I have an addiction – It is called Kickstarter!
Kickstarter is a crowd funding website, which allows people to fund projects of creativity. It provides a platform for people to promote their ideas and facilitates the collection of funding.
When you first visit the site there are thousands of creative projects looking for funding ranging from documentaries, art exhibitions and technology to fashion, games and films – plenty of creative projects for everyone’s interests. If you come across a project you would like to support, simply back the project with an amount of money you choose. If the project reaches the funding goal by the deadline, your money is sent on to them to complete the project. If it is unsuccessful in reaching its goal you don’t pay a thing.
So what do you get for backing a project? The wonderful feeling of helping out someone, rewarding them for their creativity. For many of the projects you get rewards depending on how much you pledge. This reward could be in the form of your name in the credits of a book, a sample of the product or simply receiving a thank you letter from the makers.
A recently successful project, the interactive ‘Story of Flewn‘ gave backers the opportunity to add their own character to the story, working with writers to develop the character. Many other projects similar to this give you opportunities to add feedback, follow the creative process or become part of the team.
So why write about a site like this in an education blog you ask? Just imagine learning about narrative writing in your classroom where you develop a character, work with authors and add creative input to an interactive text. Students authentically having input in the creative direction of a real project, which they will be able to share with not only their friends and family but the world. For the same price of a textbook you can become part of a team, offering feedback and linking to the creative team of a storybook. This is just one example of many authentic opportunities for schools to support projects (And I imagine there are huge opportunities for students to present projects and seek backers for their own projects.)
Personally I love flicking through the thousands of creative projects and the feeling I get when I support a successful project. I am currently backing a couple of projects and eagerly check each day to watch the percentage of funding grow. Two projects I am excited about at the moment are Dandelion and Draw a Stickman Epic.
Dandelion – Bullying is for people with no imagination.
This is a story about a young boy who is bullied each day at school and the world he develops in his imagination, with the little help of a dandelion. It is ‘a story to encourage parents and children to talk about bullying and look at whether some problems can be solved with a little imagination.’
As a teacher, bullying is an area often talked about and discussed in our class and I work very hard to look at resilience and building skills to put students in control of how they react to others. Not only ensuring students know how to report and seek support for bullying but also giving them skills to deal with bullying should they ever come across it.
So when I read the brief f or this project I became very excited. A story which shows that people who are bullied are in control of how they react and the concept that with a little imagination life can take on a different look. To add to this the team have created a beautiful iPad app where children can interact with story, including a stunning moment where children can blow the seeds from a dandelion.
I have blogged previously about Draw a Stickman, a great little website where the stickman you draw comes to life in a story. Now these guys are making a game. Similar to the website, you start by drawing a stickman who will become the hero of the game and then creativity takes over. ’Each new level presents you with new creative problems and puzzles. You will meet a fantastic assortment of imaginary creatures that will hinder, or help, your progress through the game.’
For $10 backed to Draw a Stickman you get access to the behind the scenes development, opportunities to offer ideas and give feedback and a copy of the the game when it is released. And you get to submit your own stickman! What a great project for the classroom.
Have you used Kickstarter in your classroom? I would love to hear about it.