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ARTS: AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF TECHNOLOGY

In 2002 I purchased an IBM’s computer that helped me get my work done. It has a horrible design, but it worked very well. I always considered that a computer was a tool to create, but not something you have to like.

In 2007 everything changed. Steve Jobs was announcing the first iPhone and I felt instant love for that product. Behind that, there was another name: Jony Ive, a British industrial designer. The creative mind and soul on Apple’s products.

I started to buy only Apple. I started a romantic relation that now is continuing in my work on Wulum Ltd and products like “Circuland”. The look and feel of a product has affect the software developing itself.

Maybe you don’t know, but developers are artists. Our work is the creation from nothing. And the final result is something that you could share with everybody. When I see lines of code, there’s beauty difficult to appreciate by many, but it’s there. There are infinite ways to create code for a task. But some are an special work of art. After all, you can play the same Mozart Prelude by different orchestras and conductors. But there are few that will make the sound really special. There are few that will make a connection with your soul.

But there are other artists. Yes, the original artists that you now. Those that creates great images or unique sounds and music that translate you somewhere else.

Today, technology has bring all those arts together in a compelling called of design, sound and code that will rock user’s hearts… or not.

Within technology, you will find a long list of products to buy. Not just physical but in software. Nevertheless there are few that you will choose. And you will find that those few has done something right. They have the flawless design, the ideal sound and the perfect action that drove your decision to make them part of your life.

That is our strive everyday. To create products as Circuland that gain children’s heart using design, coding and music. Using arts and technology to give a loving lesson that perdure in time. To help the world be inspired and make ourselves better by the right use of technology.

At the end there are thousands of Apps to choose. And you will pick those that give more than you expected. They cannot just do something right. They must do something with a beauty that inspire great things in you.

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Education is not about teaching. It's about learning

Sir Ken Robinson

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Circuland in the App Store.

When we were kids the learning process usually was a tedious monologue of a teacher writing things on a blackboard. If we were lucky that teacher use some colours to separate concepts. At the end of the class the blackboard was erase and the only thing you can count on were: your notes, what you remember was said and your books. There was no way to go backwards and stop a moment to understand a lesson. Probably, you and many of your classmates didn’t make a question because you were afraid to look less intelligent than them. Other option is because you were just shy.circulandIcon

Technology has bring us the possibility of change the learning process to be interactive, colourful and at our own pase. There is no need of blackboard or to take notes to remember something that you cant understand because in that same moment you were taking notes. Even more, technology is capable of achieving the learner process without conscious. Some have called this intuitive learning.

There is no doubt that for a person that is having fun in an activity, the learning process is different. The time shrinks and you don’t want it to end. It doesn’t matter if you are skating, playing at recess or golfing. All your being is lost in the moment. As Sir Ken Robinson has explained, you found your element.

Nevertheless, there is a time to learn basic concepts that you are going to need all of your life. Sometimes that knowledge is difficult to get because the way of transmission is not captivating. That is why we consider that technology’s role is a game changer.

As parents with children born after iPhone era, we wish to offer a way to give intuitive learning for those words, colours, numbers and concepts that they must mastered before 2nd grade. For us, that concepts are too simple, but for them is a world to be discover and we wish to present it in the most beautiful way.

Circuland is an iPhone/iPad interactive story for kids up to 8 years old. Every feature on the app is carefully selected: The relaxing green colours of natural landscapes; The soft design of every component; The characters related to basic shapes; The relaxing lullaby music for achieving focus; The narrator’s voice presence; The interactive actions as elements to go through the story; The story itself with a great lesson to share; The possibility to repeat phrases or words with just a touch.

Principal-v1

Circuland, and all the mentioned features, is available now on AppStore for FREE. We want as many young learners of the world to have access to this wonderful story. Optionally, you can purchase 4 learning games that covers: basic colours identification; shapes recognition; counting numbers from 1 to 10; concept differentiation of “Up”, “Down”, “Right”, “Left”.

The four optional games came in one package for just $0.99 and they are located in certain scene of the story in order to make a pause, give a quick lesson and then continue the narration.

In Wulum Ltd, we consider that our commitment is educational but we think that by working together with the parents bigger changes can be made. That’s why for every purchase from the optional games, 10% of the profits will go to an organization dedicated to the cancer’s research. Cancer is a disease that can reach anybody around the world. What can be a better legacy than offer education for the kids and give a small contribution to that difficult battle. One battle that has taken so many of us.

Few days ago my 7 years old daughter look at me a said: “Dad, I love Circuland”. For anyone that has been a parent, we know that our children live by an absolute code of honesty. In that moment I was certain that we were doing the right work. And I am sure that many parents will agreed.