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Sandbox Summit

October 22, 2015 By Jesyca Durchin Schnepp

Last week I lucky enough to be asked to do a workshop on the connection between Play, Tech and story at the 2015 Sandbox Summit.  This event generally takes place on the east coast with MIT as the educational partner.  This year, Play Science worked with the University of Southern California and held the two days of workshops, lectures and networking at the California Science Center.  It was a terrific way to keep current on what is happening at the intersection of new technology, media and education and more importantly to stay inspired by the quality of people who really do care about how children learn and play.

While there were many outstanding speakers, one of my favorites was from 9 year old Dylan Siegel who decided (at the age of 6) to raise a million dollars to help his best friend Jonah fight a rare liver disease.  Dylan wrote a book and with his family’s help has raised $1.2 million dollars! Take a look at his speech from the second day at Sandbox Summit.  Trust me, my speech was no where near as polished nor as moving.  And if you find his story and mission as compelling as I did, click here.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, News

Please, DON’T Google Girls and VR

July 24, 2015 By Jesyca Durchin Schnepp

VRGIRLS

I’ve been doing some research on next generation virtual reality games and started looking at what is being created with brands-especially ones that might prove interesting to girls.  Big mistake….”vr” and “girl” combinations exposed link after link of porn.  I’ll admit, some of it was fascinating as I firmly believe new technology explored in pornography can often provide a roadmap as to where consumer tech will be heading.

I was, however, also great relieved to find this gem of an article about a terrific computer camp for (real) girls  at the University of Maryland featuring VR gaming. These middle schoolers are learning how to create next level video games using technology like  Oculus Rift and Unity 3D.  I hope this means that more and more computer science labs and classes will be offering all kids an active way to participate in this latest round of VR creative madness.  As many of you know, VR has been available for some time now.  It seems to me, however, that since Facebook’s purchase of Oculus Rift there is a whole new level of creative and business interest.  I hope camps like these will get kids excited about what the future holds in education and entertainment.

 

Filed Under: Featured Posts, News Tagged With: computer camp, girls, kids and virtual reality, virtual reality, vr games

Princess Leia- Girl Rising

June 11, 2014 By Jan Bozarth

Princess Leia Armed and Sexy
Princess Leia for President

What’s wrong with this picture? Princess Leia, the warrior, is true, but is that all there is? I’ve been a huge  Star Wars fan from the beginning. Princess Leia was important to me in 1977 and she is important  now, but for different reasons. Thirty years ago, she was our ONLY girl hero, our only Princess, our  only cinematic look at the fantasy fiction female, a girl with a gun on a very important mission to save  her world. She was tough and knew what she wanted. She had a look that other girls emulated- she  even started the double side bun thing. She wasn’t fluffy, but she was still pretty. She could fly and program the ship’s computers. She was a Jedi  Knight. Enough said. Now that the newest feature film is set for release by Disney, longtime fans of Leia have come out to be heard. They want more Leia for their daughters and grand daughters, the girls of this generation. Disney has responded  positively, but there is still one more thing. Is it enough to just make action figures of this character? Shouldn’t she have her own show? Don’t we want to know more about this woman in the 21st century? After all, girls are rising and are poised to lead the free world.

 

Filed Under: Featured Posts, News Tagged With: girls, leadership, power, Princess Leia, Star Wars

Let the girls play! The Barbie Project

May 30, 2014 By Jan Bozarth

We are really thinking a lot about Barbie these days! Why is there so much talk? After all she can fly, cook, swim, surf, pretend, work, teach, lead, skate, dress up, design, and so much more. What more do we want from this doll? I say, “let girls play!” It’s OK to be young, free, full of imagination AND to like shoes.

Filed Under: Featured Posts, News Tagged With: Barbie, Dads, experiences, girls, Moms, parents, play, toys

Connecting the Dots – Transmedia and Girls

May 9, 2014 By Jan Bozarth

TransmediaBy now you should have heard of the term “transmedia”, the definition of which seems to vary from industry to industry.  For us, the veteran girl experience designers at Nena Media, transmedia is telling stories across forms, each form making up an essential but different part of the whole story. We are form agnostic as those are sure to change with time and technology. Today the challenge is covering an ever-widening array of forms and doing it all simultaneously. These forms, like social media, fashion, books, music, games and movies are at the heart of where girls hangout.   Any way you define it, we know that building brands for girls means stories must have meaning in their lives beyond the screen and be able to seamlessly move into multiple experiences that feel natural and authentic, not stretched or plastic. It’s like connecting the dots in a four dimensional story matrix. A story can be  defined as the fairytale or it can be the backstory of the person telling it. It’s the Teller and the Tale. Both are relevant to our audience.  Whether playing or dreaming, girls love the who-what-when-where because they aspire to be all that and more.  Modern storytellers often find themselves needing to weave together reality and fantasy while keeping an audience willing to go either way. While transmedia storytellers must work in multiple dimensions compelling their audiences to re-engage for each part, if done right, transmedia stories can end up like good friends: always there for you, in different ways, and just in time.

 

Filed Under: Featured Posts, News Tagged With: digital playspace, experiences, girls, Girls and technology, jan bozarth, media, nena media, stories, storytelling, transmedia

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