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Unleash Your Student’s Inner Storyteller with Digital Animation In and Out of School
Monday, January 29, 2024 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST
Presented by Dr. Jeff Dillon, Superintendent, Wilder School District (ID); Melissa Dilling, CTE Coordinator, Marysville School District (WA); and Terry Thoren, CEO, Wonder Media
Sponsored by Wonder Media Story Maker®
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
School leaders know that high-quality summer and afterschool learning programs (often referred to as out-of-school time or OST programs) are key to learning recovery. Yet educators and parents know that getting students engaged after school, in Saturday academies, or in summer school is one thing but providing them with compelling and engaging learning experiences to make them want to stick it out past the first day is a HUGE challenge.
This edWebinar shares actual experiences where students don’t want to leave school after the first day of OST. Join us for what we are sure is an insightful discussion as we delve into strategies for planning a dynamic and effective OST learning experience. Designed for educators, school administrators, and anyone involved in shaping educational programs, this session illuminates proven methodologies and lessons learned from time-tested, successful OST programs.
Using evidence-based teaching strategies, the presenters share stories about how digital storytelling with animation makes writing relevant, motivates student engagement, improves classroom attendance, and promotes a positive attitude towards learning. We focus on how to tap into the power of technology to create animated stories and guide students to work together in teams on animation productions. The results are numerous: building collaboration, creativity, communication, reading, writing, and content expertise.
This recorded edWebinar is of interest to elementary through high school teachers, school and district leaders, and education technology leaders.
About the Presenters
Dr. Jeff Dillon is a seasoned educator dedicated to advancing student-centered education through technology and system redesign. With over 20 years in the public school sector, he serves as the District Superintendent at Wilder School District in Idaho. Dr. Dillon has been a catalyst for change, leading the adoption of innovative technology solutions for the past eight years, empowering students and staff with essential skills for effective information interaction.
Under his visionary leadership, Wilder School District has shifted from rigid structures to personalized learning experiences, breaking away from bell schedules and grade-level instruction. Dr. Dillon champions inclusivity, encouraging students to co-author their learning journeys, fostering autonomy, creativity, and engagement. His tireless dedication to student-centered learning, educational transformation, and commitment to student empowerment have earned him national recognition as an educational leader.
Melissa Dilling is the CTE Coordinator for Marysville School District. Over the last 20 years of instructional practice, she has used her knowledge of emerging technologies to design and cultivate comprehensive career and technical, technology, and literacy programs in grades K-12 to develop 21st century skills and prepare students for the careers of the future while ensuring her staff have the skills to get them there. She has also built, launched, and managed a comprehensive High School and Beyond platform in her current district to serve 5,300 students as they prepare and plan for their futures. She is always looking to inspire the next generation through effective project management and strategic communications!
Melissa has implemented Story Maker® with success for six years, first with middle school students at the Everett School District and now in five schools in the Marysville School District in Washington State. She also uses her creativity for the greater good. Spanning the gamut from documentaries, animation, feature film production, PSAs, and Facebook ads, she has spent years not only teaching students writing and video production techniques as part of her technology courses, but also continually builds her own craft through trainings, collaborations, and video series projects.
Story Maker® was created 10 years ago by Wonder Media CEO Terry Thoren. He is the former CEO of Klasky Csupo, Inc., the company that incubated the first 65 episodes of The Simpsons and produced Rugrats, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and more. He left Hollywood 15 years ago to launch a mission to use animated stories to prevent childhood trauma, help children and teens navigate out of trauma, and model social-emotional learning for children in grades PreK-12.
Terry has produced instructional animations for the Cook Center for Human Connection, the Global Institute for Habits of Mind, the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center Foundation, the Betty Ford Children’s Center, the Hero in You Foundation, the Child Rescue Service in Ukraine, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Girl Scouts of America. Terry has made the animated assets from these resources available to students in the Story Maker® password-protected website to use to tell their own stories. What separates the Story Maker® process from all other digital storytelling processes is the availability of Wonder Media’s library of 250,000 premade animation assets that students use to tell their own stories.
Learn more about viewing the live presentation and the recording, earning your CE certificate, and using our new accessibility features.
Join the Accelerate Learning community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.
Wonder Media’s Story Maker® was created to increase student engagement, decrease absenteeism, accelerate reading, writing, and learning recovery with animation storytelling. It was created by a team of concerned educators with production expertise from Wonder Media CEO Terry Thoren who was the former CEO of the company that incubated The Simpsons and created Rugrats. Story Maker® is a robust program that allows students in grades 3-12 to write their own animation lessons in classrooms, using Wonder Media’s proprietary library of more than 250,000 pre-made animation assets. Animated characters help young people identify with the message in the story and apply it to their own lives. This makes animation a powerful teaching and learning tool. Animated characters help young people identify with the message in the story and apply it to their own lives. This makes animation a powerful teaching and learning tool. The applications for animation storytelling in schools are limitless.
