PowToon + Katie = even more awesomeness (Updated!)

I am a big fan of the talented, adorable and slightly wacky author/illustrator/kidlit blogger/podcaster Katie Davis.

I am also a big fan of the slightly wacky, digital animation tool PowToon with its cool themes, props, animated characters and transitions.

So what happens to the equation when a popular picture book author/illustrator partners with digital, comic-based presentation/video maker platform?

That’s the question Katie Davis will answer at her upcoming webinar.

Here’s the problem.

We’ve been working hard at making business solutions work for kids’ creative projects. As cool as they are, these platforms weren’t really designed for us.   Although PowToon offers free, awesome style-libraries and animations, it’s not yet all that connected to the world of kids.  There are no little chickens.

The addition of a Katie Davis theme is likely to change that game and perhaps, start a trend.

I created a website and was trying to get kids to use my art to create social media.  But that was before drag and drop and it didn’t go anywhere.  It was too hard to keep up.  And I got busy doing other things.

The time is now ripe.

Katie was drawn to PowToon and to the enthusiasm of the very serious, white-jacket PowToon scientists behind the platform.  She pointed to their helpful short tutorials and how responsively they  solicit and accommodate users’ suggestions–how they let folks in on the progress of upcoming features.

She  is now excited about making tons of stuff for her new theme and that those  very serious scientists are going to make her stuff dragable, droppable and animatable.

So, what’s it going to look like?

Katie’s been listening for months, collecting ideas for just what to include in the new theme.

Readers helped to crowd-source a long PowtoonWishList.   Blog post comments revealed an interesting mix: requests for books, trophies, alligators riding skateboards, hopping cows, and students and teachers with a variety of facial expressions.  (Among the items definitely coming in an early packet is a little girl in a burka.)  

Big picture: Imagine what it might look like if more of our favorite illustrators contributed to improving more of our digital storytelling platforms.  Imagine what it would look like if we had the graphics we really need to support storytelling and flipping.

Katie hopes that her contribution will pave the way and so do I!

Use this link to sign up for Katie’s free webinar.  (Details to come after signup)

How long has it been since we did something really great for educators? Too long, I admit… Well, we are making up for lost time and this month is the start of something big!  
1. Katie Davis is giving a flipping awesome webinar this Tuesday at 9:00 EST about how to flip your classroom with PowToon.  Signup and she will send you an invite and a reminder: KatieRecommends.com/PowtoonDeal (If you can’t make it, signup anyways and get the link to the webinar recording).  I LOVE Katie Davis, her webinars are super fun and informative.

2. The new education plans are launching in just a couple of weeks and they will feature all that you have been asking for and more, including:
 – Classroom feature (allowing you to include and manage all your classroom students under your account)
 – Premium styles included: That includes the Katie Davis Style, which she created based on teachers requests
 – Expansive Music library
 – No PowToon outro on your videos
 – HD export and download

3. Teacher appreciation promotion 
You have been asking for the classroom account for so long that we feel guilty.  As an appreciation, anyone who is signed-up for the educator plan prior to the new plan launch (in just a week or two from now) will get a free upgrade to the classroom account right when it launches.  That’s a serious savings because the new plans will cost a lot more.  Here is the catch: I don’t have an exact launch date and I would hate for you to miss out on this opportunity, so if you have not already purchased an educators plan, please do signup at http://ow.ly/lNoJb

See you at Katie’s webinar!
Daniel Glickman,
The Maddest Scientist at PowToon.

Filed under: art, authors, digital publishing, digital storytelling, images, picture books, technology