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Articles 2004-2009
This is out of date. For more recent articles and commentary, please scroll to see the publications and articles I've written since starting at the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation, where I've been working since 2009. Thanks.
2009
"The Trouble With Touting the $10 to $1 Cost-Benefit Ratio for Pre-K," Early Ed Watch, April 15, 2009
"Some New and Surprising Links Between Early Skills and Later Academic Success," Early Ed Watch, April 3, 2009
"TV Research: Let's Get Smarter About What Kids See, Hear and Experience," Early Ed Watch, March 9, 2009
"Rewards for Students Under the Microsope," The New York Times, March 2, 2009.
A Series of Articles on Pre-K, Chicago and Arne Duncan, Early Ed Watch, February 26, 2009
"Snow Days, Recess and the Application of Some 'Flinty Chicago Toughness', " Early Ed Watch, January 29, 2009
"Computers Track the Elusive Metaphor," The Chronicle of Higher Education, January 23, 2009.
"Tracking Buying Patterns With Surveillance Cameras," The New York Times, January 4, 2009.
"Saving Hotels the Trouble of Calling Around," The New York Times, January 4, 2009.
"Wedding Guest, Insert Memory Card Here," The New York Times, January 4, 2009.
2008
Blog entries at The Wired Campus for The Chronicle of Higher Education
"Bringing Tenure Into the Digital Age," The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 12, 2008.
"New Machines Reproduce Custom Books on Demand," The Chronicle of Higher Education, December 5, 2008.
"A Wealth of Data, and Nobody in Charge," The Chronicle of Higher Education, November 21, 2008.
Digital Dialogue for Parents' Choice (Q-and-As with leading thinkers on childhood, education and innovation including Sir Ken Robinson, Barry Joseph and Nichole Pinkard.)
"Limiting, and Watching, What Your Children Watch," The New York Times, September 15, 2008.
Column on new research in child development for the June, July/Aug and September issues of babytalk magazine (Some examples: "Trouble with Verbs" and "Helpful Toddlers")
"Tech Support: Picture Your Name Here," The New York Times, July 27, 2008. (About photo-tagging and privacy issues on Facebook.)
"YouTube as a Field Trip (and Catalyst for Safer Video Searching)," Parents' Choice, June 2008.
"On Kids' TV, Get With the Program," The Washington Post's Outlook section, April 20, 2008.
"Changing Channels: A Year Without the Tube," Review of The Big Turnoff by Ellen Currey-Wilson, Brain, Child magazine, Spring issue.
"A Site to Bring Parents Up to Speed on Video Games," The New York Times, January 31, 2008.
Reviews of Sesame Workshop's First Steps and Leapster's Get Puzzled! for Parents' Choice
Opening remarks at "The New Frontier of Play," panel at the Sandbox Summit, Consumer Electronics Show, January 8, 2008
2007
Book Review of George's Secret Key to the Universe for Parents' Choice, December 2007
"Plug & Play," about TV-based toys for preschoolers, Parents' Choice, December 2007
"Outside the Box," an introduction to niche colleges, The New York Times, November 4, 2007
"Background noise can cause harm," The Washington Post's On Parenting blog, October 16, 2007
“The Genius of 'Baby Einstein', " Op-Ed for The New York Times, August 16, 2007.
“A Baby-Proof Method Tracks Just Where Little Ones Look,” The New York Times, July 31, 2007.
“Coming Soon: The Autobahn Network,” Federal Computer Weekly, May 28, 2007.
2006
“When Toddlers Turn On the TV and Actually Learn,” The New York Times, September 5, 2006.
“To Cut or Not to Cut,” (a story about abenteeism in college) The New York Times, July 30, 2006.
"Innovation: The College Reality Tour," The New York Times, January 8, 2006.
"Protect Your Identity, in Stores and Online," Consumer Reports Buying Guide, 2006. (in print only)
2005
"Tech-Inspired, but Toys all the Same," The New York Times, December 7, 2005.
"Hurricane Katrina: The Newspaper: Reporting, and Living Out, a Calamity," The New York Times, September 5, 2005.
"Where's Johnny? Smart Cards and Satellites Help Keep Track," The New York Times, August 3, 2005.
"There's Always Teaching," (a story about online courses for teachers), The New York Times, July 31, 2005.
"Soaring through Ancient Rome, Virtually," The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 22, 2005.
"Teach in Many Locations at Once: 5 Professors Connect Using Internet Video," The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 24, 2005.
2004
"Tuning into a problem: A Worried Mom Pursues the Facts About What TV Does to Its Youngest Viewers," The Washington Post, November 9, 2004.
"Pay to Play: Charges for Online Games are No Fantasy," Consumer Reports, December 2004.
"When Gadgets Get in the Way," (Circuits back-to-school issue) The New York Times, August 19, 2004.
And more
For an archive of what I've written for The New York Times, as a freelancer and staff writer, see this Times Topics page generated by the NYT's search engine.