Common Sense Media

By Christopher Lee on October 2, 2015

Common Sense Media is a non profit organization dedicated to improving media and technology choices for children, parents, educators, and policy makers. Their primary goal is to provide unbiased opinions, credible advice, and relevant resources regarding the use of technology based tools for education. The premise behind this non-profit venture is that there is an overwhelming amount of educational tools that currently exist in the market today and it has becoming increasingly difficulty for parents, educators or policy makers to properly select and evaluate them meaningfully. Enter Common Sense Media, a web portal that offers an assortment of resources, tools and applications for the purpose of collaborative evaluation of market based educational technology.  Common Sense Media is divided into three main streams of services/products.

Common Sense Media

An extensive library of ratings and reviews for movies, games, apps, TV shows, websites, books, and music.  Also offers parents a public forum to voice concerns or seek advice on how to direct their children in the digital age.

Common Sense Education

Free research-based classroom tools to help students leverage technology to learn. Their primary products here are their K-12 Citizenship Curriculum and their Graphite program which allows educators and relevant professionals to review, rate, advise and offer tangible examples of tools they used by in their own classrooms. 

Common Sense Kids Action

Intended to work with advise policy makers, business leaders, and other advocates about successful 21st  century learning for all kids. This section contains relevant articles, resources and discussions for advocating the cause of technology use with kids today.

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Bio of Founder & Team

James Steyer

James Steyer is the CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. Steyer is a well respected author, authority and entrepreneur in the field of children’s media and education in the US. He has served as an expert commentator on numerous nationally broadcasted programs including Oprah, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Larry King Live, CNN National News, Fox News and the CBS Early Show. His career began in the area of social justice as a civil rights attorney where he spearheaded and founded a number of groups advocating for the most poor and disadvantaged. Over the span of his 30 year career he has continually advocated for disadvantaged kids and the literacy of technology based media for them. He is a nationally recognized author, award winning professor at Stanford, and founder of the national advocacy and media organization for children.

Common sense media has an impressive team of leaders and experienced board of directors behind it. All of them have backgrounds ranging from business, technology, education or philanthropy. Many of them have served on other high level executive boards and companies around the world.

Personal Reflections

After researching about Common Sense Media and founder James Steyer, I was quite inspired by how his passion for advocating for the most disadvantaged has lead him to develop such innovative non-profit ventures like Common Sense Media.  in helping families, kids, educators, and policy makers . The term non-profit intraprenuer sticks out in my mind the most and how meaningful it can really be. Common Sense Media has really become a nationally recognized “go to” non profit organization for advice on leveraging technology and media for children in the 21st century.

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4 Oct Posted on Common Sense Media

Common Sense Media addresses an important concern that many parents and educations worry about. James Steyer has a very good background in the subject matter and it is clearly very important to him. As he is experienced and well connected, and it is an important issue, I think he is probably quite successful in gaining donations to fund his venture. He has also collected a team that has a lot of experience and a wide variety of backgrounds. I think this is important because there are many different aspects and it would be good to have people who understand the business in different ways.

4 Oct
1 Thumbs Up!
Catherine @steeve8

Common Sense Media addresses an important concern that many parents and educations worry about. James Steyer has a very good background in the subject matter and it is clearly very important to him. As he is experienced and well connected, and it is an important issue, I think he is probably quite successful in gaining donations to fund his venture. He has also collected a team that has a lot of experience and a wide variety of backgrounds. I think this is important because there are many different aspects and it would be good to have people who understand the business in different ways.

2 Oct Posted on Common Sense Media

What I love most about Common Sense Media is that it isn’t just another edutech venture being launched into an already saturated market. Rather, it addresses the very real issues of quality and advocacy associated with media intended for use by children. With so many different products and services, educational or otherwise, floating around online, educators, children, and parents may find themselves overwhelmed and lacking the time to peruse all of their options. I feel that Mr. Steyer’s many years of experience in diverse fields has given him perspective into both the production and consumption of these resources. It is clear that he prides himself on being an advocate for children, especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. He has created a venture that essentially streamlines the process of seeking out the best educational content available, while also allowing users to voice their concerns, share their knowledge, and make well-informed decisions regarding the resources and materials that are available to them. Not only am I sold on Common Sense Media as a venture, yet I am a believer in the entrepreneur behind it as well! Of course, the fact that he has served as a field expert on well-known and respected television programs certainly adds to his credibility, yet it his passion and advocacy that make him a true role model.

2 Oct
2 Thumbs Up!
Natalie Shearer @nshearer

What I love most about Common Sense Media is that it isn’t just another edutech venture being launched into an already saturated market. Rather, it addresses the very real issues of quality and advocacy associated with media intended for use by children. With so many different products and services, educational or otherwise, floating around online, educators, children, and parents may find themselves overwhelmed and lacking the time to peruse all of their options. I feel that Mr. Steyer’s many years of experience in diverse fields has given him perspective into both the production and consumption of these resources. It is clear that he prides himself on being an advocate for children, especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. He has created a venture that essentially streamlines the process of seeking out the best educational content available, while also allowing users to voice their concerns, share their knowledge, and make well-informed decisions regarding the resources and materials that are available to them. Not only am I sold on Common Sense Media as a venture, yet I am a believer in the entrepreneur behind it as well! Of course, the fact that he has served as a field expert on well-known and respected television programs certainly adds to his credibility, yet it his passion and advocacy that make him a true role model.

2 Oct Posted on Common Sense Media

Mr. Steyer is highly educated, has many years experience advocating for children, and definitely has a passion for the work and making a difference in the lives of children (as well as other disadvantaged groups). His venture is one dedicated to empowering teachers and parents by providing unbiased information about the wealth of technology and educational products on the market. Mr. Steyer's has populated his company with an amazing group of individuals from various educational, medical, sales, marketing backgrounds which provides the company with a perspective on the work through many different lens. As a non-profit company, funding is largely through grants, donations, and sponsorship. In terms of entrepreneurial qualities Mr. Steyer has the passion and desire to make change and has 30+ years of philanthropic work. He has a record of success at these endeavours and I believe this venture is no different.

2 Oct
1 Thumbs Up!
Susan @smroth

Mr. Steyer is highly educated, has many years experience advocating for children, and definitely has a passion for the work and making a difference in the lives of children (as well as other disadvantaged groups). His venture is one dedicated to empowering teachers and parents by providing unbiased information about the wealth of technology and educational products on the market. Mr. Steyer's has populated his company with an amazing group of individuals from various educational, medical, sales, marketing backgrounds which provides the company with a perspective on the work through many different lens. As a non-profit company, funding is largely through grants, donations, and sponsorship. In terms of entrepreneurial qualities Mr. Steyer has the passion and desire to make change and has 30+ years of philanthropic work. He has a record of success at these endeavours and I believe this venture is no different.

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