Warren Buckleitner's Media Links Page

Welcome to Warren Buckleitner's Media Links Page

(Last update, February 2010).

This page is designed to handle requests for biographical information for my speaking engagements.
If you don't find what you're looking for here, call 908-284-0404.

Standard Biography, 173 words (call if you need longer or shorter versions, or just trim off the stuff on the end) Warren Buckleitner is an expert on children and technology. A former preschool, elementary and college teacher, he has provided testimony to the FTC and the US Congress and speaks at education and library conferences around the world. In 2003, he started contributing to the New York Times, and today he covers kid's technology for the popular Gadgetwise blog. He also contributes to Scholastic Parent & Child, Parents and KidScreen, and he is the founding editor of Children's Technology Review. He holds a degrees in elementary education from Central Michigan University (Cum Laude), an MA in early childhood education (Pacific Oaks College) and a doctorate in educational psychology from Michigan State University. He founder of the Dust or Magic Institute on the Design of Children's Interactive Media and the Mediatech Foundation, a non-profit community technology center housed in his town's library, where also serves as a Trustee. He is the coordinator for Kids @ Play, a one day conference on children and technology that takes place at the Consumer Electronics Show; and is home to the KAPi Awards. He and his wife (Ellen Wolock, Ed.D., the Director of Early Childhood for New Jersey) share a home with two dogs, three cats and two teenage daughters. A former music major, Buckleitner plays trumpet in a Dixieland Jazz band.

Head shots: These are all 180 pixels wide. For higher resolution versions, click the image.
There are more informal photos on my facebook page.

Warren Buckleitner Daughters
Click my nose for a higher resolution version. Captions: In the middle with daughters, Sarah (left) and Jenna (right) who are responsible for the grey hair. On the right, sans beard, giving testimony to the US Congress in 2007.

Speaking & Keynotes
Michigan Virtual University was one of my hardest speeches ever, partly because Patrick Dickson, my noble doctoral advisor introduced me and then sat in the front row with a gleam in his eye. I talked about the future of educational technology. You can view it on a Windows browser here. Other talks include the Kids @ Play at CES (covered here by Newsweek), ALA 2008 as part of the ALSC ChildTech committee on the Mediatech Foundation: Mixing Gaming Culture With Library Culture.

Writing Samples: Newspapers
The New York Times I have been a regular contributor to the New York Times since 2003 (78+ articles or newswatch items, starting in 2003). For example, on the evolution of technology in toys. Another, So Young, So Gadgeted was an attempt to link Piagetian stages with technology.

Writing Samples: Published Research, Journals and Books

Pocket Rockets: The Past, Present, and Future of Childrens Portable Computing. In: Allison Druin, editor: Mobile Technology for Children, Boston: Morgan Kaufmann, 2009, pp. 43-61. This was an important chapter because it enabled me to formally document the importance of the year 2007 as a high water mark for the role of digital technologies in the lives of children.
What happens when young children go online? Consumer Reports WebWatch. In the Spring of 2008, I finished an ethnographic project examining how younger children use the Internet. See Like Taking Candy From a Baby: How Young Children Interact with Online Environments. We asked parents and older brothers/sisters to be the data collectors, giving them low cost Canon camcorders to record what happened when young children --aged 3-to 8-years, do when they go online. Some of the video samples are posted on YouTube. Beau Brendler and Jorgen Wouters of CWW provided essental support for this report.
Online SAT Test Prep. From 2005-06 I worked with Linda Bradway and a talented editing team at ConsumerWebwatch to test ten commercial online SAT test prep services. The resulting paper was summarized in the September 2006 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.
ERIC database. Here's a listing of 16 citings that go back over the years. There are some links to some good articles that appeared in Child Care Information Exchange, with Drs. Charles Hohman and Kerry Olsen.
Dissertation. Dry, but invigorating. But still dry. A shortened and easier to read version is in the Fall 06 edition of Early Education and Development Journal 17(3), 489-505, titled "The Relationship Between Software Design and Children's Engagement." I particularly love to speak to graduate programs -- or any other audience forced to listen -- on the topic of engagement and design.
Google Scholar comes up with a mish-mosh of 100 or so citations.
State Of Children's Software Evaluation, the: Yesterday, Today and in the 21st Century published in Information Technology in Childhood Education (1999), 211-220 was an important article.
School Library Journal did a profile on Mediatech Foundation in the Spring of 2008.

Writing Samples: Parenting Magazines

Nick Jr. Family Magazine (PDF) It was always a pleasure to work with Tracey Keevan and the staff at Nick Jr. to create the annual "Best Video Games for Kids awards" segment. Sadly, NickJR stopped printing in the Spring of 2007; we will continue this effort with Parents Magazine.
PARADE Magazine I've been working with PARADE now for many years, creating biannual reviews of child and family technology products.
Parents Magazine's "Hottest Video Games of the Year" --takes about three months of research over the summer to put together.
Scholastic Parent & Child. As an Editorial Consultant, I have helped P&C with software and video game reviews for many years, and write a regular column with about five product selections per issue. In the December 2008, I did a cover story that looked at five most essential skills that digital kids need to have.
Disney Family.com. I wrote three articles in the Fall of 2008 and did some TV work as well.

Writing Samples: Teaching/Education Sites& Magazines

Child Care Information Exchange. Practical articles on using technology in ECE settings. This publication is a must read for all early childhood educators.
District Administration. A column on technology from 1995 to 2001.
Early Childhood Today. Software columns, reviews and advice from 1991 to present. See also this article on assessment, or this cover story (April 2007) on how to help young children find and use information.
Instructor Magazine. Ann Orr and I wrote several columns on software for many years.
School Library Journal. Software recommendations for librarians.

TV and Radio

National Public Radio (this is an audio file). All Things Considered, January 19, 2007. This is a conversation with NPR reporter Lynn Neary on social sites for children. (Hats off to NPR for nailing this story; free of hype). I also contributed to a segment on the use of technology for home schooling.
NBC Evening News. This is a slanted April 23, 2007 segment for NBC on social networking sites like Club Penguin and Webkinz. There seems to be a lack of common sense in the design of this story.
CNN. I've contributed to segments on children's technology products since 2004.
Finally, here's my YouTube channel.

Editorial Guidelines
My relationship with the industry I review and write about is defined and protected by CTR's Editorial Guidelines. These define our mission of putting children ahead of commercial interests. If you'd like to hire me to speak to your group, or any other activity where money, products or tropical vacations change hands, please remember that I can't take money or favors -- informal or informal -- from organizations whose products I might review.

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Thanks for your interest!

W. Buckleitner

Updated March 2010, Children's Technology Review