Mindconnex Learning has confirmed the success of its ‘Shakespeare In Bits: Romeo & Juliet’ title for the iPad and iPhone, featuring the voice talents of Michael Sheen and Kate Beckinsale. It also announced the imminent availability of its next title, ‘Shakespeare In Bits: Macbeth’. ‘Shakespeare In Bits’ is a new, integrated approach to Shakespeare Studies that promotes quicker learning, deeper understanding, and greater appreciation of Shakespeare’s plays.
Description
Dublin, Ireland – Mindconnex Learning confirmed the success of its ‘Shakespeare In Bits: Romeo & Juliet’ title for the iPad and iPhone, and announced the imminent availability of its next title, ‘Shakespeare In Bits: Macbeth’.
Released in May 2010 and featuring the voice talents of Michael Sheen (30 Rock, Frost/Nixon) and Kate Beckinsale (The Aviator, Underworld) as the tragic couple, ‘Romeo & Juliet’ has achieved over 10,000 downloads of its Full and Lite editions for iOS devices, and continues to prove popular with students and educators alike. It has been featured several times on App Store home pages worldwide, and was chosen by Apple as ‘App of the Week’ in September 2010 in the UK and Ireland.
“It’s no secret that Shakespeare can be challenging,” said Michael Cordner, director and lead technologist of Mindconnex Learning. “Many students struggle with the language, which makes it that much harder for teachers to engage them. By presenting the play in an interactive format that appeals to all styles of learner, we think ‘Shakespeare In Bits’ is a great example of how new technology can ease the burden on both teachers and students.”
‘Shakespeare In Bits’ is a new, integrated approach to Shakespeare Studies that promotes quicker learning, deeper understanding, and greater appreciation of Shakespeare’s plays. Leveraging the full capabilities of iOS devices, it presents an interactive, unabridged version of the play’s text alongside a fully animated presentation. It also includes a full range of innovative study features, including dynamic translations of difficult terms, full synopses and study notes for each section, and a character map highlighting the relationships between the characters.
The next title in the series, ‘Shakespeare In Bits: Macbeth’, will be available for the iPad and iPhone around the end of November/Early December 2010. It features Stephen Dillane (King Arthur, The Hours) as Macbeth and Fiona Shaw (Harry Potter) as Lady Macbeth. It will present two-and-a-half hours of full animation and audio, along with the complete play text and the same range of helpful learning features pioneered in ‘Romeo & Juliet’.
Features
* The unabridged original play text, broken into easily digested ‘bits’
* Three hours of animation with full audio, (Audio provided by Naxos Audiobooks)
* Complete notes, summaries, and analyses for each section
* A unique in-line translation system for obscure words and phrases
* Biographies for each character, accessed from the main play or through the cast browser
* A character relationship map, demonstrating key relationships in the play
Pricing and Availability:
The iPhone/iPod touch and iPad “Romeo & Juliet” apps retail for $7.99 (USD) and $14.99 respectively (with equivalent local pricing in other currencies), exclusively on the App Store.
Some screenshots are given below.
