Mary-Ellen is an eccentric and enthusiastic teacher with extensive experience teaching in elementary schools across Texas and Australia, she is a speaker with a passion for creativity and education.
Recently, Mary-Ellen has fused her love of music and experience in education with her passion for games to create a suite of games that support the development of musical skills by augmenting the Elementary School Music experience into the digital space.
When she isn’t teaching or developing games, Mary-Ellen loves spending time with her family exploring the world.
The Power of Unhappy Endings
FROG 2024 – Talk
In the Power of Unhappy Endings, Mary-Ellen Fimbel presents her revolutionary game that bridges the power of a compelling narrative and traditional elementary music concepts to bring to life the meaningful story of a small creature who becomes the sole survivor of an apocalyptic event.
Bonnie’s tragic tale, and companion game, showcase resilience and hope in a way that is approachable for a young audience while providing teachers with an opportunity to encourage active empathy and engagement in musical concepts. In addition to sharing the inspiration behind the story, Mary-Ellen will share the experience of playtesting with children and how the story and reception of the game’s prototype have transformed into the first game of her Music Room Friends learning suite.
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