Storybook Apps: Increasing Student Learning through Interactivity

Twin Engine Labs first experience with interactive storybook apps came in the form of a project with Moonbot Studios that took William Joyce's The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and turned it into an interactive app to accompany the Oscar-Winning Animated Short Film produced by Moonbot Studios. This passion for interactive experiences that inspire and encourage creativity in new forms for processing information has stayed with +Twin Engine Labs throughout the years, especially as it relates to the education vertical. That is just one of the many reasons why we are excited to work on Steven Winkelstein's latest literary adventure Brisko: a True Tale of Survival. When Steven first approached us with his vision to transform holocaust education through his latest narrative that is a thrilling blend of real history and powerful storytelling, we immediately pushed him to do an interactive app, rather than a traditional e-book. Part of the reason is because this story is too big to tell within the traditional confines of e-book media, but the other reasons stem from the fact that the interactive nature of storybook apps add exponential value to the reader and can truly transform the way we all consume and interact with literature. This post will explore 3 reasons why taking advantage of the interactive features of tablet and mobile applications and devices was the right choice for this project and is the right choice for other projects like it.

1. Moving beyond interactivity for interactivity's sake - Avi Itzkovitch has one of the best pieces on interactivity in storybooks that I have read, entitled, "Interactive eBook Apps: The Reinvention of Reading and Interactivity." In it he argues, that many people have not realized the true value-add that tablets and mobile technology bring to reading yet. So far, we have seen publishers do one-to-one translations of printed texts into pure ebook formats. At best these texts have "page turn" animations and some basic data on where you are at in the book or a few special features. This is mostly seen in Amazon's Kindle technology or Apple's iBook technology. While these are great advancements and are transforming the way literature is consumed and consumer purchasing habits for literature, they do not take advantage of the mobile, social, collaborative, and interactive aspects that tablets present. Avi gives examples of storybooks that he feels accomplish this task, including the Numberlys and Al Gore's Our Choice. As Avi persuasively articulates, "interactive eBooks are no longer just about a touch-to-animate type of interactivity, nor simply the touch interface controls. Rather, they are about adding value through interactivity by using the full capabilities of a touch device to engage the user and enhance the learning and reading experience. These engaging experiences are what I call a true reinvention of reading."

2. Value-Add Learning - So what are some of the interactive, digital elements Brisko will take advantage of? Since Brisko is a survival story about the Holocaust, it wants students to be able to take advantage of the wide array of rich multimedia content there already is about the event by blending it in with the narrative of the story. For example, when geographic locations are mentioned in the story, students will be able to access and explore maps. Or, when a particular sect or group of individuals is mentioned such as the Judenrat or SS, students will be able to explore biographies, documentaries, and images available of such groups. These types of experiences will not only keep students engaged but provide them with valuable additional information that is easy to digest and experience that they would not get in a traditional book or even ebook. There are even some parts of the narrative where students will be able to interact with Brisko the dog! James Brindle, argues in a fantastic Wired article that Literature Needs more than Ebooks, "What we are coming to realise is that no one thing can pick up where the book left off; instead it is everything, all of our networks, our services, our devices, the internet plus everything else, which will carry literature forward. Literature is unique among art forms in that it is enacted entirely in the minds of author and reader; a psychic dance. Literature is everything, and thus everything must be employed in its support. " Brisko will employ everything in support of bolstering the material within its literary narrative.

3. Holocaust Education and Technology: a 21st Century Responsibility - The Prezi hyperlinked in the title of this section was put together by a young lady who found that technology helped her education about the Holocaust and she feels it is the responsibility of others to do the same. Students have been taught about the Holocaust for years but often the true implications of what happened during that time period are lost on students as they read through dusty old history textbooks. While this is true of most subjects, we feel there is unique value to taking advantage of technology's advancements in this area specifically to make sure events like this do not happen in the future. Good Market explores how technology can be specifically used for social good like this when they explore projects such as Hatebase and others in their blog post entitled "3 Examples of Big Data Making a Big Difference." There are also great resources such as the Institute for Holocaust Education that are pushing for more advancements in this area.

We hope that you will check out Brisko: a True Tale of Survival! Go sign up on the homepage to get a teaser of the book and stay tuned for more great information about interactive storybooks, the app itself, and of course the subject matter of the book that we all care deeply about.

Interactivity in Education: How the App Economy is Changing Learning

"Armed with laptops, smartphones, and tablets and connecting through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, a media savvy generation of students is driving unprecedented change in teaching and learning. With the explosion of social media and its effect on communication, there is growing evidence that video and multimedia content, tools, and streaming capabilities are successfully engaging students in new forms of learning." This is how Cisco begins their white paper entitled, "How Interactivity and Rich Media Change Teaching and Learning," and Twin Engine Labs couldn't agree more. At Twin Engine Labs, we have to deal daily with the changes taking place in the digital realm and their impact on different market verticals. This helps us better support our clients by helping them create ecstatic customers with interactive, engaging, and multimedia digital experiences. One of the first projects Twin Engine Labs ever worked on was an interactive storybook app experience with Moonbot Studios that took William Joyce's The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore and turned it into an interactive app to accompany the Oscar-Winning Animated Short Film produced by Moonbot Studios. This passion for interactive experiences that inspire and encourage creativity in new forms for processing information has stayed with +Twin Engine Labs throughout the years, especially as it relates to the education vertical; encouraging student learning and teaching methods to keep up with digital technologies is an important mission for Twin Engine Labs because the education of our youth is incredibly important to our community's future. That is why Twin Engine Labs has decided to partner with Steven Winkelstein on his latest project Brisko: a True Tale of Survival in order to bring another interactive story book experience to life.

We see interactivity becoming an increasingly important part of educational learning methods and apps are already beginning to play a big role in that. Here are some ways we feel learning and teaching methods in education will change over the next few years:

1. Tablets and mobile devices' role in the classroom will become an integral part of the teaching experience: We have never believed that technology should be used for technology's sake. However, we think educational opportunities that take advantage of the unique properties of tablets (mobile, interactive, "always on," individual and social at the same time), will be incredibly successful at allowing students to process information and learn in ways they have never been able to before. So having a digital strategy that carefully sets out the objectives one wants to accomplish with tablets will be important to teachers' success with tablets. Tablets will also become a primary way textbooks are consumed. 

2. Individual learning plans: It has become common in recent years for educators to feel pressure to "teach to the test." This is partly because legislation and funding are tied to standardized tests students are mandated to take. However, the downside to this and other forms of standardized curriculums is that it is hard to take into account the multitude of ways different students learn and process information. Interactive apps allow students to work through the curriculum at their own pace and skill level and allow teachers to provide additional instruction or material where needed. eSpark is one of the many companies in this space that is working on providing teachers with the ability to teach a standard curriculum that is simultaneously tailored to each individual student's learning habits. The second advantage of individual learning plans in the classroom, according to Judy Willis MD, is that it fits students at their achievable challenge level. The achievable challenge level is when a problem presented to the student is one that is between the two poles of: hard enough to not be automatic and not so challenging that they feel there is no chance for success. It is at this level that a students’ feedback and positive reinforcement mechanisms are activated via the dopamine response. Judy Willis writes about the achievable challenge level, “When learners have opportunities to participate in learning challenges at their individualized achievable challenge level, their brains invest more effort to the task and are more responsive to feedback. Students working toward clear, desirable goals within their range of perceived achievable challenge, reach levels of engagement much like the focus and perseverance we see when they play their video games.”

3. Gamification: At Kaplan University, a pilot program in the online classrooms of the College of Business and Technology is putting gamification theory to the test. “Initial results from the pilot indicate that students rewarded by badges are spending up to 155 percent more time actively engaged within the classroom than their counterparts in the non-gamified classroom.” Students are becoming increasingly inundated with the concept of gamification of digital technologies. Most applications today have some sort of leader board or way of comparing yourself with your friends. Also, they get dopamine response described above from games because the gamification of learning also situates children at their achievable challenge level. Judy Willis MD, a neurologist and teacher, makes the following argument about the gamification of education, “The popularity of video games is not the enemy of education, but rather a model for best teaching strategies. Games insert players at their achievable challenge level and reward player effort and practice with acknowledgement of incremental goal progress, not just final product.”

4. Funding is Readily Available for the Transition to Digital Learning: All of the past 4 SBIR (Small Business Innovation and Research) grants from the Department of Education were dedicated towards developing better technology programs used by students and teachers in different educational settings. The funding structure is 150K for 6 months and then up to a follow on 900K for 2 years. It could be a way to refine and enhance educational products for wide-scale, white label use. And these are just government-directed programs, there are plenty of others. However, this data shows that it is a major policy focus on the national level.

We hope that we have been able to provide you with some context for the rapidly changing landscape of technology and education. What has been your favorite use of technology in the classroom? Do you have an education app you would like to get built? Or are you a teacher that just needs advice on how to best a digital strategy in the classroom? No matter what your situation, we would love for you to contact us on our landing page to discuss the importance of technology in educational settings.

Crowdfunding

In order to make Brisko: A True Tale of Survival a reality, we're going to need your help. Crowdfunding is an exciting way for you to get in on the ground level of an amazing project that you want to be a part of.

The app that we've been telling you about is going to change Holocaust education for generations to come. It will have discussion capabilities, historical resources, diagrams of war machines, and all of this will be technologically tied into the book itself. It's going to be a phenomenal way for students and other interested readers to interact with Laura's story. If you don't know about Laura's story yet, please go to www.atruetaleofsurvival.com to read a summary. Sign up at the bottom of the page for a free teaser of the book.

In order to build this intricate app, we need to raise the money. Apps that do what we need Brisko to do can cost up to $50,000! This is a small price to pay for something that will be around for decades and decades, with constant updates. It's a small price to pay for educating the next generation of young people through a medium on which they feel comfortable learning.

To raise this money, we decided not to go for the big investors. Instead, we opted for you. A whole community of you. By using crowdfunding we can pool a strong community of many hundreds of individuals and make this app happen.

What will be in it for you? Firstly, we would never ask you to donate any more than what you feel comfortable donating. There are people who will want to put whatever they can into this project, and will have plenty of resources to do it. Others might not have the same resources, but they still would love to be a part of Brisko.

There will be a tier of donation amounts, all multiples of 18*. The amounts cover a large range, so that no matter what, you'll be able to find a tier that suits your comfort zone. Each tier will come with rewards for you. The rewards will have great value! You'll be able to essentially preorder the app and the paperback copy of the book. There will also be other exciting incentives.

Thank you in advance for becoming part of this project. We will keep you updated as we move forward with launching our fundraiser, and making Brisko: A True Tale of Survival a reality.

*18 is the number of Chai in Jewish tradition. Chai is a celebration of life! This number is traditionally given in multiples as a gifts in the Jewish community.

The Future is Now

In this Nielsen study the picture is painted of a very clear future. Apps are where children will be getting their education and their information.

Why is this important when dealing with a subject like the Holocaust? When a society has the potential to advance and change so quickly, as ours does, it is important to keep up with the times. Can you imagine an entire generation of children losing out on a Holocaust education just because the learning resources are not available to them?

This is exactly what Clevermore LLC plans to prevent with the app for Brisko: A True Tale of Survival (sign up for the first chapter free.) The Brisko app will be a fully interactive book. The story is an amazing true account of how a little girl must survive for eighteen months in a haystack. Brisko the dog is her family's only chance of escaping the Holocaust alive. The resources bottled with the app will be groundbreaking, including audio of the Survivor herself reading the tale. There will be maps, video, and external web links. Discussion capabilities will be built in for a student on one side of the country to compare notes with someone in a classroom on the other side of our nation. The technology is here. The last Survivors of the Holocaust will not be with us forever. The time is now to step into the next generation for Holocaust education. 

The Changing Landscape

There are a few simple facts about the momentum of the digital education revolution. Fact number one is that more and more elementary and middle-schools are using iPads and Apps as educational tools every day. Fact number two is the growing number of Apps for all subjects of education. The third fact is that Brisko: A True Tale of Survival will be the first of the 21st century learning tools for Holocaust education for iPad technology.

Holocaust was once a subject not found to be taught in many schools across the country. That is changing. Holocaust education is becoming a common core part of the middle-school curriculum. Brisko will be at the forefront of this subject matter for this new way of teaching. Filling that vacuum is going to be a privilege, though you would be hard-pressed to find a more suitable tale for the job.

Brisko fulfills a multitude of requirements to complete the learning experience. The narrative storyline is both factual and engaging, the App's resources will put maps, audio of the survivor, classroom-networking discussion capabilities and social interaction right at students' fingertips, and the unique miracle of Brisko the dog will astound readers for years to come.

This is the time for an App like Brisko. If you would like to become part of this amazing project and get the first chapter of the book free, go to the Brisko web page and sign up at the bottom of the page. The future is now, and the generations that follow us will not forget.

The Problem

What do you do in the 21st Century when children in classrooms across the country open their iPads for information instead of books?

What do you do if there's a historical subject that is so important, if it were ever to be lost on the next generation, it would have terrible repercussions for the human race?

Brisko. This is what we are doing. You can be a part of it.

Sign up at the bottom of www.ATrueTaleofSurvival.com for your free copy of the first chapter.

Facebook

Welcome to the official blog for Brisko: A True Tale of Survival. We've just launched our Facebook page, so please check it out and give us a "like."

Here's the address: https://www.facebook.com/atruetaleofsurvival

Thanks! Stay tuned for updates!