Launch of Mobile Application, Bennett Live

Jan 14, 2021

CHICAGOJan. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Available today, Bennett Live is igniting joy and creativity in learning at home and around the screen. Nominated for the Edison Innovation Award 2021, Bennett Live offers engaging and healthy media and educational learning for children ages 3-18 co-led by inspiring professional educators, designers, and learners. Grounded in learning through doing and developing a growth mindset, Bennett Live is guided by ten pedagogical principles drawn from a progressive philosophy of learning by doing and human development. Bennett Live is accessible via its websitemobile application, and social channels for children, families, and schools everywhere.

 

Featuring 240 episodes with 11,000 minutes (1,500 school days) of content viewed, reaching over 800k families to date, Bennett Live was created by Dr. Kelly Page, Director of Bennett Labs at Bennett Day School, a progressive independent school in West Town, Chicago.

When Bennett Day School closed its campus due to the pandemic in March, the school was faced with the challenge of developing and delivering a hands-on, project-based learning curriculum that prioritized student-centered learning, yet delivering it via a screen for learners at-home. The team listened to how other schools and families were struggling with distance learning, and after observing how learners engaged via the screen, Bennett Labs created Bennett Live.

In April 2020, the first project and exploration-based series of Bennett Live, Creative Play, and Exploring, were launched via Facebook and YouTube. Today, more than 18 series developed with over 30 educators are now available to families everywhere via the Bennett Live mobile apps on Google Play (for Android) and the App Store (for iOS).

“As we begin a new year in a time of unprecedented remote and home learning, we need to ignite creativity and engagement in learning at home more than ever. Be it designing an at-home obstacle course for physical education, creating a bag monster from a shopping bag, building a boat that floats, digging into the science of storytelling or the math of map-making, or completing a photography or film challenge, designing for creativity through project-based learning is especially important for our children and our teachers right now,” said Dr. Kelly Page, Director of Bennett Labs. “We need to embrace a new design of home learning, one that is hands-on, active, and creative for healthy screen time around the screen. One which  ignites the learning of young designers, creators, and makers everywhere, to build, design, and create with whatever they have at home.”

Bennett Live consists of a series of core offerings for families. These include the Bennett Live Media Series, Design Challenges, and Learning Resources.

  • Bennett Live Media Series is an engaging media series focused on developing the growth mindset of children ages 3-18 years. The series includes over 240 episodes across 18 series of pre-recorded media content. Every series includes a project or activity guided on-screen by our team of educators and contributors. Each series is supported by a learning guide with a list of resources your child may need. Series titles include Creative Play, Exploring Sound, and Building Empathy and Community, Active Play, Experimenting at Home, and Outdoor Adventuring, and more.
  • Design Challenges. A library of project-based learning design challenges comprising 4-5 consecutive challenges. Choose from challenges in film, photography, business, social leadership, or play-based design challenges.
  • Learning Resources. Access a library of learning guides, flip-cards, and project resources to support at-home creative projects, and exploration activities.

The Bennett Live App costs $9.99/month or $79.99 a year and is available via iTunes and Google Play. To learn more about Bennett Live, visit www.bennettlive.com

About Bennett Labs

Bennett Live is a Bennett Labs creation for children and families everywhere. Bennett Labs is a learning innovation and development lab embedded in the life of the school committed to advancing creativity and innovation in child, family, and educator learning experiences. Our mission is to advance creativity and innovation in learning and to create learning experiences that foster the development of lifelong learners and leaders. We collaborate with design, learning, and technology partners and are committed to all learners as co-designers in the learning experience. We believe creativity and innovation occur naturally and collaboratively between people, and to the sharing of learning innovations with the world. Bennett Labs is a division of Bennett Day School, a progressive independent school in West Town, Chicago., IL.

Kalli LeVasseur // Lauren Kelly
Zapwater Communications
kalli@zapwater.com // laurenk@zapwater.com