To celebrate the 81st anniversary of The Wizard of Oz, the nation's top EdTech studio, Wonder Media has collaborated with school districts nationwide to produce an animated adaptation of the most popular movie of all time. It's called the The WonderGrove Wizard of Oz. The script was divided into 27 sequences and sent out to the 172 school districts nationwide that use the Story Maker® animation production tool in their classrooms. Twenty-four school districts in 10 states came on board to work collaboratively on this feature length film.
Story Maker®, is a project-based teaching tool that was co-created by Terry Thoren, the former CEO of Klasky Csupo, Inc the company that produced The Simpsons, Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. Story Maker® was created based on research about "Phenomenon Based Learning." Students are more engaged in the learning of a phenomenon when it comes from the real world and is relevant to their daily lives. Animation is relevant to the daily lives of every student and Story Maker® makes their reading and writing relevant.
The participating students wrote scripts, drew storyboards, cast their fellow students into the character roles, acted each role, recorded the voices, sang and recorded the songs, and used their own drawings to create beautiful backgrounds. What began as a dream, culminated with a national premiere at the famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Local premieres of each school's interpretation of Oz will take place in 24 cities throughout the nation including: Dallas, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Long Island, New York; Lancaster, California; Boise, Idaho; Columbus, Mississippi; Wilson County, Tennessee and Ballard, Iowa.
"Animation is the most popular form of entertainment in the world. Educators are discovering that students who have a difficult time applying themselves to formal teaching methods are blossoming with the use of Story Maker®," said CEO of Wonder Media, Terry Thoren. "Students are learning authentic life skills like communication, collaboration, compromise, critical thinking and team building. It is a joy to watch classrooms come alive with enthusiasm."