[math-fun] In a Series, Nickelodeon Will Focus on Math

FYI -- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/11/business/media/11math.html January 11, 2010 In a Series, Nickelodeon Will Focus on Math By ELIZABETH JENSEN Nickelodeon, whose preschool shows focus on teaching social skills as much as letters and numbers, will move squarely into the academic realm, with the introduction of “Team Umizoomi,” which it said is the only preschool series centered entirely on teaching math to children. The half-hour show, a mix of animation and live action that has been in development since late 2005, will go on the air on Jan. 25 in the network’s midday lineup. Cyma Zarghami, Nickelodeon’s president, said that the network saw an opening and took it. “Everybody’s trying to teach preschoolers how to read and nobody is trying to teach them how to do math,” she said. The move puts Nickelodeon more squarely in competition with “Sesame Street” on PBS, which has math skills as a major component. “We’re not deliberately trying to get into their space, but I do believe the opportunity in this space has been left wide open,” said Ms. Zarghami. “ ‘Sesame Street’ is iconic and will live on forever,” she added. “Besides them there’s just a smattering of others” that incorporate teaching math skills to the age group. PBS’s “Cyberchase” is math-focused, but is aimed at older children, ages 8 to 12. Nickelodeon has ordered 20 episodes of “Team Umizoomi.” If it catches on, it could also open a new revenue source for the company, in ancillary educational products. Ms. Zarghami said that Nickelodeon is exploring introducing teaching videos, workbooks and “learning tools that go with the show, as opposed to the more traditional toys and plush.” Currently the company licenses some of its properties, including “Dora the Explorer” and “Go, Diego, Go!” for tie-in math and reading games made by others, but it has no shows whose product lines are specifically education-oriented. In some ways the new program is standard children’s fare. The main characters are miniature superheroes ­ a boy, a girl and a break-dancing robot ­ who zoom about fixing simple crises in their city, whether a shortage of milk, a lost kite or a subway system stalled by a dropped mitten. But the show is infused in all aspects ­ down to character Milli’s pony tails that turn into a ruler ­ with concepts from an interactive math curriculum that the characters tap to solve their problems, including shape-matching, counting, simple computation and measurement. The Nick Jr. Web site, nickjr.com, will have a learning section for parents, including the curriculum and activities to help preschoolers master the concepts, as well as games and videos. Soo Kim, who worked on “Blue’s Clues” and is one of “Team Umizoomi’s” creators and writers and its design director, said the show was built on the idea that “preschoolers naturally encounter their world by using their math,” matching buttons to holes or counting out pancakes for breakfast. The message to children, she said, is “you’re already great at math.” Pop songs, like one with the refrain “Shapes all over the place” in the first episode, are modeled after ABC’s “Schoolhouse Rock” ditties, which endured long after they left the air. Nickelodeon’s programming has become “increasingly more educational as time has passed,” Ms. Zarghami said. “Blue’s Clues” promotes interactivity, with its pauses for children to find the clues, and “Dora The Explorer” teaches short Spanish phrases while the character is on her adventures. With “Team Umizoomi,” she said, there is “no disguising that it’s math.” The show does not signal a major shift in the network’s shows. “I believe we have enough equity with moms based on our track record to take on more educational stuff head-on, and they would trust us to do it well,” said Ms. Zarghami, but “social skills are still really important.”