Education Through Entertainment

Facebook, Newsweek And School Assemblies

Posted on Thu, Oct 18, 2012


Interesting news the today. Newsweek, the renowned news magazine, has announced it will cease printing a hard copy version of itself and focus all of it’s efforts on it’s online edition. A sign of the times reiterated by a recent poll showing social networking site Facebook has now taken the lead as the most important brand in the world over such giants as Google, Disney and Apple. Clearly, people are spending more and more time online and less and less in previously popular pastimes.

What does this mean for our culture?

At one time, the most popular form of entertainment was live theatre. At that time, the only alternatives were other “live” art forms such as music and dance. One hundred years ago, everyone went to the theatre. At least, everyone who could. Then came movies. Then came television. Today, the remaining world of theatre is composed of New York musical extravaganzas, alongside small “cottage industry” theatres that still present plays in much the same form that William Shakespeare would recognize, were he alive today. Such is the power of technology. I don’t lament this trend, but it is interesting to watch. How long before theatre transforms through technology into some form of hologram that pops up on your coffee table? 

In education we are witnessing similar inroads. More and more classrooms are adopting interactive, computer based technologies such as smart boards into regular classroom instruction. Schools are integrating more and more communication into online formats. And more and more classes and degrees are available through online sources. Is this good or not? Events are moving so quickly it is difficult to tell, though I suspect for the main part it is all wonderful.

Still, there is something lost when a child receives all instruction through technology. Human interaction is important. It just is.

Many years ago, my late brother used to say “A phone call is better than a letter. But a face to face visit is better than a phone call.” I suspect he was right, and I suspect a human face is still better than a computer screen. 

Live educational school shows provide the opportunity for talented and experienced performers to take students to places in their education that a computer screen simply cannot touch. I refuse to accept that a book can convey the humanity of Abraham Lincoln more effectively than 45 minutes in the presence of the man himself. One of our competitors offers a mobile planetarium, of sorts, that makes use of a very well produced movie projected on the inside of a dome. Interesting, and well produced I am certain, with many cool special effects. But it cannot compete with an actual planetarium presentation, such as Sky Dome, offering  a live guide presenting the program and constantly adjusting and tailoring the show though interaction with the audience.

To paraphrase my brother, a computer class is good, but a skilled teacher is better. And a talented performer, acting as a skilled teacher, and  presenting a live school assembly is the best of all!

Oh... and,uh ...don't forget to visit us on Facebook! :-)

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Everyone's Talking About Mobile Ed School Shows!

Posted on Mon, Oct 15, 2012

Mobile Ed has worked very hard over the years to build and maintain our reputation. We could put together all the marketing materials in the world about how great we think we are and how much we think you need us, but the words of unbiased clients count for so much more.

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School Assemblies For Catholic Schools Week

Posted on Tue, Oct 9, 2012

Mobile Ed Productions has, over its 30 plus years, worked with many great schools from nearly every state. We deliver content that is educational and entertaining to anyone regardless of age, race or religious leanings. However, one of the many groups that has contributed to our success are small Catholic schools across the country. We’ve been very fortunate to work with many great schools that want a great education for their kids and allow us to help.

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Columbus Day, School Holidays and Timely Assembly Programs

Posted on Mon, Oct 8, 2012

Today was Columbus Day when we celebrate the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Of course, this worked out better for some people than for others. Pretty good for Europeans, but not so good for North American indigenous peoples.

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Promoting School Funding With School Assembly Programs

Posted on Wed, Oct 3, 2012

If you have kids and live in Michigan then most likely you already know what today was, don't you? Today was, of course, that most important day called “Count Day”. If you do not know what that means, then here is an explanation.

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Making The Most of School Shows and School Assemblies

Posted on Tue, Sep 18, 2012

For many years we have brought great school shows to kids all over the country. But, of course, the kids don't get to select the shows. Instead we work with a representative from the school to do that. We set up our school shows through many different people. Often we do so through the school principal. Other times it is a secretary acting on behalf of a principal. Many times it will be a representative from the school PTA or PTO. Occasionally it will be a teacher. And they all do their scheduling in different ways.

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Abraham Lincoln, The Battle of Antietam and School Assemblies

Posted on Mon, Sep 17, 2012

One of our good friends is in Maryland today. His name is Frank, and his real job is that of principal at a school in the greater Cleveland, Ohio area. But today he is engaged in another passion. Frank is a Civil War reenactor and today he is in Maryland, along with thousands of his colleagues, reenacting one of the the turning points in the war, the Battle of Antietam.

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School Assemblies – A Waste of Time?

Posted on Fri, Aug 31, 2012

We received a communication recently in connection to one of our blogs. It was in reference to a recent piece describing how well our anti bullying assembly - Stronger Than a Bully - has been received during the last year, and how we have now created a follow up program to meet the needs of schools wishing to repeat the show each year. The writer, with antagonism and totally unprovoked belligerence, cast aspersions, denigrated the reliability of client reviews, and demanded empirical evidence proving that the show had been effective in preventing bullying. Wow! Given that the writer had, apparently, never even seen the show, we can only assume he or she was having a bad day.

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School Assembly Guide – What Is A School Assembly?

Posted on Mon, Aug 27, 2012

At this time, every year, around the country, young parents are being thrown into new volunteer tasks with their PTO or PTA organizations. Some are charged with fund raising activities, others with membership drives, while still others are made secretaries or treasurers. But to some falls the task of arranging school assemblies. And what, they think to themselves, is a school assembly? What is a school assembly program? What do you mean I am to arrange the enrichment programs?

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Plato, Playtime and School Shows

Posted on Mon, Jul 2, 2012

As you may know, I married into a large Greek-American family. If you have seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, you will have some small idea of what I entered into! The father in that film was always remarking on the wisdom of the ancient Greeks, and though the film obviously played this for laughs, there is great truth in the notion that much of what we think today was originally thought out by the great Greek philosophers of many thousands of years ago.

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