Flat Stanley Gets Digitized With New iPhone App

With Flatter World, Inc.’s release of their new Flat Stanley iPhone app, the story of Flat Stanley has finally made its way into the 21st century. Yes, that’s right. Our beloved Stanley Lambchop has been digitized into the worldwide mainframe.

Let’s first take a whirl back in time. The original Flat Stanley was a children’s book written in 1964.  It chronicled the adventures of a boy named Stanley who, in his sleep, was flattened by a bulletin board. Making good of a bad situation, Stanley realizes he is flat enough to be mailed in an envelope to visit his friends. In 1994, this novel idea then inspired Dale Hubert, a Canadian third grade elementary teacher, to create the Flat Stanley Project.

This project began as a simple school assignment to facilitate literacy and letter-writing. First, students would color their very own paper “Flat Stanley,” write about him, and then mail him to a specific friend or family member. Then that friend or family member would take pictures with Stanley wherever they live and write about where Stanley visited. Finally, Stanley would be mailed back with the pictures, and the student would present these pictures to their class.

Now, let’s fast forward back to today. The Flat Stanley Project has become an international sensation where thousands of students now mail their Flat Stanleys across the globe. So, where does the Flat Stanley iPhone app fit into this picture? I personally have no idea. The app allows users to create and color their very own Flat Stanley. They can then send their personalized Stanley to others who have the app, and in turn, that person can take pictures with the Stanley and return it. The process was built to resemble the physical process of sending mail, but doesn’t this app lose sight of the original educational goals of the Flat Stanley Project?

According to an article on PRWeb, Dale Hubert stated:

“[T]his app marks the launch of Flat Stanley moving online in a way that’s mobile and social, catering to future generations of pen pals around the world. It’s just the tip of the iceberg and will help introduce users to what’s coming next: a robust Flat Stanley social network built on the principles of sharing content in safe and fun ways.”

Does an app that revolves around picture-sharing really cater to a “future generation of pen pals”? I don’t think so.

The app’s description also highlights that, “Now you can share your photos [with your digitally-created Flat Stanley] through Facebook, Email, Twitter…” How many elementary school students own an iPhone or have Facebook, Email, or Twitter? Hubert must be aiming for a very niche market.

 

I’m not someone who thinks we should limit a child’s use of technology, but this app does seem a little counter-intuitive for the Flat Stanley Project. Teachers won’t be able to use this to replace the project in school because children don’t have iPhones, and I hardly think children would be interested enough in the “Flat Stanley” world to use this app in their free time at home. Especially when video games already monopolize their attention. It breaks my heart to say anything negative about Flat Stanley because this project was a favorite of mine in elementary school, but I think that this is just another irrelevant app.