Educators Create Unique Opportunity to Personalize Storybooks for Children and Adults
Out-of-Work Educators Lead the Front on Interactive Art: Storybook company finds way to personalize storybooks for kids, allows adults to create their own painting-like scrapbooks
DALLAS, November 13, 2020 (Newswire.com) - Out of work due to COVID-19 and unsure of how to move forward, educators Emily Meehan and Jessica Beltran decided to create an interactive and educational experience for both children and adults. To do this, they created Mymichelangelo.com by gathering a team of passionate and creative individuals to help them see their dream of interactive storybooks and art brought to life and made available to all.
The Mymichelangelo.com website allows users to create their own storybooks using their personal photos and life experiences. Alternatively, users can choose to become a part of any of the company's pre-made storybooks. “It was our goal to take what we’ve learned as educators and use it to create a new type of educational adventure during a time where many of us have been lacking such experiences.”
“What we wanted to do was let a child create a story, or become a part of the story themselves, and then we use a technique called artistic enhancement, which adds a cartoonish or painting-like texture and coloration of their choosing to the story that has been created,” says Emily. “This gives all of the visual benefits and imagination that great illustrated stories have but lets people become a part of the story-making process and use their imagination to create. We feel that this greatly enhances the engagement of the child, and any educator can tell you making something relevant to a child is an important first step in the learning process,” says Jessica.
This is a part of an emerging trend, where the goal is to both entertain and obtain learning in a less passive way. Studies consistently show that playful learning, where the educational emphasis is made to engage with the student’s creativity and sense of adventure, is much more effective than traditional methods[1]. By combining storytelling, education, and book creation with some technological advances, MyMichelangelo is quickly making this a reality.
Contact:
Emily Meehan
Email: storybook@mymichelangelo.com
Website: Mymichelangelo.com
Instagram: instagram.com/mymichelangelopics
Bibliography:
1) Rice, Louis. (2009). Playful Learning. Journal for Education in the Built Environment. 4. 94-108. 10.11120/jebe.2009.04020094.
Source: MyMichelangelo.com