To the partners of Sanoen, Marga M. Garriga, master's degree in communication management and Jaume Xarrié, Telecommunications Engineer, their children inspired them. And to answer complex questions asked, Marga began writing children's stories to try to explain more easily the complexity of what was happening in the world. So from the beginning of the project they opted for the digital book because they wanted to offer new interactive reading experiences and they thought there was a need in the market for children's and educational applications.
That's how he was born Sanoen, a digital editorial specialized in educational and interactive children's stories in which they create digital content for iPad and Kindle. Its applications are multilanguage: Spanish, English, French, Catalan, German and Chinese and its clients readers and source of inspiration are digital natives, children from 0 to 9 years. In Peques y Más we present a interview with Marga M. Garriga de Sanoen in which we will explain what are the objectives of the company, its plans in the short and medium term, what do you think of teaching with digital content and much more.
What is the current status of applications for mobile devices in Sanoen
We are currently in the production phase of two new children's applications for iPad that follow the line of our previous products. They are applications for entertainment and learning. We will launch the second title of the collection of Sara the little fairy, it is a story to encourage entrepreneurship and their values to children, we do not intend to convey the idea that they should be entrepreneurs, but that children adopt a proactive attitude towards life, that they are creative and that they pursue their dreams.
What are Sanoen's challenges in the medium-long term
Parallel to the creation of our children's apps, we have long been exploring new complementary business channels. We are working on some projects, one of them, for example, related to the introduction of tablets in children's classrooms. The possibilities of these devices for learning are endless, although it is necessary to facilitate agile and simple platforms for educators to bet on them.
Our challenge is to consolidate our business and open new paths that are not limited only to the sale of our own applications but also to offer app marketing services and the creation of customized corporate apps. The challenge is to cover the entire cycle, from the idea, the conceptualization, the programming and the commercialization, also offering the Sanoen experience. Our main market is still the United States, followed by Canada, Argentina, Spain and Australia.
How was the publishing experience with Imaginarium and what are your plans for the future with them?
For Sanoen, that a company like Imaginarium proposed us to collaborate is already a success. With them we share many values. I'll be older ... by Imaginarium It is the application that we have launched to the market together, I am sure that after this one others will come.
The possibilities of tablets for learning are endless
What business models are triumphing in applications.
There is no single business model that works for all categories of applications.
In the games category, for example, the freemium model, free in the download, but with payments to have more features, it is the one that is proving more successful. Although some do not like integrated payments, the reality is that they work.
In the category of books and in the new category for children of the App Store, a model that works is the In-App Purchase, purchase from within the application, although now with more stringent rules in apps for children. A few months ago Apple has established new guidelines for applications aimed at the public under thirteen, such as a stricter privacy policy and permission requests for purchases and external links.
In our apps To the farm Y I will be older ... We have already established protection barriers from the beginning to limit access to the network. The child cannot access our social networks or email and needs to enter a password.
The kind of integrated advertising in the apps themselves, it is another of the most widespread models, although it is not suitable in apps aimed at children
How do you establish that an application is ready to be launched?
During the process of developing an application our digital natives test the applications because their comments and feedback are fundamental. We work it not only in the final phase but also in the development stages. For Sanoen, betatesting is very important because who better than the children themselves to test their applications?
Our apps must be formative, this is provided by adults, but if the children did not have fun, they would stop using them. The only way to validate this is with many test sessions.
What is the mechanism to learn and improve the applications that are launched to the market?
In Sanoen we like to create craft apps, very thought and worked. Our users are children, so we demand quality. We always develop content together with professionals in early childhood education.
We work the entire production cycle of an app from the initial idea, conceptualization, design, programming, correction, pedagogical review, betatest, marketing and promotion.
The initial conceptualization demands that the global idea has worked very well, also the experience of use, pampering the product in all its phases and promotion, are other keys to the success of the applications. After all the work, we are especially satisfied, when they tell us that our vocabulary apps are used in speech therapy centers or when parents of children with special needs tell us how useful they are for their children.
We always develop content with professionals in early childhood education
What kind of content do you publish in Sanoen
They are original stories, conceived in digital to take full advantage of the multiple possibilities offered by touch devices: interactivity, games, music, speech, surprises, animations, etc. With the necessary elements for children to have fun and with the educational content that parents seek to educate their children.
Our first collection Sara the little fairy (link here), explains current issues to children and is a fusion of fantasy and reality. In the first title, children learn about Alzheimer's disease.
The second collection are vocabulary apps to stimulate the language and introduce children to the world of literacy in a fun way. It is designed for children between 0 and 5 years.
There are also more Applications: To the farm! And I will be older ...
What will the future of children's education in school be like?
Mobile devices and digital tablets are changing our lives and their impact also affects teaching and learning in the classroom. Recently, Apple announced the sale of 35,000 iPads for schools in Los Angeles. In the Netherlands just two months ago, Steve Jobs schools began their journey, where they replace books with iPads.
I believe that in the field of education, the digital revolution and its new learning methods is yet to come, but it will. And it is not based only on replacing books with tablets, but on promoting a transformation of the methodology. For example, the Infantium initiative provides metrics on the use that children make of the App. This allows for example to make it adaptive. Adjust their degree of difficulty to the child's evolution or to the teacher's criteria.
There are more and more experiences in Spain that introduce the use of tablets in their school routines and some researchers are conducting studies on these experiences and analyzing the advantages or limitations, as is the case of the DIM-UAB research team.
At the moment, in some nursery schools they work with our apps in the iPad corner. Last week an Australian school downloaded our app To the farm for 20 iPads. It made us more excited than if it had been 200 for other uses.
And so far the interview with Marga M. Garriga de Sanoen. I really liked the application I'll be older ... by Imaginarium They launched a few months ago. Since then I have insisted to conduct an interview with Marga and in the end I have succeeded. It seems to me that the interview includes many very interesting answers and I am left with the feeling that these products have a long future to be applied to our children and those that come behind not only for leisure but also for training. We thank Marga very much for the generosity in the responses, the time spent and we will be very attentive to the evolution of Sanoen and the applications that launch soon.
