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My mom taught me...

It’s true FableVision loves moms. But come on, who doesn’t? From tying your shoelaces to driving you (and your friends) to the movies, mall, sporting events, and everything in between, Mom’s are simply the best. To celebrate the moms of FableVision, our team has collected pictures and finished this sentence: My mom taught me _______.

Enjoy the pictures, memories, and share your own in the comments below! Send your mom a special note this year, a “Someday” e-card, based on the book of the same name, illustrated by FableVision co-founder Peter H. Reynolds and written by Alison McGhee.

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Throwback Thursday: Women's Adventures in Science

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For this week's Throwback Thursday blog post, we're celebrating National Teacher Appreciation Week with a shout out to science teachers. FableVision works with its partners to develop unique teaching tools to reach learners of all ages and my younger self can connect with one project in particular.    

I was more of a humanities person in grade school: excelled at reading and writing, struggled with math and science. Most of that was purely interest-based, but I'd be lying if I said I was encouraged in science and math more than just to get a passing grade. The phrase "STEM," which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, didn't exist when I was a student. Now, "STEM Education" is an everyday buzz word. What if I'd been encouraged in different knowledge fields beyond the bare minimum? What if I'd had programs and games and communities both in school and online that were supportive (and even hopeful) about my future in STEM fields? Heck, what if I'd had GoldieBlox (or something like it) to play with?

FableVision works with many organizations that provide STEM education to students. One of my favorites is iWaSwondering.org, a project of the National Academy of Sciences. The website was designed for children 8-12 years old — especially girls — who research suggests often dismiss career options in STEM fields.

FableVision created a site that showcases the accomplishments of contemporary women scientists with games, interactive comic books, scrapbooks, and other resources.

The site draws from and accompanies the publication of a 10-volume series of biographies entitled Women’s Adventures in Science, co-published by Joseph Henry Press (an imprint of the National Academies Press) and Scholastic Library Publishing.

The games section of the website includes Robot Game, where the user makes a robot and then tests its reactions. The game is based on the research by Cynthia Breazeal, who created robots that mimic emotions and learn how to communicate.

The Robot Game is a great example of how FableVision incorporates curriculum content into a simple, clever design with a familiar gameplay mechanic.

Perhaps sites like this are important for all kids to have access to, not just girls aged 8-12. At FableVision we are cheering on teachers who are using technology to reach the little girl who claims "math is just too hard," to explore STEM and dream big. 

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FableFridays: Senior Developer Jordan Bach

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When FableVision completes a project, it’s usually our artwork that gets all the attention. Which is completely warranted, our art team is incredible, but a lot of times the development and programming that’s gone into a project is one of the last things praised. The way we see it, our finished products should hum along so smoothly that you don’t even think about what’s under the hood.

“For me,” Jordan Bach says, “a job well done is not either technical or creative; it's got to be both.”

Jordan is one of FableVision’s talented senior developers. We sat down to chat with him for May’s FableFriday about his impressive work at FableVision and an extensive hobby list, including knitting, an appreciation for a good stew, and his green thumb.

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It seems like most folks at FableVision have a story on how they got here, what’s yours?

In college I majored in math, but I also got a music degree as a cellist. So, my head is happy doing analytical, technical things, but I also really need to be creative. FableVision is a perfect fit for me—I do programming, but I also get to contribute ideas to the cool products we make. I’ve been working in the kids and education field for a number of years, and have come to realize that this is something I care deeply about: making meaningful experiences for kids.

Can you explain your role at FableVision?

I'm a senior developer. I take the amazing art and animation and music and writing that everyone on the team makes and glue it all together by writing code.

We just released the conclusion of Mayan Mysteries with Dig-It! Games. From a developer’s perspective, what were some of the challenges and successes working on this project that went from an online game to also an iPad app.

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Mayan Mysteries is a really substantial game—it's brimming with puzzles and learning activities. Because of its size, we wanted the online and iPad versions to share as much code as possible, but we also wanted it to feel like whichever version you’re playing is the best one. Also, we needed to structure the project in such a way that nearly everyone in the studio could be working on it at once and not get in each other’s way. It was a challenge to get this set up correctly, and truly rewarding to get to work with practically everyone in the studio!

What’s one of your favorite features in Mayan Mysteries?

I love the first moment when you travel back in time to see an ancient Maya site. It’s jaw-droppingly beautiful and gets me every time. It’s surprising to see the ancient ruins look so fresh and new.

As a developer you must be learning technologies daily, how do you stay current with the new programs?

Staying up-to-date is crucial at FableVision. We work with so many different and new technologies. One of the best things I can do is learn from others. I try to ask questions and am curious about what my teammates are working on. I've found that the biggest enemy to learning new things is pretending like you know everything. So I try not to do this! 

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What’s your personal favorite FableVision project and why?

Snappz, which is a scavenger hunt app designed for informal learning spaces like aquariums. It's a totally unique app that gets kids looking up from their phones and exploring the world around them.

More about Jordan

We know you're a crafty guy. Name some of your hobbies:

Lately I’ve been knitting a lot for my nieces and nephew. I'm learning to sew stuffed animals and quilts. I enjoy cooking. In the summer I spend a lot of time gardening. I love to read and am active in the literary society for one of my favorite authors, Barbara Pym. 

What item are you most excited about for your garden this summer?

We're putting in gooseberry bushes this year. Everything in our front yard is edible: we've got a vegetable patch, blueberry bushes, and now gooseberries. I can't wait to make berry preserves! Also, we've planted our back yard with items native to this geographical area in order to attract and feed as much native wildlife as possible. I can't wait to see a new type of butterfly or bird this summer!

Favorite thing to cook:

Anything with fresh ingredients from the garden. I particularly enjoy cooking soups and stews. I know just enough about cooking that I can ad lib a soup with whatever's on hand in the kitchen and garden. It feels like a creative experience, and is usually even edible. My favorite dish to cook for company is a cassoulet, which is just a fancy stew.

Favorite food that you hate to cook:

Cookies. They taste so much better when someone bakes them for you! (Editorial note: we agree.)

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The Great Twitter Adventure of Clancy the Elephant

Marketing Intern Sam and Marketing Coordinator Sarah tweet out the #CYOFable Twitter campaign from FableVision headquarters in Boston on Wednesday. 

Marketing Intern Sam and Marketing Coordinator Sarah tweet out the #CYOFable Twitter campaign from FableVision headquarters in Boston on Wednesday. 

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Now that was an adventure! As we wipe the sweat from our brow, we'd like to thank all of YOU who participated in FableVision's awesome Choose Your Own Fable Twitter party on Wednesday! We've done Twitter campaigns before, but this one was special. After asking our @FVStudioBoston followers to submit original story ideas via #CYOFable, ‏@maskinman sent one we loved about an elephant who learns how to build a rainbow.

Our marketing intern, Sam Zollman, took the idea and wrote a Choose Your Own Adventure, with multiple opportunities to pick the direction the story took. Our brilliant art interns Julia Glassman, Lisa See Kim, and Sarah Reul illustrated the fable, bringing Clancy’s story to life in three unique styles!

Keep reading to see how the whole #CYOFable unfolded, and be sure to follow us on Twitter to keep up to date on all things FableVision!

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Help a (Cave) Bro out with Florida Virtual School!

Florida Virtual School is an online statewide public school district in Florida… but it's not just any public school. With its commitment to quality interactive learning experiences for its students, funding innovative projects can bring some challenges. Florida Virtual School is bringing its campaign for a fun educational app called Cave Bro, focusing on wellness and nutrition, to Kickstarter.

 The curriculum team at Florida Virtual School has been designing Cave Bro, a mobile game created to encourage kids to become more active while learning about nutrition and exercise. Cave Bro is a Florida Virtual School in-course game for the Personal Fitness and Health Opportunities through Physical Education (HOPE) online courses.

The team quickly realized that this game should not be limited just to Florida Virtual School students. Kids everywhere are in need of better fitness and nutrition habits, so our friends at Florida Virtual School are using Kickstarter to help get its new Cave Bro project into gear.

The fully-playable prototype of the Cave Bro game, developed by FableVision, teaches players the importance of making healthy food choices and eating a balanced meal. As plated food comes down the conveyer belt, the player selects the items for the Cave Bro to eat: everything from chocolate bars to salad with ranch dressing to cake to fruit salad slide past.

Based on the selections, the game tells you about how much nutritional value each item had. Feed your Bro too much junk food and his stomach will hurt — a balanced meal will avoid those tummy pains. Relating food pyramid facts to your plate, players learn that they can’t just eat tacos, or fruit (even though they might want to).

Cave Bro has big dreams, a successful Kickstarter campaign hopes for future development of additional content for the prototype, including sections about exercise and a store for CaveBro to spend his hard-earned Gem Rocks. Visit the Florida Virtual School page on Kickstarter, and read the press release for more information

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