DreamBox Learning®» dreamBox characters

DreamBox Learning Desktop Images

Ken — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:11:02 +0000

Parents, you can surprise your kids by setting the DreamBox Learning characters as your computer screen's background image (or you can display the DreamBox logo). Just click on the display size you want below, save it to your computer, and set it as your "wallpaper".

Who is your Favorite DreamBox Math Learning Game Character?

P.S. Let us know which DreamBox characters are your favorites. And if you have suggestions for which DreamBox Adventure Friends you'd like to see turned into wallpaper, let us know that too!

Classic Navy with Stella and friends.

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Classic Navy.

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Sky High Blue.

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Print the DreamBox Dinosaurs Theme Poster!

Cris — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:53:47 +0000

Check out our Online Learning Game Theme of the Day: Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs poster PDF The Dinosaurs theme is a time traveling adventure where students join silly professor Pickles, Dr. Kim, Hasan, and Misha as they explore a museum and travel to the time of dinosaurs and back! The Dinosaurs theme was one of the DreamBox kids' favorite ideas from the beginning and we've enjoyed creating a fun world of dino time travel for kids to explore. Download a JPEG or PDF version of this fun poster to print at home! Dinosaurs poster PDF

Print the DreamBox Pet Friends Theme Poster!

Cris — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:12:46 +0000

The DreamBox Adventure park is a magical place where kids can choose which adventures they would like to explore. Four themes are available to DreamBox players: Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs, and Pet Friends! These themes, as well as some of the stories and adventures that kids explore, were inspired by and suggested by kids we've talked to and our school beta testers! The DreamBox creative team thanks them all for inspiring us and helping us make a great product! To commemorate our launch we've created four fun posters (one for each theme) for kids and parents to download and print at home! Today, we are featuring the Pet Friends Theme! Pet friends poster PDF The pet friends are a band of neighborhood pets that are always ready to explore or help a friend solve a problem. Hemi and Bunny are best friends and join the students on adventures with the other pets in the neighborhood. Silly cats, birds, mice, squirrels, and dogs all come along for the ride when the pet friends play! Several stories in the Pet Friends theme were inspired by our Kid Beta testers! From the types of animals to include to adventures involving candy, a storm and a group of mischievous kittens! Download a JPEG or PDF version of this fun poster to print at home! Pet friends poster PDF

Print the DreamBox Pixies Theme Poster!

Cris — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:59:08 +0000

The DreamBox Adventure park is a magical place where kids can choose which adventures they would like to explore. Four themes are available to DreamBox players; Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs and, Pet Friends! These themes as well as the stories and adventures that kids explore were inspired by and suggested by kids we've talked to and some of our school beta testers! The DreamBox creative team thanks them all for inspiring us and helping us make a great product! To commemorate our launch we've created four fun posters (one for each theme) for kids and parents to download and print at home! Today, we are featuring the Pixies theme! Pixies theme poster PDF The Pixies join students on fun adventures and are always there to help each other. Led by Autumn, Flora, Flint, Snorg, Rain, and the other Pixies are a colorful band of forest friends always ready for an adventure. DreamBox kids inspired several pixies stories with great ideas like "What would happen if the Rainbow Lost it's colors?" Download a JPEG or PDF version of this fun poster to print at home! Pixies theme poster PDF

DreamBox Characters for Your Desktop!

Ken — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 04:57:32 +0000

Here's a way to surprise your DreamBox-loving kids: download their favorite theme characters and display them as your desktop image! Just click on the size you need, save it to your computer, and set it as your screen's wallpaper or background image. Let Hemi and Bunny from the Pet Friends neighborhood brighten your screen.

1600 x 1200 | 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600 1280 x 1024 | 1152 x 864 Autumn and her friends from the Enchanted Woods can't wait to hang out on your monitor.

1600 x 1200 | 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600 1280 x 1024 | 1152 x 864 Ahoy! Prepare your screen to be boarded by Captain Barnaclebeard and the crew of the Golden Guppy.

1600 x 1200 | 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600 1280 x 1024 | 1152 x 864 Prof. Pickles, Misha, Hasan, and Dr. Kim have traveled through time and visited dinosaurs, now they can visit your desktop.

1600 x 1200 | 1280 x 960 1024 x 768 | 800 x 600 1280 x 1024 | 1152 x 864 Have Stella and the DreamBox World decorate your display.

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Pirates, and Pixies, and Dinosaurs, and Pets! Print the DreamBox Pirates theme poster!

Cris — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:21:13 +0000

The DreamBox Adventure park is a magical place where kids can choose which adventures they would like to explore. Four themes are available to DreamBox players; Pirates, Pixies, Dinosaurs and, Pet Friends! These themes, as well as the stories and adventures that kids explore, were inspired by and suggested by kids we've talked to and some of our school beta testers! The DreamBox creative team thanks them all for inspiring us and helping us make a great product! To commemorate our launch we've created four fun posters (one for each theme) for kids and parents to download and print at home! Today, we are featuring the Pirates theme. The Pirates are a wacky crew of treasure seekers led by their Captain Barnacle Beard! Several of the Pirates stories were inspired by talking with DreamBox kids about fun stories that they would like to see including one featuring a giant Sea Turtle! Download a JPEG or PDF version of this fun poster to print at home! Pirates poster PDF

Meet a DreamBox Character: Stella!

Cris — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:08:18 +0000

Meet Stella!

Stella is the Host of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math!

Stella is the narrator and host of DreamBox Learning K-2 Math! Stella introduces DreamBox students to the magical adventure park and prepares them for their adventures in math learning. As students play games, uncover clues, and learn lots of math, Stella is a fun and consistent guide through the world of DreamBox. Stella is the main instructional voice of the math lessons and pops in from time to time to help students focus on new topics or to celebrate their success! When she's not hanging around the DreamBox neighborhood helping kids have an amazing time learning math, she enjoys painting, crafty projects, reading mystery novels, nature hikes, and of course math!

Diversity and Character Design

Ken — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:33:32 +0000

A parent recently wrote us saying “I LOVE the diversity in the characters that the kid can choose to represent themselves…” The writer explained that their kindergarten-aged daughter is of Central American descent and both parent and child are well aware of the lack of diversity in most animated shows, video games, and toys. I’d like to thank this parent for her kind words regarding our efforts and bringing up an important issue. Though this is the only email we’ve received on the subject, she makes a salient point regarding how a majority of cartoon and game characters are depicted in popular media. A brief and rough history of animation will show how the philosophy of character design has been evolving over the years. When studios first started working in what was the “new” medium of animation, they designed very homogeneous casts when it came to depicting humans. It was rare to have any character (especially main characters) deviate from a particular ethnic palette or body profile. When racial groups were included in cartoons, they were mostly unflattering and offensive portrayals. For decades, that’s how it was. Then during the 60’s to the 80’s when television made cartoons more accessible to a wider audience, well-intended attempts were made to introduce more positive depictions of ethnic characters. Examples include Haji from Johnny Quest, The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan, Fat Albert, and Bravestarr among others. Perhaps the most diverse and progressive cartoon cast on TV during this period was the team from the GI Joe cartoon series in the 80s which went as far to include characters that were Eskimo, Samoan, and people of mixed heritage. The show even addressed interracial relationships. Though progress was slowly being made on the television, it wasn’t until 1992 when Disney, arguably the most influential force on character design for animation, released Aladdin and broke from its traditional formula of European-based fairy tale heroes and signaled a shift in corporate thinking regarding what a protagonist should look like in animation. In 2001 the idea of the skinny, pretty princess was challenged by the movie version of Shrek by Dreamworks. And in 2003, Pixar introduced a tale about a single parent of a child with a disability in Finding Nemo, injecting two topics that family cartoons don’t usually tackle. These are positive changes that are relatively recent and ongoing in an industry where long held beliefs of sticking to formulaic plots and characters have dominated the culture throughout the 20th century.

Continuing to Break the Mold in Kid's Games

The DreamBox art team continues in this tradition of change and progress when it comes to our own animated creations. We share the concerns of the parent who wrote us and we are proud of the diversity of the characters we’ve started with. The writer's approval of our avatar designs shows that we are beginning on the right path. As an artist at DreamBox, I approach my character creations and stories knowing how important of having positive depictions of people from a wide variety of backgrounds is to all children. When you take into account that online programs such as ours are accessible to every person on the planet with an internet connection, the importance of having a diverse range of characters isn’t just an ideal to strive for but a fundamental element of design. As the DreamBox universe continues to grow and develop, we look forward to introducing an even greater spectrum of characters. It is our hope that it will allow kids from all walks of life feel more included in the DreamBox world and help them engage with the lessons more comfortably.