Meet the Class of 2014 Who’s Who Women in Ecommerce™ Annabelle Howard – BIG FUN Education
Annabelle Howard is making reading sociable and fun for K-12 because not enough children love reading yet. “Reading can feel lonely if you don’t read well,” says Annabelle. “Reading 1:1 makes all the difference — especially if you read about something that interests you and read with someone who is also passionate about that topic.” Annabelle founded a nonprofit, BIG FUN Education, to accomplish her mission. A Google Community called Reading Without Borders matches volunteers with students for 1:1 reading; authors talk with classes; people record goodnight stories in many languages; and passion for reading is shared globally.
BIG FUN Education also uses Google Hangouts to engage students in classic dramatic literature. Annabelle’s online series, Common Core PLAYS, is available for all digital devices with Internet connections.
The plays, which are adapted from classic literature, include: audio, images, text, academic vocabulary, nonfiction, and acting tips. BIG FUN recently got a grant to take Macbeth social with almost 300 kids in 6 countries, and produced 37 collaborative YouTubes in 4 weeks. “Students need to know how to collaborate, speak well, improvise, appreciate different cultures, and be exposed to the world — from the safe confines of their classroom,” says Annabelle. “We make all that possible through our plays written for use by teachers who have not been trained to use drama in the classroom.” BIG FUN Education hopes more schools will participate in these projects and that BIG FUN will soon find sponsors to support this mission. Her website: www.BigFunEducation.org
To read more about the 2014 Who’s Who Women in Ecommerce™ of WE Magazine for Women, visit: https://s3.amazonaws.com/WEMagazine/WhosWhoWEMag2014.pdf
