Wake Up World title page
'Wake Up World
Michael and I woulo like to thank our family and friends and our
Adat Shalom family or the amazing response to our receiving the
Shin Award back in May from the Jewish Theological Seminary.
From the tributes, to the donations and attendance at the dinner
the outpouring of love and generosity was overwhelming. JTS and
their commitment to education is a gift to all of us especially in our
Detroit community with our amazing Rabbis, Cantors and
educators. May we continue to share simchas together in good
health and happiness. As the holiday season approaches, we once
again wish you and your families a Happy and Healthy New Year.
With much love and appreciation
Norma and Michael Dorman
1948260
THE
irde
YOU ARE INVITED
The Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring
Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur
FREE OBSERVANCES ALL WELCOME
(DONATIONS APPRECIATED)
Meaningful Cultural/Secular Approach
Music, Singing & Readings
Stefan Kukurugya, pianist
Daniella HarPaz Mechnikov, vocalist
At the Jewish Community Center
15110 West Ten Mile Road, Oak Park
Rosh Hashanah - Thursday, September 25th, 10 a.m.
Yom Kippur - Saturday, October 4th, 10 a.m.
For more information contact 248-432-5677
or micirclel @gmail.com
YOU MAY BRING FOOD FOR YAD EZRA
VSMEN,s
) -1, 1
52
THE WORKMEN'S CIRCLE/ARBETER RING
"<f, Dedicated to Jewish Community, Jewish/Yiddish Culture & Social Justice
Jewish Community Center, 15110 West Ten Mile Road, Oak Park, MI 48237
www.circlemichigan.org
'"N •
September 25 • 2014
G-dcast's new holiday app lets
kids blow a smartphone shofar.
G
-dcast unveiled a new app
that transforms smartphone
interaction for children by
inviting them to blow into the micro-
phone to make music and navigate a
beautiful, virtual world.
Wake Up World:
An Interactive Rosh
Hashanah Book for
the Jewish New Year
was created by San
Francisco-based
Jewish nonprofit
t
2
G-dcast. The app
2 / .
1
allows children
Randi
to
use their smart
Zuckerberg
phone or tablet as a
shofar to navigate a book where they
"wake up" pets, family and friends.
The illustrations are by Laura
Huliska-Beith, an award-winning
children's book artist, and the nar-
ration is by Randi Zuckerberg, CEO,
Zuckerberg Media.
"This is new tech in the service
of good old-fashioned storytelling:'
said Sarah Lefton, G-dcast's executive
director. "This story is gorgeous —
the rhyme is fun, the paintings are
beautiful and the message is power-
ful. Kids are going to love playing
with it, and will bring a lot of joy and
fun to the September holidays. It's
a really heartwarming way to use a
smartphone and allows for experien-
tial learning?'
In the Jewish tradition, shofars
are sounded throughout the High
Holiday services to call people to a
spiritual reawakening, to re-examine
their lives, to let go of yesterday and
to bring in the new year. In Wake Up
World, the main character (kids can
select a boy or a girl) blows a shofar
to wake up his or her friends. The
story is available in both English and
Hebrew.
"This story is a whole new way to
engage children around Jewish edu-
cation:' said Zuckerberg. "Growing
up, stories like this were so impor-
tant to me. It's great to see my son
getting the same kind of message in
a different way. It's awesome to see
G-dcast evolving Jewish education to
keep up with technology:'
Zuckerberg is not only a technol-
ogy and social media expert, she also
is the author of a forthcoming chil-
dren's book, Dot, about a tech-savvy
little girl.
G-dcast anticipates that families
will initially download Wake Up
World during the Jewish holidays as
a bedtime story with seasonal appeal;
however, they expect the app to con-
tinue to serve as an entry point for
experiential learning and fun in an
ongoing way throughout the year.
Wake Up World is the first app to
turn a mobile device into a shofar by
harnessing the power of the micro-
phone for blowing. This feature has
been underutilized in children's apps
and books, particularly those on
Android devices.
Wake Up World is one of a string of
innovative Jewish apps G-dcast has
premiered this year. The nonprofit
also released "Let's Bake Challah!,"
which teaches children how to bake
and bless challah; "Leviticus!:' an
irreverent Fruit Ninja parody that
teaches the third book of the Bible,
and "eScapegoat," a web app that lets
users anonymously upload tweet-
length sins onto a virtual goat and
read those of others in preparation
for Yom Kippur (see page 46).
G-dcast is also continuing to devel-
op animated short films and learn-
ing guides that make Jewish literacy
accessible to everyone — anywhere.
To download Wake Up World from
the iTunes store, go to bit.ly/
wakeupworldiOS. For Google Play,
go to bit.ly/wakeupworld.
This app was made possible by
funds granted by the Covenant
Foundation.
❑