One evening, Brian Shulman sat next to his two young children as they played an educational game on their computer. Sensing that 5-year-old Kaleb and 7-year-old Tyler were bore, he asked them if it would be more interesting if Aubie the Tiger was leading them through the game.
“Tyler’s eyes lit up and he said yes,” Shulman remembers. “That was when the idea began to form in my mind. What if there was a computer game led by college mascots like Aubie and Big Al?”
As a result, Shulman founded Learning Through Sports and began producing Kids College CD-ROMs; the CD-ROM games have been endorsed by the Southeastern Conference and have been placed in every public school and public library in the state of Alabama. CDs have also been made for numerous colleges in other parts of the country, and Shulman is in talks with the NCAA about further development.
Shulman, a former punter for Auburn University, had been toying with the idea of changing from his job in the healthy industry for several years. He had also been sensing that God wanted him to do something more meaningful with his life.
A member of Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, Shulman was challenged by Pastor Buddy Gray to look critically at what God wanted him to do with his life. “We had an event called The Harvest in which people were challenged to stretch themselves, both financially and in other ways,” Shulman said. “Buddy challenged us to look at our lives and ask ourselves, ‘What do you want to leave as your legacy?’”
Gray’s challenge, teamed with the unexpected death of a member of Shulman’s Sunday School class, spurred Shulman to make changes. And that’s when Shulman’s children gave him the idea for an interactive educational game using college mascots to teach and entertain.
According to Shulman, the Kids College CD games have several different purposes. First and foremost, they motivate children through sports activities. “These college mascots are well0known, and they appeal to kids,” he said. “They also add some light humor to the games.”
The games also teach children that attending college is a goal they should work toward. “They instill in their minds that college is important,” Shulman said. “Each game culminates in a college diploma. It is something admirable to work for.”
In designing the CD games, Shulman and his company wanted to focus on positive attributes. Character-building traits such as teamwork, leadership and perseverance dominate the Kids College games. “When a defender knocks down a receiver, he picks that receive up and says, ‘Good job,’” Shulman said.
Such positive characteristics stem from Shulman’s Christian beliefs, as well as his love and concern for children’s education. He said that it has been extremely gratifying to see firsthand the positive response the games have received from both children and educators.
“I spent some time at Hillview Elementary School, which is a Title 1 school,” Shulman said of seeing the game in action. “I had a little boy come and give me a hug and say, ‘I like basketball.’ It made me realize how powerful the game could be.”
Shulman has talked to numerous teachers and administrators at schools that use the software. He said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
According to Frankie Harris, a fourth-grade teacher at Hillview Elementary School, Fultondale, the games have been a great success with her students.
“It has enhanced the skills I have taught them, by giving them a chance to apply what they have learned,” she said. “It is a motivator as well, because they pay attention when I tell them ‘This is something that will be on the game.’”
According to Shulman, the game’s success has been vitally connected to the acceptance and support it has received from the Southeastern Conference. “Whenever we sat down with anyone to explain what our project was all about, they would immediately ‘get it.’ The SEC, as well as the [collegiate licensing company], was extremely supportive.”
The SEC launched the Education Initiative along with Kid’s College in September 2002 to assist teachers in providing a solid educational foundation for students; the games were sent to schools and libraries free of charge.
The athletic organization, Shulman said, is dedicated to supporting education in Alabama and its other member states.
Currently 25 colleges, including all SEC schools, are featured in customized CD-ROMs. Plans are under way for 85 colleges to be featured in the software by 2003.
Each CD includes 8,500 questions in the areas of math and language arts for children in kindergarten through third grade, using sports activities to help children achieve goals and to move onto different levels. The games also include stories and graphics about each college’s traditions and history.
Shulman said that all the credit for the success of the Kids College CDs must go to God. It was Shulman’s desire to make a difference for God in his own life that made the company possible, and he continues to seek God’s guidance about his company’s future.
“There is not a day that goes by when I don’t stop to ask if this is what God wants me to do,” he said. “It’s a daily decision to go in the direction that God wants us to go.”
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