NMS Students Demo Cutting Edge Technology

Can you imagine being only one out of two for something — anything — in the world?  That is something that some Neshannock Memorial Elementary School students can now say!

Our students were in for a treat when they entered the library last week!  Little did they know that their beloved library was going to be transformed into a state-of-the-art cartoon studio!  Neshannock Memorial is now one of only two schools in the entire world to demo and test the cutting edge technological product known as Toaster Pets Animation Studio, a STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics — authenticated product by stem.org.

Toaster Pets Creator, John Feghali, watches over fifth grade students as they create their very own animated video.

Toaster Pets was founded and created by John Feghali, a multilingual native of Lebanon who currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA.  Feghali has created multiple startups; however, in most recent years he has delved into cartoons and animations as cartoons are one of his favorite pastimes.  His love of cartoons — Tom and Jerry was his favorite — and technology, as well as his mission to make life’s best things available to everyone allowed his current startup to come to life.  John created Toaster Pets using machine learning, artificial intelligence and augmented reality — technology that was once only available to multi-million dollar Hollywood studios!

Toaster Pets Animation Studio addresses a major obstacle regarding technology  — the safety of children.  Using their own voices for narration, the Toaster Pets animated characters allow children to create original, digital videos to be uploaded to social media or video sharing sites, such as YouTube or Vimeo, while maintaining their safety and privacy since their names and faces are not displayed.  Children are able to creatively express themselves through the cartoon Toaster Pets characters, like Pretzel Pug and Ciabatta Cat!

Alongside John Feghali and his team, our students worked in groups of two and three to create cartoons of their very own — green screen and all!  They collaborated on the storytelling process as they agreed upon setting, characters, plot, and more!  It was truly remarkable to watch our students, turned directors, demonstrate their critical thinking skills and creativity with one another while completely and totally enjoying themselves!

It is safe to say that our NMS students give Toaster Pets two thumbs up! 

Be sure to take a moment to enjoy the video and photos of our students’ experience below.  Head over to our NTSD Facebook (@neshtsd) and Instagram (neshannock.lancers) pages for more pictures!


To learn more about John Feghali or Toaster Pets, feel free to visit any of the links below:


 

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