Created by the entertainment studio JibJab, the brand later became part of StoryBots, Inc., an independent production company. StoryBots Inc. (along with the StoryBots brand) was acquired by Netflix in May 2019 as part of an overall push by the streaming service into more educational and family-oriented content.[5][6]
History
StoryBots launched to the public in the fall of 2012 and has been featured on CNN,[7]The New York Times,[8]CNBC,[9] and other news outlets.[10][11][12][13]Gregg Spiridellis, co-founder and CEO of StoryBots, told CNBC in 2013 that he and his brother have five young children between them and noticed "a massive shift in how kids are consuming media".[9] Spiridellis says that became the inspiration for StoryBots, with digital content designed to be akin to Sesame Street but for a device-centric, connected generation of children.[14]
In May 2019, Netflix announced that it had acquired the StoryBots media franchise and signed co-creators Evan and Gregg Spiridellis to an exclusive producing deal. The acquisition was the first of its kind for Netflix and was part of a stated commitment to expand its educational content.[15]
A companion series, StoryBots Super Songs, premiered on October 7, 2016, also on Netflix. While each episode of Ask the StoryBots featured the lead characters answering a child's single question, StoryBots Super Songs focus on broader topics, such as outer space, colors, shapes, and dinosaurs, through music and live-action vignettes with real children.[19] Episodes have also been released on StoryBots' YouTube channel.[20]
Ask the StoryBots also spun off a holiday special, A StoryBots Christmas, which premiered December 1, 2017, on Netflix. Featuring a guest appearance by Ed Asner as Santa Claus, the special received two Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Special Class Animated Program, as well as four additional nominations.
StoryBots has created a collection of web-based learning content and activities available at StoryBots' official website.(StoryBots.com.) The StoryBots website was nominated for best youth website at the 2018 Webby Awards.
The digital library includes:
Learning Videos, a collection of animated musical videos that explore a wide range of themes, including shapes, colors, behaviors, time, eating healthy, and outer space
Starring You Videos, animated learning music videos that allow the user to add their name and face photo
Learning Books, educationally-focused ebooks with narration to help kids practice their reading and learn about a range of subjects
Starring You Books, ebooks ranging from classic fairytales to modern adventures that also include face and name personalization (making the user the hero of the story)
Activity Sheets, printable books on holidays, numbers, letters, seasons, and more
Math Games,[21]Common Core-aligned kindergarten-level math games
StoryBots Classroom
In 2016, StoryBots launched StoryBots Classroom, a free web-based resource for educators that includes unlimited access to the entire StoryBots library of digital books, videos, and activities, as well as the newly created Common Core State Standards Initiative-aligned Math Games, and a suite of classroom management tools including the Backpack and Class Roster.[21] The product is designed for use on laptops, tablets, and interactive white boards.[22] When it was released, StoryBots Classroom was by profiled by Education Week[23] and was named an S'Cool Tool of the Week by EdSurge.[24] It has since received the Teachers' Choice Award and the Tech Edvocate Award for best early childhood education app or tool.
In an interview, CEO Gregg Spiridellis cited significant interest in StoryBots by teachers as the impetus to "invest more in building a product custom-tailored for classroom use, with an emphasis on interactive projection boards, classroom tools, and more educational content".[25]
YouTube channel
StoryBots first uploaded five videos to YouTube in June 2012. StoryBots was also nominated for a 2019 Webby Award in the Video Series & Channels – Animation category.[26]
In 2018, StoryBots signed with the DHX Media-owned WildBrain to manage and grow its YouTube channel.[27]
In January 2019, the channel rebranded itself as Netflix Jr. to coincide with the buyout of StoryBots by Netflix.
Print books
In addition to its ebooks available on its website, StoryBots also offers several print books published by Random House Children's Books featuring the StoryBots characters.[28] Titles include:
Since its founding in 2012, StoryBots has won numerous awards for its digital content, including the Teachers' Choice Award from Learning Magazine, Parent's Choice Award, a Family Choice Award, Tech Edvocate Award, and an Editor's Choice Award from Children's Technology Review.[35]
Magic Tree House is an American children's series written by American author Mary Pope Osborne. The original American series was illustrated by Salvatore Murdocca until 2016, after which AG Ford took over. Other illustrators have been used for foreign-language editions.
JibJab is an American digital entertainment studio based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1999 by brothers Evan and Gregg Spiridellis, it first achieved widespread attention during the 2004 US presidential election when their video of George W. Bush and John Kerry singing This Land Is Your Land became a viral hit. Initially known for political and social satire, JibJab produced commercials and shorts for clients such as Sony, Noggin, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, PBS Kids, Sprout, NBC, Qubo, and Disney before focusing on its now-flagship personalized eCard and messaging services. In 2016, its animated sticker-making program – which has been available since 2004 – became the top App Store app by download growth.
BrainPop is a group of children's educational websites based in New York City. It hosts over 1,000 short animated movies for students in grades K–8, together with quizzes and related materials, covering the subjects of science, social studies, English, math, engineering and technology, health, arts and music. In 2022, Kirkbi A/S, the private investment and holding company that owns a controlling stake in Lego, acquired BrainPop.
Living Books is a series of interactive read-along adventures aimed at children aged 3–9. Created by Mark Schlichting, the series was mostly developed by Living Books for CD-ROM and published by Broderbund for Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. Two decades after the original release, the series was re-released by Wanderful Interactive Storybook for iOS and Android.
The Radio and Television Correspondents' Association of Washington, D.C. (RTCA) is an American broadcast journalism group of news reporters from around the world who cover the United States Congress. Founded in 1939, RTCA is best known for holding an annual dinner in Washington, D.C., not to be confused with the higher profile White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
An educational video game is a video game that provides learning or training value to the player. Edutainment describes an intentional merger of video games and educational software into a single product. In the narrower sense used here, the term describes educational software which is primarily about entertainment, but tends to educate as well and sells itself partly under the educational umbrella. Normally software of this kind is not structured towards school curricula and does not involve educational advisors.
Carmen Sandiego is a media franchise based on a series of computer video games created by the American software company Broderbund. While the original 1985 Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? video game was classified as a "mystery exploration" series by creators and the media, the series would later be deemed edutainment when the games became unexpectedly popular in classrooms. The franchise centers around the fictional thieving villain of the same name, who is the ringleader of the criminal organization V.I.L.E.; the protagonists are agents of the ACME Detective Agency who try to thwart the crooks' plans to steal treasures from around the world, while the later ultimate goal is to capture Carmen Sandiego herself.
Toon Books is a publisher of hardcover comic book early readers founded by Françoise Mouly. With titles by such creators as Geoffrey Hayes, Jay Lynch, Dean Haspiel, Eleanor Davis, and Mouly's collaborator and husband, Art Spiegelman, Toon Books promotes its line as "the first high-quality comics designed for children ages four and up".
Erik Weiner is an American actor, writer, comedian, and producer best known for co-creating the play The Bomb-itty of Errors and his role as Agent Sebso on HBO's Boardwalk Empire.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! is a Flash-animated musical preschool television series featuring Martin Short as the voice of The Cat in the Hat, that premiered on Treehouse TV in Canada on August 7, 2010, also airing on YTV in Canada on weekday mornings from 2012 to 2013, and on PBS Kids and PBS Kids Preschool in the US on September 6, 2010. It also aired on CITV and Tiny Pop in the UK, and Disney Junior in India. The show is based on Random House's Beginner Books franchise and The Cat in the Hat's Learning Library, itself based on the 1957 children's book The Cat in the Hat.
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. It also funds research on the role of media in the lives of children and advocates publicly for child-friendly policies and laws regarding media.
ClassDojo is an educational technology company. It connects primary school teachers, students and families through communication features, such as a feed for photos and videos from the school day, and messaging that can be translated into more than 35 languages. It also enables teachers to note feedback on students' skills and creates a portfolio for students, so that families can be aware of school activities outside of meeting with teachers.
Early Learning House or simply the House Series is a collection of four main educational video games and two compilations for the Windows and Macintosh platforms, developed by Theatrix Interactive, Inc. and published by Edmark software. Each different game focuses on a particular major learning category with selectable skill settings for preschooler, kindergarten and elementary learners. Millie's Math House (1992) on mathematics, Bailey's Book House (1993) on language, Sammy's Science House (1994) on science, and Trudy's Time and Place House (1995) on history and geography. A spin-off, Stanley's Sticker Stories (1996), sees players create animated storybooks with the series' characters. Millie & Bailey Preschool and Millie & Bailey Kindergarten each contain the combined activities from two of the four software products. In addition the programs can be configured by an adult mode to suit students with special needs. Most of the activities in every game have two modes, one to allow learners to explore and try it out for themselves and the other for learners to follow specific tasks set by the game characters. Learners also have the option to print pictures of creative activities and record sounds in phonics activities. Later the games were re-developed by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Learning Technology and re-published by The Learning Company with newer graphics and additional activities.
Ask the StoryBots is an American live-action/animated children's television series based on the characters from the StoryBots educational website and videos. It premiered exclusively on Netflix on August 12, 2016. Originally created and produced by JibJab Bros. Studios, the StoryBots media franchise was fully acquired by Netflix in May 2019.
The Arthur video games franchise was a series of learning and interactive story video games based on the American-Canadian children's TV show Arthur. The games were released in the 1990s and 2000s for PlayStation and Windows and Mac OS computers.
StoryBots Super Songs is an American animated children's television series based on the characters from the StoryBots educational apps and videos. It was produced by JibJab Productions and released by Rainmaker Entertainment in collaboration with Powerhouse Animation Studios. Episodes have also been released in full monthly on StoryBots' official YouTube channel.
A StoryBots Christmas is a children's animated television holiday special based on the characters from the digital educational program StoryBots and the original television series Ask the StoryBots and StoryBots Super Songs. It was created and produced by JibJab Bros. Studios and premiered exclusively on Netflix on December 1, 2017. It received six nominations for the 45th Daytime Emmy Awards and won two, including for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.
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Jeff Gill is an American animator, director, and voice actor. He is best known for animating on the show South Park as well as his work with StoryBots in which he voices the character Bing. He directed the series StoryBots Super Songs and has won multiple Emmy awards for his work on Ask the StoryBots including Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program and Outstanding Writing for a Preschool Animated Program.
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References
↑ "StoryBots". Online Tools for Teaching & Learning. University of Massachusetts Amherst. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
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