Eiry Rees Thomas with one of her characters
Retired health care professional Eiry Rees Thomas has just seen Apple approve, for inclusion in their app store three new apps, based on the adventures of her fantasy creations The Flitlits /Y Sbridion, to help young readers improve their literacy skills.
Targeted at youngsters aged 8-11, the interactive apps incorporate Welsh, English and U.S. English versions of the text and narration for the home and international markets. The stories written in a lyrical, grammatical style detail the escapades of the surreal characters that inhabit the mystical land of Fussbut, Seldom See.
The interactive teaching aids encourage youngsters to laugh as they learn and are structured to satisfy a need for material that spans the divide between picture books and early chapter novels.
The apps are supported by bilingual interactive websites for use by children, parents, teachers and librarians and are supplemented by educational games and puzzles.
Having developed the resources for schools and the commercial and home tuition markets for first language purposes, Eiry is already planning complementary second language versions for release later this year.
The characters are figments of Eiry’s creative imagination and the cross-curricular, multi-modal components have been extensively researched in partnership with experienced educators and the target audience: the children.
The apps contain 17 stories that accompany each main adventure. They highlight the 13 Flitlit characters along with associated landmarks and the ‘plots’ where the characters live. These are linked to generic curricula and are supported by three comprehensive educational guides. These include social and emotional development structures that offer teachers and pupils maximum benefit from the material.
Financial support from the Welsh Government’s Digital Development Fund enabled Eiry to commission Swansea based games developers, Chaos Trend Ltd., to create the apps, and award-winning illustrator, James Field, to bring the Flitlits /Y Sbridion to life. Professional Welsh, English and American narrators and a creative web designer were also employed.
Congratulating Eiry, Economy Minister Edwina Hart said:
“The principle aim of the Digital Development Fund is to help those working in the creative industries sector exploit new business markets through emerging digital technologies. I am delighted to hear how successful the funding has been in launching the Flitlits internationally and wish Eiry every success with her highly innovative project.”
As Apple launch The Flitlits/Y Sbridion apps, Eiry, a fluent Welsh speaker from Cardiff, admits that it’s been a major learning curve.
Eiry, whose career in the public health sector came to an end following a serious back injury, said:
“It’s been tremendously hard work. Entering a new career in my late sixties was an unexpected development but It’s been great fun thanks to the enthusiastic collaboration of Team Flitlit / Y Tîm Sbri. The entire process has been made possible thanks only to the funding support of the Welsh Government which will ensure that I retain the intellectual property rights to the concept.”
With an eye on the international market, Eiry opted for the iPad platform and is delighted that the apps meet Apple’s strict criteria. Eiry has been selected as a featured app creator in an influential U.S. publication devoted to promoting the Flitlit apps in the States and beyond.
Additionally, she’s been offered an educational publishing deal to create print and e-books to support the apps in all three language versions.
