2019 was one of our best years, filled with enriching partnerships and projects, invaluable opportunities, and positive press. Best of all, we got to share it with YOU, our incredible community. Before we say goodbye to the year and the decade, let’s flip through the scrapbook and take a look at some of our favorite FableVision moments from 2019!
1. Community Building
Every year FableVision strives to build a bigger and stronger community, and 2019 was no different.
We met talented creatives at BostonFIG Fest, where we exhibited four of our educational games: Zoombinis, Quandary, Gasha Go!, and Cyberchase Fractions Quest!
We opened our doors for a public play-date at the studio for our annual Creative Juices art show, displaying vibrant artwork inspired by the theme of play!
On September 15-ish, we celebrated creativity on International Dot Day, now celebrated by over 16 million in 184 countries! Inspired by Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot, Dot Day encourages children, parents, and teachers to make their mark!
We invited talented artists, animators, producers, and developers to the studio to show us their work for our first-ever Portfolio Day!
We raised a record-breaking $8,642 for Boston Children’s Hospital through Extra Life, an annual 24-hour game-a-thon!
2. Another Award-Winning Year
Creating meaningful projects is already fulfilling, but a little recognition always feels good. We’re grateful for another year of award winning releases from FableVision staff and partners! The distinguished projects include:
The Word Collector, an imaginative picture book by founder Peter H. Reynolds, was nominated for the NAACP image award. The short film, created in partnership with Weston Woods, received a Parents’ Choice Gold Award.
Project Here Games, a substance use prevention game created with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, Health Resources in Action, and the GE Foundation, won a Parents’ Choice Gold award and a Bronze Serious Play Award.
Zoombinis, created in partnership with TERC, won Best Original Score at the ED Games Expo.
Navigating Our Way, our animated film created with Big Picture Learning, won Best Animation Award at Boston International Film Festival.
Lights, Camera, Budget!, a game we created with Georgia Public Broadcasting and the Georgia Council on Economic Education, won a Silver Serious Play Award.
Different Kinds of Hurt: Isaac’s Story, a multimedia campaign the promotes child mental health awareness created with Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and Walker, was a NEPCo award finalist.
3. New Partnerships
In 2019, we were grateful to partner with new people and organizations committed to moving the world to a better place. We look forward to continuing to grow these important connections!
4. Continuing Partnerships
We can’t make “stories that matter, stories that move” without long-lasting relationships with our incredible partners—thank you!
SBIR Phase 1 and Phase 2 projects: Reading Is Fundamental, THIRTEEN/WNET, and Education Development Center (EDC)
5. FableFridays
Intelligent and conscientious, our partners are innovators of educational media and have incredible insight to share. Read more about them and their work in our 2019 FableFridays:
6. New Hires
In 2019, our FableFamily grew even more. Our three new FableVisionaries are already making names for themselves across departments with their talent and hard work.
7. FableVision in the News
FableVision made headlines in 2019 with meaningful press on our projects and their impacts. We are extra, extra grateful for this staggering recognition. Read all about it!
FableVision’s Peter Stidwill, Leigh Hallisey, and Christina Kelly attend May 7 Isaac’s Story launch.
8. Extraordinary Intern Projects
Every year our interns create interesting and engaging independent projects, and this year was no different. Check them out!
Communications Director Sarah Ditkoff and Producer Mikaela Johnsons demoed Project Here and Cyberchase Fractions Quest at the ED Games Expo.
Executive Producer Peter Stidwill teamed up with Shannon Meneses, Executive Producer at Learning Games Network, to present a talk on Quandary at Games For Change 2019
FableVision co-hosted the Libraries, Games, and Play Conference alongside American University and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
9. Thought Leadership
FableVisionaries are inspirational, dedicated, and experts in their fields. In 2019, we had fantastic opportunities to share our wisdom at prestigious conferences and to interact with other leaders in the educational media industry. Missed any of our speaking events? Here’s a quick recap:
FableVision founder Peter H. Reynolds released his new book, Say Something, which was included in the New York Times Bestseller list. Peter also spoke at Bett Show in London.
Co-founder and CEO Paul Reynolds held two FabMaker Studio workshops at ISTE 2019, met edtech fans through the Meet the Authors series at FETC, held a book signing of “Going Places” at ESEA, and spoke on integrating STEAM and using it to develop 21st century skills as the Featured Keynote Speaker for iSteam.
Executive Producer Peter Stidwill spoke at Connected Learning Summit 2019 as a part of the panel “The Future is Now: Games as Assessment” with Filament Games, MIT Education Arcade, and MIT Playful Journey Lab.
Vice President of Strategic Partnerships and Product Solutions Shelby Marshall explained working with service providers at SIIA.
FableVision President Gary Goldberger, Creative Director Leigh Hallisey, and Vice President of Creative Tone Thyne shared their kids’ media knowledge with other experts in the field at the 2019 Kidscreen Summit.
Our session on game-based assessment was picked for the 2020 SXSW EDU Festival thanks to the thousands of votes that came in through the PanelPicker process! Thank you to everyone who voted, and we hope to see you there next year!
Looking forward to next year:
We can hardly believe just how exciting 2019 was, but that’s just the beginning! We already have many new and engaging projects and events lined up for 2020. Be sure to catch the FableVisionaries at the ED Games Expo, Bay Area International Children’s Film Festival, Kidscreen, and SXSW EDU!
Has our work caught your eye? Let us know your toughest challenge and we’ll help you meet it in 2020!
