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Thanks for the Kangaroo Card Mum!

Have a very merry Christmas

Cheers

Wayne

Surfs up dude!  This was a fun Wordtoon project. Another bus trip of  scribbles developed the idea for the surf Wordtoon some time back although recently I came across a fiverr.com gig  ( check the site and you will understand the concept) where you can have the young surfer dude from Costa Rica in the video say any 7 words you request as he comes in on the board. In my case I had him say ” Write the word and draw the Wordtoon”. How cool is that!  The drawing part is me down at a local beach in Auckland.

I like to use Royalty free music from audiojungle.com and found the track in the video and as I have to listen to you over and over while editing I can’t get it out of my head now. It’s so catchy that now my 17yr old son says he can’t get it out of his head and will take all day listening to a lot of Dubstep to clear it out!

Cheers *Wayne

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CLICK HERE –  TO DOWNLOAD THE COMPETITION SHEET HERE

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Using the PS3 Move and Beat Sketch game you view yourself on TV and draw in the air which which creates the image on screen to music and sound effects. Choosing colours, brushes and shapes, lines and fills you have complete freedom to move and create while watching yourself on TV.

Can you see how this would be a superb study tool?

Instant access to colour varied brushes , shapes and music and more importantly MOVEMENT. Given the choice,

what option do you think kids would prefer: move around to music with colour or sit at the table ?

There is ample research that proves the learning connections made in the brain while engaged in hand writing  as shown  in the brain scan image taken during a study at Indiana University. The small coloured blobs show the areas of the brain lighting up to show  learning has taken place.

Add more movement to the act of hand witting and  you may see how Beat Sketch would create a brilliant and lively learning experience.  Drawing mind maps, icons and doodles about a subject you engage in full body and arm moments and would create strong muscle memory associations. The act of standing and moving would really get the blood flowing and dendrites sparking with vibrant connections.

Not only do you process the new information more fully with body and brain, you can record the action for easy and entertaining review.

If you are having trouble motivating a child with school work then maybe with some guided focus using Beat Sketch you will have a hard time getting them to stop. Using Wordtoons as a combined learning tool with Beat Sketch would create multiple layers of  highly effective learning fun that would spark the curiosity and interest in the the most unmotivated of kids.

Maybe sitting down and writing notes is more effective and I’m just trying to justify buying a new toy?

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Another idea that can really help with the learning and spelling of new words are ‘homophone’ Wordtoons!

What exactly is a homophone?

Homophones are words pronounced the same as others but differing in meaning. Some homophones are spelled the same
and some are spelled differently so this is a great way to use a Wordtoon to establish the difference.

By turning the word into a cartoon that represents the words meaning it becomes more concrete and memorably distinct
from the the spelling of the other word/s.

I have started compiling a list of many homophones that are often confused and will eventually create a book full. Although
there is a lot of value in simply taking the idea to mind and then applying it in how ever you can regardless of any drawing ability or how the end product looks. Just going through the thought process and adding some drawing related to the word will create the memorable difference and should ensure you never mix the words up again.

If you see a child (or even mix some words up your self ) give it a try!

Cheers

Wayne

I gave up on the idea of making a Wordtoon out of the word sing because it just didn’t seem like it would work.

I remember saying to my oldest son Calvin, ” Yep this is one that just won’t work”…Famous last words!

Although a week later I tried again while on the bus and it actually started to shape up so I kept at it during the next few days on the bus  to and from Uni. What you see is about 2 hours worth of thinking and scribbling to get to the end result.

Although I have an actual court order to never sing….because I truly am THAT bad,  I’m please to say that I can now do the ‘sing’  Wordtoon.

I see the bus ride as a valuable and enjoyable time as I have started to build up a collection of great new Wordtoons to fill a another book. I don’t expect to finish the new book to be ready until 2011 some time and so will keep most of the new ones a secret until then. But some times I just can’t wait to share a new one like this.

This is one of my new favorite Wordtoons and will be available  as a step by steps worksheet in the second book of full word Wordtoons and in powerpoint slides for  teachers to use in the classroom, although anyone should be able to remember how to do it after watching the last part of the video a few times.