Magic of Technology

When I saw the iPad, I saw it as a storytelling device. 

So begins Shilo Shiv Suleman’s effort to enable storytelling with technology and thus make it a truly multi-sensorial experience.

From her TED Talk 'Using Tech to Enable Dreaming'

Children love acting out what they read and interacting with other children, and we know that this is a wonderful, effective way for them to learn. We know, too, that many of them already have the best of media sites and cool technology at their disposal. So what Suleman introduces here is not really a new idea.

But what is engaging is the wonder and the fantasy she exudes. She says,

I was terrified by this idea that I would lose the ability to enjoy and appreciate the sunset without having my camera on me, without tweeting it to my friends. It felt like technology should enable magic, not kill it.

To this end, then, her interactive iPad story asks children to go outside, and take photographs of things that they’re naturally keen anyway to look at, play with, and take home.  Then, they can post their photos onto the story, and share them with good friends who live near and far. Facebook, and the new Pinterest, allow such posting and sharing already. But, once again, Suleman helps them experience magic in ways they naturally love.

In the last 10 years, children have been locked inside their rooms, glued to their PCs...  But now with mobile technology, we can actually take our children outside into the natural world with their technology.

Finally, her storytelling speaks both to the locality of the children’s culture, such as in the screen shot from her blog (below), and to the universality of being curious, social and kindly. This way, it’s relevant to them and to friends who hail from different cultures.

(image credit)

Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!

Ron Villejo, PhD