Flat Stanley With A GoPro Twist

The GoPro has many useful features that can be used for educational purposes. Students get excited while trying new types of technology. Technology makes learning fun and interesting. I believe GoPro can put an exciting twist on  the Flat Stanley project. The Flat Stanley project is based on the book “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown. It is used in many schools at the elementary level. Students read the book in which the main character, Stanley, is flattened by a falling bulletin board. Stanley discovers that he can visit his faraway friends by traveling in an envelope. The students then make and mail their own “Flat Stanley” to family or friends all over the world. They ask the recipient to take Stanley to any local landmarks or favorite hot spots in their community and the record “Flat Stanley’s” adventures.  The goal is for the recipient to teach the student about their community.  

Sending a GoPro with Flat Stanley would allow students to experience parts of the world they may never travel to. The camera wouldn’t get damaged like other cameras because it is  durable and waterproof. By using the GoPro, the recipient would send a video back to the student. What the recipient would record is Flat Stanley’s whereabouts while it was out about in the world. This would give the students a different perspective of what Flat Stanley is doing other than the basic letter and a couple of photos. Now that the recipient has the GoPro, he or she can also have a little fun with it by taking this project to new heights through new, increasingly creative opportunities. Some examples are, taking Flat Stanley on a bike ride through New York City, or exploring one of America’s national parks or an aquarium. Maybe Flat Stanley could be mounted to the hat of a zoologist as he or she fed lions or tigers, or Stanley could even be taken to the Olympics to get the athletes’ view of the events. There are unlimited experiences and options that can be done with this new twist on an already amazing, creative, and educational project.

The educational portion comes when the students receive videos back. The students can watch, learn and share with their classmates what amazing things they learned about, about the places Flat Stanley went in the videos. They can make the project even bigger by doing some research themselves. This can also tie into other subjects such as geography. Having those videos can always open the child’s mind to more questions that can take the student on an interesting ride of creativity, innovation and helping the brain develop, using the 21st century technology.