"Just a Walk Away! "
Bachelor Project Semester 8:
Bachelor Project Semester 8:
Research Question:
“How can the gap between children’s entertainment and education be bridged while simultaneously reducing their dependency on technology?”
Abstract:
Reading is the gateway to children exploring worlds beyond their own,
but also to be more knowledgeable on the world we live in today.
However, with technology’s prominence in our day-to-day lives, children no longer seem to find the joy that reading used to bring before their dependency on technology has developed.
As a result, I have dedicated this project in hopes of bringing back children’s love of reading to bridge the gap between education and entertainment in the children’s market.
For children to seek other beneficial means of entertainment that do not involve technology, they need to be continuously engaged for them to be convinced that learning doesn’t always have to be a chore.
To carry out this mission, I intended to create an interactive children’s book that is a hybrid between digital interactive components, and also traditional interactive elements.
This is because one must recognize that it’s unrealistic to completely remove technology from the equation considering how addicted children have become, so, incorporating elements like games or animations that they could engage with throughout is the first step to keeping them genuinely wanting to learn throughout the entirety of the book.
Moreover, what further sets this book apart in the market is that it discusses the prevalent universal issue of “classism”, specifically in Egypt.
To accurately fulfill my intended goal, a great amount of preliminary research, experiments, and feedback from professionals in the field to verify its credibility.
If one does not intervene in the children’s education and entertainment sector, then it will be too late for the upcoming generation to form a sense of self as a result of the media dictating it for them.
We must introduce worlds to children that do not involve their own through reading, for them to truly reflect on the world that surrounds them.
Bridging the gap between entertainment and education at a young age is detrimental to paving a child’s path to a more fruitful and beneficial learning experience,
in hopes of shaping an upcoming generation of bright minds that not only look beyond the restrictions of technology, but can also dream and look beyond the mere confines of a screen.
Story:
So, this is when you meet Karim and Hany, the main characters of my book. A little wealthy boy named Karim interacts with this house gaurd/ "bawab", Hany, for the very first time.
When Karim and Hany talk, Hany invites Karim over to his neighborhood to come meet his family and play some games with them.
Karim happily agrees and they go for a walk, but the people he meets on the way is what truly shocks him.
Although Hany’s neighborhood is so different from his own, he couldn’t help but notice the kind people that surrounded him.
Whether it was the kind baker who was giving a homeless girl some food, or the cheerful cotton candy man that greeted everyone that walked past him.
It was these small acts of kindness that made him truly realize how similar we all are.
After he comes back home from a day of playing with Hany and his family, he asks his mom how he could help his community if he doesn’t have money.
She suggests ways like visiting a senior home or an orphanage, where Karim again befriends more people.
The purpose of this book is to release some of the stigma that’s around classism and educate children on not only the importance of equality and treating everyone with kindness, but also how to help those in need to build their communities.
How Would This Be Accomplished?
Throughout the book, children would have both traditional and digital interactive elements through almost every spread to maintain their interest and willingness to learn. Some examples would include:
Traditional Elements:
Traditional Elements:
Pop-Ups
Asking Them To Say Back Words
Sticker Packs
A Space Where They Could Draw/Color
Pulling
Spinning
Dragging
Digital Interactive Elements:
Through the interactive elements spreads, there would be a QR code that the child would scan that would lead them to the game or animation.
Through the interactive elements spreads, there would be a QR code that the child would scan that would lead them to the game or animation.
Choices Games
Artivive Animations
3D Pop-ups
Characters Walking
Background Moving With Music
Super-Mario-Like Game
AR Animations of Environments
For Example...
Super-Mario-Like Game
AR Animations of Environments
For Example...
Karim's Home Landscape Trial:
Interactive Element:
Traditional pop-up of Karim's house
Hany's Neighborhood Landscape Trial:
Interactive Element:
Digital Interaction
The child would scan the QR code that would lead them to a "Super Mario " like game.
Karim would be entering Hany's neighborhood for the first time where he'd be forced to avoid obstacles such as:
Holes in the ground
Street dogs
"Tok Toks"
Characters:
"Karim"
The Young Wealthy Boy
Main Character:
Main Character:
"Kariman"
Karim's Mother:
Karim's Mother:
"Ramy"
Karim's Bully Friend:
Karim's Bully Friend:
"Hany "
Karim's House Gaurd
Secondary Main Character:
"Amany"
Hany's Wife:
"Hady, Fady & Shady"
Hany & Amany's Children:
"Zabady" The Cat
Hady, Fady & Shady's Cat:
"3ezz El Khabaz"
(Ezz The Baker):
"Samy El Halawany "
(Samy the Cotton Candy Man):
"Haga Sameeha "
(Old Lady Sameeha The Vegetable Seller):
"Teta Mona "
(Grandma Mona):
"Salma "
The Orphan:
"Bor3y"
The Street Dog:
