Michael H. Levine is the founding executive director of The Joan Ganz Cooney Center, an independent research group founded by Sesame Workshop focused on fostering innovation in children's learning through digital media. He was recently appointed as Sesame Workshop’s first Chief Knowledge Officer.
Prior to founding the Cooney Center, Levine served as Vice President of New Media and Executive Director of Education for Asia Society, managing interactive media and educational initiatives to promote understanding of Asia and other world regions, languages, and cultures. Previously, he oversaw the Carnegie Corporation of New York's work in early childhood development, educational media, and primary grades reform as Deputy Chair and Senior Program Officer. Levine also served as a senior assistant to the New York City Schools Chancellor, where he directed dropout prevention, after-school, and early childhood initiatives. In 2014 he was invited to join the inaugural class of Disruptor Foundation Fellows, alongside Common Sense Media founder Jim Steyer and Matthew Stepka of Google.org.
Policy work
Levine has been an adviser to several government agencies including the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, PBS, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and writes frequently for policy-oriented and media industry audiences including , Democracy Journal, and Education Week. He also occasionally appears at public events to speak on the topic of education and media, most notably at in 2010, 2013 BETT Awards, at the Cooney Center's inaugural symposium and, more recently, at the in Sydney, Australia. Through the Cooney Center, Levine has convened forums on education and policy, such as and . Levine serves on numerous nonprofit boards and advisory councils, including Forum for Youth Investment, Teach For America, We Are Family Foundation, , and the Léman School. In April 2014, former Governor of South CarolinaBev Perdue announced her appointment of Dr. Levine to DigiLEARN's Board of Directors.
Select publications
Guernsey, L, & Levine, M.H. Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in A World of Screens. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 2015.
Levine, M. H., Takeuchi, L., & Vaala S. E.. Blumberg, F. Games in a Digital Age: Supporting a New Ecology of Learning. In Blumberg, F., Learning by playing: Frontiers of video gaming in education. New York: Oxford University Press.
Levine, M. & Vaala, S. E. Games for Learning: Vast Wasteland or a Digital Promise?. In Blumberg, F., & Fisch, S. M., Digital games: A context for cognitive development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Barron, B., Cayton-Hodges, G., Bofferding, L., Copple, C., Darling-Hammond, L., & Levine, M.. Take a Giant Step: A Blueprint for Teaching Children in a Digital Age. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop
Gee, J.P., & Levine, M.H.. "The Digital Teachers Corps: Closing America's Literacy Gap." Progressive Policy Institute. Retrieved from: http://progressivepolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/09.2011-Levine_Gee-The_Digital_Teachers_Corps.pdf
Guernsey, L., Levine M., Chiong C., and Severns M "Pioneering Literacy: In the Digital Wild West: Empowering Parents and Educators: http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/pioneering-literacy/
Santo, Rafi & Levine, M. "Upgrading Afterschool: Common Sense Shifts in Expanded Learning for a Digital Age." Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success. Collaborative Communications Group. Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success. Collaborative Communications Group, 3 Feb. 2013. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
Levine, M. H. "Take a Giant Step: Investing in Preschool Education In Emerging Nations." Phi Delta Kappan87: p. 196-200.
Levine, M. H., & Gershenfeld, A.,. "Scaling Up a Videogame-learning Link - Isn't It Time We Leveled Up" Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/11/09/11levine.h31.html
Levine, M.H., & Wojcicki, E.. "Teaching for a Shared Future: Think Global." Education Week. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/10/13/07levine_ep.h30.html
Levine, M. and Gee, J.P.. "TV Guidance." Democracy Journal. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20120516185919/http://www.democracyjournal.org/12/6673.php
Stevens, H. "Bringing up the iKid generation: How to incorporate tech into your children's lives". http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-15/features/sc-cons-0913-savvy-shopper-kid-tech-20120915_1_ipad-apps-empty-calories-devices
Thai, A., Lowenstein, D., Ching, D., & Rejeski, D., Foreword in Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health.. New York: The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop.
