIXvU27WlBA\/view?embed\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br><\/iframe><\/div><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00a0<\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Blog posts about the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations<\/h4><ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2026\/05\/18\/evidence-rigor-and-the-race-to-market\/\">Evidence, Rigor, and the Race to Market<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2026\/02\/09\/from-ai-reading-coaches-to-audio-games\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"27408\">From AI Reading Coaches to Audio Games: Meet the Sandbox\u2019s New Literacy Innovators<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/06\/10\/embedding-literacy-expertise-in-edtech-innovation\/\">The Cooney Center Sandbox: Embedding Literacy Expertise in Edtech Innovation<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/04\/28\/six-partners-join-the-joan-ganz-cooney-center-sandbox-for-literacy-innovations\/\">Six Partners Join the Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/04\/21\/experts-guide-innovations\/\">Experts Guide Innovations in Literacy Learning<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/03\/18\/sticky-notes-clay-and-big-ideas\/\">Sticky Notes, Clay, and Big Ideas: The Magic of Co-Designing Edtech with Kids<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/2025\/02\/18\/building-a-sandbox-for-literacy-innovation\/\">Building a Sandbox for Literacy Innovation<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Publications<\/h4><figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"647\" data-id=\"27870\" src=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/frombigideastobigreaders_cover_thumb.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27870\" style=\"width:250px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/frombigideastobigreaders_cover_thumb.png 500w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/frombigideastobigreaders_cover_thumb-216x280.png 216w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/frombigideastobigreaders_cover_thumb-320x414.png 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/publication\/from-big-ideas-to-big-readers\/\">From Big Ideas to Big Readers: Experts Guiding Innovations in Literacy Edtech<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"776\" data-id=\"27872\" src=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/translatingliteracyresearch_cover_web.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27872\" style=\"width:251px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/translatingliteracyresearch_cover_web.png 600w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/translatingliteracyresearch_cover_web-216x280.png 216w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/translatingliteracyresearch_cover_web-320x414.png 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/publication\/translating-literacy-research\/\" data-type=\"publications\" data-id=\"27850\">Translating literacy research to edtech: What we have learned to support product development<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" data-id=\"27814\" src=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/codesignwithkidstoolkit_carousel.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27814\" srcset=\"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/codesignwithkidstoolkit_carousel.png 750w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/codesignwithkidstoolkit_carousel-280x187.png 280w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/codesignwithkidstoolkit_carousel-320x213.png 320w, https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/codesignwithkidstoolkit_carousel-640x427.png 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/codesignwithkids.org\">Co-Design with Kids Toolkit<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><br clear=\"all\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Watch more videos about the Sandbox for Literacy Innovations and Co-Design<\/h4><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"About the Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U4WuatZwAn0?list=PLUsmpPIJgsXCu9t7qZ7StOYwa2_6ASflx\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Joan Ganz Cooney Center Sandbox for Literacy Innovations aims to help developers incorporate evidence-based research and co-design methods with kids to create more effective literacy products. With generous support","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26263,"parent":23552,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[1902,211,43,229,1790,435,1801,1901],"coauthors":[165],"class_list":["post-25683","initiative","type-initiative","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-consultation","tag-developers","tag-edtech","tag-literacy","tag-pedagogy","tag-reading","tag-sandbox","tag-writing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/initiative\/25683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/initiative"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/initiative"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25683"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/initiative\/25683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27889,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/initiative\/25683\/revisions\/27889"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/initiative\/23552"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25683"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joanganzcooneycenter.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}