Wonderopolis: A Digital Platform for Learning, Awe and Wonder

 



Last week I have the satisfaction of sitting on a panel on the Fred Forward Conference with Emily Kirkpatrick. Emily is the Vice head of the National Center for Family Literacy and they have a challenge to promote gaining knowledge of out of doors the study room. This challenge has make them Wonderopolis and their "Wonder of the Day" initiative. Emily presented this amazing tool that curates a few tremendous content at some stage in the panel and I had a hazard to invite her a few questions.

Wonderopolis is a cross platform device this is at the net, however also now to be had as an app on iOS and Android structures. Each day, Wonderopolis answers questions in lovely and visual approaches suitable to youngsters that we constantly marvel about. question like: "What is a hybrid?" or "Who invented play dough?" The goal is to install youngsters and families with that experience of surprise and amusing around studying and expertise and valuing the sector in which we stay. It is a lovely purpose this is executed in a manner this is respectful to youngsters and aesthetically delightful.

Emily Kirkpatrick explains it fine in our interview:

Donahoo: Wonderopolis is the sort of playful concept to foster children's interest and studying; have you concept approximately how that suits the touchscreen environment now that you have prolonged the content material into app shape and what which means for kid's getting to know?

Kirkpatrick: Good query. We are operating on a protracted-range plan now for Wonderopolis. Our ideas consist of cellular, a long way past apps, and your idea of touchscreen may be very interesting. Given your feedback on modern-day panel, I might be very thrilled to learn from you and/or obtain any thoughts you could have.

Donahoo: Can you inform us more approximately studying moments, and perhaps how having Wonderopolis in your cellphone aligns with that excellent concept for mother and father

Kirkpatrick: We agree with learning moments occur all the time. It's the instant when your child asks why school buses are yellow. Or why flamingos are crimson. The interesting questions youngsters of all ages ask present possibilities to marvel, analyze and grow together. Wonderopolis to be had on the cellular phone makes our Wonders of the Day on hand to families 24/7, free of price. Whether you're standing in line ready to pay for groceries or on a bus go back and forth, families can access our literacy and studying-packed wonders at any time. The point is studying need to usually be present, which includes outside of four-walls. Wonderopolis is an area, a destination. And we want it on hand in formal and informal environments – and to youngsters of every age, young and old 

Donahoo: Your content material is such high quality, how do you supply it and maintain this kind of high widespread that is so respectful or dad and mom and kid's mastering?

Kirkpatrick: Thank you! NCFL has a wealthy records of pleasant paintings. For Wonderopolis, our group of literacy specialists operates an ongoing editorial calendar of content material and thoughts. The thoughts subsequently grow to be a Wonder of the Day. Our team researches the content material, unearths the uncommon take at the concept to make it Wonder-crammed and then creates the final content. We want our target market to have multiple factors of get admission to to Wonders, it is why we provide the total textual content version, a graphic picture and as well a video. within the future we hope to offer even extra!

Donahoo: How important is it to apply virtual generation to take kids and mother and father beyond the display screen and to take studying out of a display screen surroundings (after which perhaps lower back into the display screen surroundings)?

Kirkpatrick: It's crucial in trendy environment. In fact, it is a significant guideline to us – it's why we have constructed Wonderopolis to be a whole lot extra than a Web web site. We want dad and mom and children trying out sports (a thing of each wonder of the day) that make bigger the subject matter of the wonder into all types of gaining knowledge of opportunities.

Donahoo: What are the important thing things parents want to find out about supporting their children's studying and improvement? How does Wonderopolis support that?

Kirkpatrick: Parents are important to their child's instructional development. Period. They have a large position to play and, in turn, a huge duty. Learning does now not start and quit within the four partitions of a college. Children spend greater than four instances their waking hours out of doors of school, in fact. So what households do collectively subjects. Learning can and must take vicinity anywhere. Learning and schooling ought to be a laugh and orientated closer to things that in reality hobby the individual