History is Made: Sarah Towle and Mary Hoffman ink TTT&T's first author agreement, Oxfordshire, UK, 23 May 2015.
News chez TTT&T
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I WANT YOU TO JOIN ME AND TEAM TTT&T ON
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
You're the first to know: We’re going for it. Finally. There’s still a long way to go before we achieve a thriving and successful venture. But after years of foundation building, we find we can't truly grow without capital.
So we’re organizing a crowd-sourced funding campaign on Kickstarter to raise money for the production of the next Story App Tour to be released by Time Traveler Tours & Tales.
I'd like to say: “We’re kicking off with a Kickstarter campaign,” because of the fun alliteration. But it feels more like we’re taking a plunge, because of the inherent risk. To be honest, this adventure is super scary most times (especially at night when I'm tired and still haven't managed to reach the end of the to-do list). But each morning I wake up and dive right into the task again. Why?
Read MoreAin't Nothing Like the Real Thing, Baby!
Hi everyone! I've just returned from a week enjoying a big tasty bite of the Big Apple. Even in chilly January, that most amazing city welcomed me with warm open arms.
I went for meetings. Lots of them. On Wednesday, they went on for 10 straight hours!
I met with some of the most inspiring leaders in the world of digital storytelling -- the funders and directors of NYC's top cultural institutions and philanthropic organizations -- as well as a few serial start-up entrepreneurs, mentors all, and an angel investor.
And now there are meetings here in London to follow those in NY.
I'm pitching the TTT&T concept to validate whether or not we're on the right track before the Team and I rev up our engines to mach speed. Do we know our audience well? Are we responding to real needs? Are we offering the right solution for them?
Read MoreIntroducing the Newest Member of Team TTT&T: Meet Dan Blank
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia, where he helps writers share their stories and connect with readers. He has helped hundreds of authors via online courses, consulting, and workshops, and has worked with many amazing publishing houses and writers' organizations. His client list includes Random House, Workman Publishing, Abrams Books, Writers House, The Kenyon Review, Writer’s Digest, Library Journal, CLMP and others.
Dan joins Team TTT&T as Marketing & Outreach Consultant. Already, his input is positioning us to grow an engaged community of active readers, contributors, clients, and fans.
Additionally, Dan brings to Team TTT&T valuable expertise accrued earlier in his career, working in the corporate sector. He is excited about applying this knowledge to help us launch a start-up publishing concern whose mission and goals he passionately believes in.
I was immediately taken by Sarah and her team’s mission to combine storytelling, education, and publishing. The focus on crafting compelling narratives, and marrying history with first-hand experience, deeply resonated with me. I am thrilled to be a part of this team!
And we are honored to have Dan on board: his enthusiasm is infectious, and his experience profound.
Please join me in leaving Dan your words of welcome in the comments sections. Thanks!
3 Surefire Ways to Make. History. Fun.
In last week’s blog post, I summarized the results of our recent conversations with teachers and parents regarding the challenges they face turning teens and tweens on to history. Their comments fell into one of three categories:
Challenge #1:
It isn’t easy for young people to comprehend time in the distant past.
Challenge #2:
The way history is presented can be dry and dull,
which makes it difficult to learn.
Challenge #3:
Young people don’t appreciate how history influences their lives today.
Over at Time Traveler Tours & Tales, we’re building a publishing imprint with the express goal of overcoming these challenges. Our primary mission is to provide a fun way into history. Our operating mantra is:
Make History Relevant. Make History Personal. Make History Real.
This is perhaps best expressed in the latest release from the product suite of our award-winning debut title and case study: the Beware Madame La Guillotine Curriculum Handbook, by Marcie Colleen.
Here’s Marcie on the making of this dramatically-new teacher guide:
“My challenge with BMLG began with the question, “how can we get kids who have never traveled to Paris into the environment of the French Revolution?” It reminded me of my experiences as a grad student at NYU where I studied educational theater and used techniques from Process Drama.
Process Drama uses dramatic play to create an imagined world in the classroom…to help kids explore issues and solve problems without ever leaving the classroom. It can be used in the history classroom quite effectively to bring humanity to historical moments.”
