Viewing entries tagged
Big Picture Learning

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FableVision Studios’ Top Moments of 2021

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It was the second year of the pandemic but in many ways 2021 brought us hope. Producing “stories that matter, stories that move” has never been more important. 

We’re so lucky to have our incredible staff, friends, partners, and clients who collaborated with us on amazing educational animation, videos, games, and interactive projects. We can’t wait to continue working with you (spoiler alert!) from our new space! As we look forward to FableVision’s new chapter in 2022, here’s a look back at our top moments from 2021.

1. Award Winners
We are honored to represent unique, creative, and educational projects. Thank you for your recognition!

2. Amazing Partners
We’re happy to work with current and new clients for immersive and educational collaborations. Here are just a few partnerships that we wanted to thank.

3. Thought Leadership
We love sharing our insights and learning from other experts at conferences. Here’s where we presented this year.

Peter H. Reynolds - Education Exchange Keynote

4. Newsworthy Collaborations
Here’s how more people had the chance to learn about our projects.

5. Seasonal Banners
We welcome each season with beautiful banners created by our artists. We hope you love them just as much as we do! Doesn’t our winter one help us end 2021 on an especially cozy note?

Spring banner designed by FableVision Production Designer Julie Oliveira

Summer banner designed by FableVision Production Designer Julie Oliveira

Fall banner designed by FableVision Lead Artist Christina Kelly

Winter banner designed by FableVision Production Designer Julie Oliveira

6. New Studio on Newbury Street!
As 2021 was FableVision’s 25th anniversary, we’re celebrating with the studio’s new location in one of Boston’s most iconic districts—Newbury Street! The original wood floors, vintage skylight, and spacious roof deck with beautiful Boston views will inspire us and give us that extra boost to continue creating wonderful projects together. We look forward to working with you and inviting you to our new home.

Thank you for following us in 2021. We can’t wait to make 2022 even better!

New Office

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The ABC’s of EdTech: Acronyms Explained

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I’ve learned a lot in my first few weeks here at FableVision. As one of the studio’s summer marketing interns, I’ve been brought up to speed on how to draft engaging blog posts and the #perfect tweet. I’m getting the hang of things, but there’s still one area I could use some extra help with: the big, wide world of edtech... and its many, many acronyms.

Edtech is a term that gets brought up in the studio all the time — it’s at the core of many of our ongoing projects and is integral to FableVision’s 200-year-long mission to make the world a better place. Itself an abbreviation of “educational technology,” edtech is the industry and practice in which digital tools and new technologies are being used to improve the way people learn.

Seeing as there are enough edtech-related acronyms out there to fill a large bowl of alphabet soup, I’ve gone ahead and created this handy guide for anyone who wants to brush up on their edtech terminology. LSWWG! (Translation: Let’s See What We’ve Got!)

AR/VR: Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality. We’re (hopefully) starting off easy, as you’ve likely heard of these two new emerging forms of interactive media. Although they have key differences, both technologies rely on computer-generated graphics to create simulated environments. AR/VR tech has exceptional edtech potential, as it can create engaging and intimate learning experiences for students. For specific examples of AR and VR in the classroom, check out this awesome list of 25 AR/VR resources, as curated by the International Society for Technology in Education.

CTE: Career Technical Education. Similar to vocational education, CTE is an alternative type of education that focuses on providing hands-on applied learning experiences, empowering students to build academic knowledge, problem solving skills, and specific career skills. Check out the Big Picture Learning and FableVision-produced animated film Navigating Our Way for more information about CTE and other non-traditional educational paths.

GBL: Game-Based Learning. Simply put, this is a type of gameplay with defined learning outcomes. Within GBL, educational content is carefully balanced with gameplay so that the player may better learn and retain the game’s subject matter. Virtually all of the games and interactives that FableVision has worked on are great examples of putting GBL into practice. #GBL is also one of the most popular hashtags in the FableVision Twittersphere:

LMS: Learning Management System. Have you ever heard of Blackboard, Canvas, or Google Classroom? Great, that’s an LMS! If you’re still unfamiliar with the concept, a learning management system is a piece of software that can administer and track educational courses online. Speaking from personal experience, I’ve had a pretty straightforward experience using Canvas in a number of my college courses. My professors can upload documents, videos, and other relevant materials to the system, and I’m able to submit assignments and check my grades — so much for the old “dog ate my homework” excuse!

GoodThinking

PD: Professional Development. This approach to learning focuses on improving or developing skills that pertain to someone’s career. Professional development can occur at practically any stage in life, expanding far beyond the K-12 space. For a good example of PD in action, look no further than the FableVision-produced Good Thinking!: The Science of Teaching Science. Created under the direction of the Smithsonian Science Education Center, this animated series is designed to help teachers and dispel commonly held science-related misconceptions.

RPG: Role-Playing Game. As any video game enthusiast can tell you, a role-playing game is one in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. The RPG classification is very broad, encompassing TTRPGs (tabletop role-playing games), LARPs (live action role-playing games), MMORPGs (massively multiplayer online role-playing games), and other variations. In the classroom, RPGs can be useful tools for introducing students to new concepts and perspectives. Quandary, for example, is a Learning Games Network and FableVision-produced RPG in which players assume the role of a space captain in order to hone their ethical decision making skills.

ParkPals

SEL: Social and Emotional Learning. This approach to learning focuses on empowering to effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, goals, and positive relationships. The SEL framework, now being used in schools across the country, draws from the findings of current emotional intelligence research. Previously, FableVision has partnered with Committee for Children to create ParkPals: Kindness Rules, a tablet game that reinforces key SEL skills.

STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. Typically used in discussions of academic policy and school curriculum choices, STEAM’s grouping of academic disciplines is intended to draw more attention to professional fields that require highly skilled workers. The STEAM acronym is an updated version of STEM, with the added A (sometimes attributed to Architecture instead of Arts) now considered an equally important area of focus that strengthens the other disciplines. Check out this blog post for a sampling of some of STEAM-focused projects created by FableVision.

UDL: Universal Design for Learning. This is a research-based educational framework that guides the development of flexible learning environments. When implemented properly, these learning environments are able to successfully accommodate individual learning differences. Created in the 1990s, the general UDL framework calls for multiple means of expression, representation, and engagement for learners. The UDL framework is now employed in school curriculums, educational initiatives, and learning tools such as the interactive experiences created by FableVision.

UX/UI: User Experience/User Interface. Two major aspects of modern design principles, UX and UI are both processes centered around ensuring that individuals have positive and easy experiences when using products. User experience design is primarily concerned with how the product “feels” and flows, whereas UI design is focused more on its visual layout. UX/UI design is understandably a major focus in the edtech world, so much so that FableVision’s own Loren Lee-Flynn is the Studio’s in-house UX/UI guru. You can read more about Loren and her UX/UI responsibilities here.

Those were just some of our favorite edtech acronyms, but there are plenty more out there. Let us know if we missed any of your favorites!

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FableVision and Big Picture Learning Launch Animated Film Series to Raise the Positive Profile Around Vocational Education and Career Opportunities

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In an effort to raise the positive profile around vocational education and career opportunities, Big Picture Learning (BPL) and FableVision—both long-time champions of progressive, creative approaches to education—are collaborating to produce a series of short, animated films to help students, educators, and caregivers understand and appreciate successful career paths that extend beyond the four-year college experience. Navigating Our Way is the first film project in BPL’s initiatives (including the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative), aimed at providing new forms of apprenticeship and mentoring for youths exploring career pathways in trades and crafts.

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Navigating Our Way follows the story of best friends Seymour and Sylvie, who grow up near the busy shipyards of New Orleans and share a similar set of lofty dreams which include building, ships, and the harbor itself. Following their high school graduation, Seymour parts ways with Sylvie to go to college. Sylvie surprises Seymour by rejecting her many college acceptance invitations in favor of apprenticing and learning from her family’s shipyard workshop. Eventually, fate brings the two back together with an opportunity that requires both of their unique and important skills, and one that affirms that their different choices and journeys were equally valid.   

Navigating Our Way, produced by FableVision Studios, is narrated by award-winning film and television actor and New Orleans native Wendell Pierce. The film was written by Elliot Washor (Big Picture Learning) and Paul Reynolds (FableVision), with character design by New York Times best-selling picture book author Peter H. Reynolds. The film’s original music score was composed by New Orleans native and BPL student, Brian Richburg Jr., in collaboration with composer Tony Lechner.  

Along with tackling the stigma around the trades, Big Picture Learning co-founder Elliot Washor hopes this film will work to evolve society’s understanding of learning as a solely cognitive activity.  “We are forgetting how to work with our hands, and how to create things.” says Washor. “You can’t talk about human intelligence without also talking about hands. Our nation’s CTE (Career Technical Education) programs need a creative rethink to offer a blend of head-heart-hands learning.” Of course, shifting social-cultural perceptions around the trades  is an enormous challenge. That’s why the BPL and FableVision teams are leveraging the power of narrative storytelling to foster attitudinal change.

“We hope, over time, our work with Big Picture Learning will help shift the perception and value of all learning paths, including trades and highly skilled vocational and technical careers,” FableVision Co-founder and CEO Paul Reynolds shares, adding, “Navigating Our Way marks the launch of a national initiative, and will be followed by many other tools, including films, books, and educational resources that will help communities across the U.S. advocate and implement best-in-class CTE education and fill the trade pipeline with creative, talented, and passionate contributors.”  

Big Picture Learning is heading to Austin, Texas to take the annual SXSW EDU conference by storm. Click  on the images for more information about their upcoming sessions and be sure to add them to your schedule! 

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October FableFriday: Chris Jackson, Chief Communications Officer, Big Picture Learning

When it comes to putting the “big,” in Big Picture Learning, Chief Communications Officer Chris Jackson believes that the message speaks for itself: “sometimes it can be as easy as pointing a camera and hearing our students tell the story of their own experience.”

For over 20 years, Big Picture Learning (BPL) has worked to reimagine the way students learn. Through BPL design elements, students are encouraged to create their own learning path, collaborating in small advisor-led learning communities and working with mentors at community-based internships. The yield is an inspired approach to learning that drives students towards achieving their own vision of success.

“Take Taliq, who recently spoke at the Business Innovation Factory’s annual storytelling summit. Or Rhianna, who tells her Big Picture story not through words, but through music,” Chris muses. “Take any Big Picture student and one will quickly see how an individualized approach to teaching and learning not only helps learners thrive, but also makes my job as a Communications Officer as easy as giving these students a platform to inspire.”

One of BPL’s biggest advocates, Chris embodies its mission of curiosity, vision, and drive. We caught up with him to learn more about his journey towards innovative education, his contagious love of learning, and his must-read list!

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Big Picture Learning was established in 1995 with the sole mission of putting students directly at the center of their own learning. Tell us more about how BPL seeks to accomplish this goal.
It’s simpler than you might expect: ask students what they’re interested in learning about, then teach them that. Students aren’t used to being asked what they want to learn – or having their own personal interests and ambitions embraced by educators – so there’s a level of trust building that is necessary at the beginning. But once students realize that they are surrounded by peers, advisors, and a community that loves and supports them, their world opens up. They see that learning can happen anywhere, at any place, at any time. They find that they can more truly navigate their own path, not only through school but through life.

There are over 65 Big Picture network schools in the United States and around the world. What is the Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center (“The Met”) and how is it unique?
The Met was the first Big Picture Learning school, before there was a Big Picture Learning! Over 20 years ago, the state of Rhode Island tasked Elliot Washor and Dennis Littky with coming up with a bold new school design that, in its very existence, would require a reexamining of the education system. From that work, the Met was born. The Met is a campus of six high schools across the state of Rhode Island, though most of them are in a central location in Providence. Known as much for its open architecture as it is for its innovative approach to learning (for instance, students spend two days of each week not at school but at internships in the community) it’s hard to truly describe the Met in words! That’s why we welcome visitors to the Met several times a year to see the school for themselves. Readers of this blog are welcome to attend!

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How did BPL come to cross paths with FableVision Studios?
We’ve been fans of Peter and Paul Reynolds’ for some time. I actually first saw Paul speak at a conference when I was working for Reading Is Fundamental and regularly read Peter’s books to my children during nighttime storytelling. But it was one of our founders, Elliot Washor, who struck up a friendship with Peter and Paul not too long ago. FableVision’s work speaks for itself, but for Big Picture Learning, relationships matter most. The FableVision team took the time to get to know us (even visited the Met and met with students and advisors!). When it was clear that FableVision’s team shared our values when it comes to creativity and education, the rest was essentially a no-brainer.

How does BPL provide students with structure in such a highly personalized environment?
There’s a common misconception that letting students direct their own learning leads away from structure and toward chaos. Student-centered learning can’t proceed without a path. It’s just that in our schools, students design that path with guidance from their advisors, their parents, and their peers. By creating and directing their own paths – via a personalized learning plan – students have ownership in the learning process, and are much more able to learn from failures and champion their own successes. There are boundaries, for sure, but they’re not the artificial kind like, say, a school bell or homeroom period.

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Tell us about how ImBlaze helps educators and administers enable the place-based learning from internships that BPL so believes in.
Big Picture Learning knows the importance of getting students out into the community to learn from mentors and experts. During our two decades of existence, technology has advanced in such a way creating those connections is much easier. Imagine a time in, say, 1997, when BPL advisors had to track internship opportunities through post-it notes stuck to their computer screens. Ten years later they’d moved to excel spreadsheets. We now have ImBlaze, a mobile app created by Big Picture Learning, that helps students and advisors intuitively search for internships in their local communities. And, as with other initiatives, we have FableVision to thank for helping bring the story of ImBlaze to life through animation!

BPL recently announced the new Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative (HFFI) in an effort to broaden our collective understanding of what it takes to properly invest in skilled trades education. What’s the genesis story of this new program?
The genesis goes right back to student interests. The presumed track for many high school students post-gradation is that they’ll proceed right onto college, most of them in pursuit of a liberal arts or business degree. That’s a valued extension of learning, and was the path I myself followed. But it’s not necessarily the path all students long for.

The focus of the Harbor Freight Fellows Initiative is to raise up the trades path as a lofty educational aspiration, one which is perfectly in-line with the interests and passions of many students, not just Big Picture students. We want to ensure that students who pursue trades-based paths following high school have the resources and relationships that will inspire them to continue following their passions. We’ve produced an animation with FableVision, Navigating Our Way, that eloquently explains this through the story of two lifelong friends, Sylvie and Seymour, who follow separate paths (college and the trades). Watch the video here.  

Students from BPL meeting with Sir Ken Robinson

Students from BPL meeting with Sir Ken Robinson

BPL hosts a Leadership Conference and the Big Bang Conference every year. What is special about these conferences?
We design our conferences to mimic our educational practices. Attendees participate in our convenings as part of an advisory – a group that they return to multiple times throughout the conference to reframe and expand upon their learning. Further, a core component of our conferences is that attendees “leave to learn.” In our network schools, you’ll find that much of the learning happens outside of the walls of the classroom.  To mirror this, an entire day of our conferences is spent in the community, learning from organizations within the host city.  Of course, most important for us is that students are at the center of our conferences; not just in theory, but in practice. For us, it is essential that students themselves play a key role; not just as attendees, but as designers, presenters, and leaders. Over the last two years close to 100 students from across the Big Picture network have been present at Big Bang – our international conference on student-centered learning.

If you could do it over and be a BPL student, how would you structure your education?
I think less about what I would be like as a BPL student as I do about what it would be like to be a teacher in a BPL school. I have a teaching degree that I’ve never used because my student-teaching experience was uninspiring. As a result, I’ve followed other paths through life. But if I had known that schools like those in the Big Picture Learning network had existed, I suspect I would have remained in the teaching profession. I must say, I’m grateful that my path through life has still wound its way back toward progressive, inspiring, and imaginative schools. I regret that I don’t have the opportunity to work with students every day, but I am pleased that I’m part of a national conversation about what education can and should look like moving forward.

It’s no secret that you’re a big fan of books and stories, can you share any reads that we should catch up on?
What a terrific question! Let’s start way back and move up to the present:

  • My all time favorite book is In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak. Many people think of Where the Wild Things Are when they think of Sendak, but I remember being struck by the absurdity of In the Night Kitchen at an early age. It’s a book so important to me that I have a print commemorating it on my office wall!
  • For fiction, the book I could never put down was The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon.
  • I’m a sucker for American historical nonfiction and have been plodding my way through the biographies of each United States president. I’m currently up to Martin Van Buren (so naturally, I’m taking a break!).
  • I love a good graphic novel. Check out Unflattening by Nick Sousanis for an academic deconstruction of graphic novels told, naturally, in graphic novel form!
  • Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t strongly recommend The Big Picture and Leaving to Learn from my education idols and Big Picture Learning founders Dennis Littky and Elliot Washor!

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