TinyTap Wins $1M in Verizon Prize for Education
This blog post is dedicated to the TinyTap community for their unconditional support and teaching us more than we could ever hope to learn, and to Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam, for believing that great ideas can change the world and that we could become one of them.
The only thing better than coming up with an innovative idea, is being given the opportunity to make it a reality.
On January 8th, 2014, TinyTap was announced the first prize winner of $1M in Verizon’s Powerful Answers Award in the education category, along with Mosaic, in the sustainability category, and Smart Vision Labs in the healthcare category.
TinyTap was awarded for being the most innovative education idea, bringing forward solutions to a big problem facing education today: personalization.
See the full event
The Birth of An Idea
After learning that his dad had developed a memory disorder, Yogev started a relentless search for an iPad application that could help them interact and communicate in a fun and familiar way.
Unable to find what he was looking for, he decided to create the tool himself. A few days later, he approached his close friend and fellow classmate at Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Oren Elbaz.
The engaging interactivity of the product reminded them of the simple and engaging way children create and interact with each other.
Oren tried the product on his 3 year old son to see what happened…
With amazing feedback, TinyTap launched in the App Store on May 2012 as a free iPad application that enabled anyone to create and play personalized educational games for kids.
The Verizon Powerful Answers Award
Nearly a year ago, Verizon announced the beginning of its Powerful Answers Award, an open-call competition for individuals and companies to come up with the most innovative solutions to present day problems in the areas of education, healthcare and sustainability.
Shortly after, TinyTap CEO Yogev Shelly entered the competition, and the following five months were filled with buzz and excitement, as our team of 6 people did their best to develop an idea we believed in wholeheartedly.
And on October, the 10 finalists in each category were announced…
Weeks of preparation, a thousand cups of coffee, a series of all-nighters in a 10×10 office, and loads of encouragement later, Yogev flew off to California to present TinyTap before a blue-ribbon panel of judges – experts from academia, the media and the venture capital community.
TinyTap Makes the Top 5!
On December 9th, Verizon announced TinyTap as one of the top 5 finalists in the Education category, and we were off to Las Vegas to CES 2014, where the winners would be announced!
And the Award Goes To…
After days of anticipation…
Interviews…
And meetings…
The Verizon Powerful Answers Award Winners were announced on January 8th at CES 2014 in Las Vegas!
And TinyTap won the first prize in the Education category for the most innovative idea!
Why TinyTap?
See why we believe that personalized learning and a powerful community can change how kids learn and play!
TinyTappers, stay tuned for big announcements because this is only the beginning, the best of yet to come!
Until then, happy creating and much love from the TinyTap family :)!
4 Award-Winning Authors Your Kids Will Love
Children’s books have an unparalleled ability to engage and enlighten their readers with interesting plots, important lessons, and imaginative imagery. Whether one wants to be transported back in time to an Inca civilization or follow a friendly family of dolphins living in the Pacific, children’s books can transport a reader’s imagination anywhere.
TinyTap collaborates with exceptional authors from all over the world and helps digitize their classic stories and bring them to life through interactive games and activities.
Meet some amazing award-winning authors we’ve had the pleasure to work with.
Jeff Dinardo
Jeff is a quirky, brilliant children’s author and designer from the Red Chair Press family. His beautiful Space Cat story, an absorbing book about a cat’s dream to blast off into space, is a beloved classic worldwide. Despite dog’s doubts, Cat shows us that with perseverance and hard work one can shoot for the moon!
Barbara Bakowski
If you love puppies of all shapes and sizes Barbara Bakowski’s Best in Show is just the book for you! Through charming rhymes and fun sound effects and illustrations, it teaches kids that even though people are different from one another, they each have a unique characteristic that is truly priceless. You can find this delightful “tail” in the TinyTap Market under our featured section.
Jannifer Powelson
Powelson’s series of eco-conscious books, with a friendly skunk named Sammy and a lovable raccoon named Rachel, help children learn how to preserve and respect the environment in a fun, engaging way! In addition to valuable educational lessons, Jannifer’s series is filled with beautiful illustrations and vivid original photographs.It’s never too early to make a difference in the world – don’t wait, see how YOU can help the planet today!
Hazel Edwards
Finally, we have Hazel Edwards, a whimsical Australian author and National Reading Ambassador best known for her worldwide classic, ‘There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Cake’. In collaboration with TinyTap, Hazel has released three amazing kids’ apps based on some of her most popular books – Fish & Chips & Jaws, The Hundreds and Thousands Kid, and one of our personal favorites, Not Lost, Just Somewhere Else.
Discover more amazing authors in TinyTap’s new ‘Award-winning Authors‘ collection!
Want to learn more about the TinyTap Authors’ project? Read more or contact us at [email protected]
4 Ways to Get 1K Downloads on the App Store
Meet Kat Brooks (a.k.a. K.S. Brooks), an award-winning author and photographer that lives in the wilderness of northeastern Washington State. One of her most famous, and most beautiful creations has been the series of Mr. Pish adventure books for children.
Mr. Pish is an adorable Jack Rusell Terrier that has traveled the world and shared his adventures through beautiful children’s books.
A few months ago, with the help of TinyTap, she created an accompanying game app for her book ‘Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm’. And a week later, her app got more than 1K downloads on iTunes!
Turns out K.S. is not only an amazing writer, she’s also a marketing superwoman!
Here’s how she did it:
1. She contacted the noise-makers!
As soon as Mr. Pish was out on the iTunes, K.S. contacted friends, colleagues, followers, bloggers, websites, press and anyone who could spread the word!
Mr. Pish’s app got featured in four major news sites!
Now THAT’s how you make some noise :)!
2. She talked on the Radio!
K.S. was interviewed by RFD, a popular Illinois-based radio station, about the ‘Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm’ book and app!
3. She made a Video!
K.S. made a short, beautiful video about the Mr. Pish App! You can do your own in minutes with simple video maker tools, such as animoto or iMovie.
4. She got Webby with it!
K.S. used her personal website and Mr. Pish’s to promote the app. She included the news about the app on her existing page about the ‘Mr. Pish Goes to the Farm’ book. Additionally, she created a new category labeled ‘Apps’ with detailed information about the Mr. Pish app, its videos, promotion and news coverage. Now that’s how you use a website!
Want to know more about K.S. and the adorable Mr. Pish?! Chek them out below:
TinyTap – One of 5 Education Finalists in Verizon $1M Powerful Answers Award!
TinyTap was just announced as one of the 5 finalists in Verizon’s $10M Powerful Answers Award in the education category!
TinyTap would have never made it this far without our unbelievable community. Thank you for teaching us more than we could ever hope for…
Check out the video below!
We couldn’t be happier and can’t wait to attend CES 2014 in Las Vegas on January 8th and claim the prize. We would love to see you all there, but if not, we invite you to see TinyTap live through a Verizon webcast that will be running on the day of the event, we´ll keep you posted as soon as we know more!
Help us spread the word!
We would love and appreciate for you to share the news with family and friends and join us in our excitement:)!
Tweet it!
Share the news and include Verizon’s twitter handles (@vzwnews, @verizon, @verizonenterprise, or @verizonwireless) and the Powerful Answers Award hashtag (#VZPAA)
Facebook or Google+ it!
Spread the message to your Facebook and Google+ friends by sharing Verizon’s very cool video and/or tag Verizon (@Verizon)!
We look forward to another amazing year! Until then, Happy Holidays dear creators!