LeVar Burton looks to ‘transform the way we educate our children’
LeVar Burton, the host and producer of the children’s program Reading Rainbow, hopes to revolutionize how children in today’s digital world interact with literature.
“The art of story-telling is as intrinsic to being human as is breathing,” he said on CNN. “We have to be aware that we have to keep story-telling alive in our culture in order for our culture to survive.”
The Peabody Award-winning Reading Rainbow show, which encouraged children to read, was broadcast by PBS for 26 years and received 24 Emmy Awards. But rather than trying to re-launch the TV series, Burton hopes to motivate kids to experience literature through an interactive RRKidz app for iPad and Android devices. The app allows children to read a variety of narrated books, which are brought to life with simple animations and games.
He explained that he hopes to “use the prevailing technology of the day” to excite children about books.
“These very engaging tablet devices are the medium of choice for our kids,” he added.
Watch video, uploaded to YouTube by CNN on June 25, below:
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