News - Fluent Research

18 Jun The Faces Behind Fluent: William Sandy

Posted in 20th Anniversary, Get to Know Us.

To celebrate Fluent Research’s 20th anniversary, we’re highlighting the people who have helped shape the organization along the way. First up is William Sandy, Fluent’s Executive Director. With a background spanning market research, educational evaluation, and international development, William brings a global perspective to understanding...

15 Jun Fluent’s Summer Reading List: 20 Books, Magazines, and Podcasts

Posted in 20th Anniversary, Get to Know Us.

Twenty years is a long time. Long enough to fill a lot of shelves, queue up a lot of podcasts, and dog-ear a lot of pages. As we mark Fluent Research's 20th anniversary, we wanted to share something more personal than a milestone — the...

Allison Caplovitz. PhD sits in a red chair on the set of kids TV show Blue's Clues alongside several characters from show. Photo taken in 1998.

10 Jun 20 Years of Fluent: Why Child-First Research Still Wins in Children’s Media

Posted in 20th Anniversary, Children's Media.

Fluent Research marks its 20th anniversary with a reflection on how children’s media research has evolved from the formative testing of Blue’s Clues to today’s fast-moving streaming and digital landscape. The piece argues that as audiences fragment and production speeds up, rigorous, child-first research is...

03 Jun “Odd Squad” Math Game Research Heads to ICA 2026

Posted in Children's Media, Conferences, Evaluation.

We're proud to announce that our research study on Dicey Escape, a PBS Kids digital math game, has been accepted to the International Communication Association (ICA) 2026 Conference — one of the leading global forums for communication research. ...

22 May Keeping it Real

Posted in Child Development, Meditations, Wellbeing.

“When it’s real, you’re doing this even without a record contract.”— Nas “Sparks — when illuminated and nurtured — give young people joy, energy and direction.”— Peter Benson When I was in graduate school, I taped to the wall in my office an image of Nas (from a...

close-up shot of a person's lower legs and feet wearing a high-tech robotic exoskeleton on a city sidewalk. The exoskeleton is made of black and silver metal components with blue indicator lights, securely strapped over black pants and rugged trail running shoes. The sidewalk is clean and scattered with fallen autumn leaves, with a city bus and a leafy tree visible in the blurred background. This is an AI-generated image.

21 May True Inclusion Can’t Be Automated: Why Accessibility Needs Human Insight

Posted in AI, Research, Technology, UX.

The distinct cadence of a computerized voice echoing across the room was part of my early introduction to the world of accessibility. I was working in the disability services office at a university, and the robotic narration of JAWS (a screen reader) from a colleague's...