By The Gamification Of Handwriting By Eric Mower + Associates Is A Winner For Education
Charlotte’s Eric Mower + Associates (EMA) won a Silver Lion at the 2015 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, in the Mobile Services category, for Domtar’s “Project Learning Curve.” The project is an effort to increase focus on handwriting and the research that shows how much it benefits students.
“This is a fun way to encourage students to spend more time handwriting”
As part of Project Learning Curve, EMA created the world’s first handwriting tracker—an app the agency conceived and worked on with software developers to connect a digital pento paper. Just like wearable fitness trackers encourage people to exercise their hearts by tracking their miles, the Project Learning Curve app encourages students to exercise their brains through handwriting. It also allows teachers to monitor what students write on paper, gauge how much time is spent handwriting in class and at home, and set classrooms goals for students, such as writing enough characters to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. Anyone with the Anoto pen can also download the free app.
“This is a fun way to encourage students to spend more time handwriting, to engage both students and parents, and to help teachers monitor the progress being made at home,” said EMA Creative Director Patrick Short.“We’re proud that our work helped Domtar underscore how print and pixels can complement each other in the classroom, giving students the best chance of success.”
The Ham’s Take
It’s not a secret: our education system needs help. From classroom tools to policy, there’s a major need for innovation and creative solutions–most of which could be fueled by the creative power of our industry. Project Learning Curve is an innovative use of gamification that we can definitely get behind, and an incredible use of technology. Not to mention, the teacher in the video (above) looks like Piper Chapman from Orange Is The New Black…so that’s cool.
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This feature was submitted by Lisa Huggins via our handy submission form.
