Happy Birthday, R&C!

Robots and Cupcakes has hit the big FIVE today!!! Help us celebrate by getting yourself a yummy cupcake. (It's ok, go ahead!) Think of us, take a big bite and send us a photo at hello@robotsandcupcakes.com!  =D


Our Technical Director!

Robots and Cupcakes is thrilled to announce the new addition of our Technical Director, Michael Ferejohn!

Michael adds even more strength to our digital team by bringing 12 years of leading educational digital media departments and overseeing a broad spectrum of projects from educational websites, backend databases, games and activities, console video games, and full video production!

You're about to see a LOT more of us in a new light. Stay tuned


Rabbit's House now available for iPad

Oxford University’s “Rabbit’s House” has been released for the iPad! We had a wonderful time animating and developing it. (One of our favorite things to do!)  =)

Rabbit’s House is a storybook language development app brought to you by Oxford, especially designed for very young children learning to read, as well as ESL students.

Kids can allow the app read the story to them, or they just read the story by themselves. They can even choose to use a word highlighting feature, so when an individual word is tapped, it is read out loud by the narrator. Additional phonics words are included with an icon to add visual connection to the word. Additionally, there’s a Quiz section in the app to help your kids practice letter sounds and phonics words included in the story! The art is cute and colorful with some little animations to entertain.

Check it out! You can find it in the iTunes Store, here.


Check out more mobile apps by Robots and Cupcakes here!

New position available: Technical Director

Robots and Cupcakes is a leading creative print and digital development team, located in Hoboken, New Jersey, just 10 minutes from New York City via PATH or ferry. We are a fun, collaborative group that works in a creative, evolving environment, allowing our team to constantly develop new skills!

We concept, art direct and build creative, digital games, interactive animations, online and white board lessons for educational purposes and mobile apps and websites, as well as print design and production. We also offer color retouching, video editing, music composition and voiceover services.

We are looking to hire a Technical Director to join our team as a creative thinker, a manager, liaison and teacher. Your responsibilities would be to…


• Oversee and support our digital team, educating on workflow, tools, and key development procedures
• Support project managers by communicating and supporting any offsite freelancers
• Be a liaison between our Lead Developer, digital team and project managers for process and language for projects such as mobile and downloadable apps, video and audio file output, and online products
• Schedule tasks including tracking dependencies, managing change requests, and guaranteeing quality of deliveries
• Guide our digital projects through efficient processes and workflow for the successful creation and final delivery of all digital projects
• Help come up with creative solutions in order to achieve complicated spec requests 
• Serve as a primary studio contact as Technical Director, interfacing with clients to discuss and decide on the best technical solutions during the concept and development stages for both front and back end*
• Research and develop new, creative technologies and tools for innovation and development efficiency, focusing on exploiting these new platforms and technologies
• Do some traveling to attend presentations and conferences to learn, network and represent our company

*General work is commonly done in HTML5, CSS3 and Flash AS2 & 3, code version control systems like Git--- Knowledge in these are a must. Also, while knowledge and experience in both front and back end development would be amazing, if you are stronger in one over the other, there are plenty of opportunities to learn! We are a very busy studio.

Languages we often work in...
Front-end: JSON and JavaScript frameworks like JQuery, Prototype, MooTools, Dojo, 
Backbone.js, Node.js, as and other languages.
Back-end: A combination of SQL, ASP.NET, Java, PHP, Python, and Ruby.

Knowledge must be in both Mac and PC; Though our studio works fully with Macs, we do use PCs for QC and misc coding needs.

Extra: Basic knowledge in After Effects for video editing, animation and video exporting would be a bonus, but is not a dealbreaker.


The position is a full time, salaried position.
Please email your resume with experience and links of any available samples 
to jobs@robotsandcupcakes.com, attention Dave Borkman.  (No calls, please.)

Join our team!

R&C SMART™ widgets!

Did you know that R&C has built custom-made Notebook widgets for SMART™ Technologies

We’ve created an interactive piano widget, a full drum set widget, and a Voki widget, so that teachers could motivate students to participate in class by embedding a customized, speaking avatar right onto their SMART Notebook software page!

You can check them all out here


Robots and Cupcakes is an Elite-Accredited Developer for SMART™ Technologies.

Follow us on Facebook, too!

We usually post the big news here and then link it over to our Facebook page, but we wanted to be sure you weren't missing out on the smaller updates we tend to post on Facebook... So today, it's "Reverse Linking Friday"!

If you haven't already, be sure to follow us on Facebook:

Clickity here and do your thing... 

THREE NEW positions now available!

R&C is looking for an extra hand in production, QC, and Flash development! (Whew!)

Robots and Cupcakes is a leading creative print and digital development team in Educational Publishing located in Hoboken, New Jersey, just 10 minutes from NYC.

Open positions...

Production Artist:
We're looking for a detail-minded production artist who speaks the language of print production, but is also looking to learn to build digital products such as IWB activities, HTML-based products and more! Ideal responders have:
• Mac experience with Adobe Creative Suite, especially InDesign and Photoshop.
• Despise files with mistakes.
• Have a desire to learn some new tricks!
• Experience in Educational Publishing is a definite plus.

Quality Control:
We're looking for a Quality Control Associate who can analyze digital products and assure the following criteria are met:
• Layout and text attributes are consistent with specs.
• Functionality and all build instructions are met.
• The ideal candidate will be highly organized and a have superb attention to detail.
• Experience with the Mac OS is required. Experience with Adobe Creative Suite is also desirable. Person will be handling QA of print and digital products by marking up PDF proofs using Adobe Acrobat's commenting tools.

Flash Developer:
We're also looking for a Flash developer to fulfill the following needs:
• Animating both on the Flash timeline, as well as in AS2 or AS3.
• Ability to implement draggable objects, and targeted drop/hit areas, with user feedback such as sounds/images.
• Ability to write, and an appreciation for clear, commented code.
• Educational publishing background not necessary.

Join our team!
Email resume and availability to: jobs@robotsandcupcakes.com


R&C has a new address!

Same building, MUCH larger office: Robots and Cupcakes has grown out of our office space after just 2 years (!), and we're now located one floor down, in Suite #402.

Please take note of our new address:
 Robots and Cupcakes
 42 Newark Street, Suite #402
 Hoboken, NJ, 07030

Everything else is still the same:
 Give us a ring!  201-706-8888
 Send us an email!  hello@robotsandcupcakes.com


Robots and Cupcakes is located just 10 minutes from NYC via ferry and PATH. Our office is one block in from Hoboken Terminal, in the historic Clam Broth House building.

Cheers!
The Robots and Cupcakes Family



Junior HTML coder position open at Robots and Cupcakes!

Robots and Cupcakes is a leading creative print and digital development team in Educational Publishing, located in Hoboken, New Jersey, just 10 minutes from New York City via PATH or ferry.

We are looking to hire a junior front-end developer on a freelance basis for a project that will run for two to six months. We need someone with strong HTML and CSS skills who is familiar with code version control systems like Git and Beanstalk. Some experience with Javascript/JQuery would be a plus, as would experience with Illustrator and/or Photoshop (but these skills aren't required).

Responsibilities will include:
 • Input of text content and image elements into existing HTML template and product pages
 • Applying some basic and some css style tagging to text input elements
 • Timing image slideshows to existing audio files, and applying time values to a code line
 • Possibly creating slideshow images based on client storyboards using Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop
 • Uploading and downloading code from a repository, and being careful about revision tracking

Please send resume with experience and links of any samples (if available) to jobs@robotsandcupcakes.com, attention Eric Murray. (No calls, please.)

Kid's YoPower! is here for iPad!

YoMagination and Robots and Cupcakes has finally gotten the green light to release an introductory story app based on the YoPoweR! printed curriculum:


This is YoMagination's very first iPad app, which introduces the Island of YoMagination and the characters that live there. The app is a WONDERFULLY positive story with a warm, calming voice that walks kids through how to recognize anxiety and stress, how to focus and breathe in order to take control and manage their emotions. "That's YoPoweR!"

There are two activities within the story that also introduce and visually explain the negative and stressful feelings (called Ooglily Booglies) and the positive, energizing feelings (Tiggly Wigglies). Kids learn they can replace negative feelings with positive ones when they focus and breathe, the YoPoweR! way! There are even shortcuts on the Main app page that can take kids directly to those activities in times of need. (We think EVERYONE can benefit from this app!!!)

The music (performed and produced by our friend Rob Warren of Rob Warren Music), and illustrations (by our very own "Mixed-Up Wacky Zoo" and "A.J.'s Big Adventure!" artist Phil Jones), brings full life to this delightfully written, rhyming story lesson by Heather Quillen, founder of YoMagination.


A little about the printed curriculum:
We also like to add that we especially (and wholeheartedly!) believe in the YoPoweR! curriculum. The programs have already been integrated into current classroom systems, as well as after school programs and camp activities. In addition, Heather Quillen has traveled to troubled schools in poor neighborhoods to teach YoPoweR! classes to teachers and troubled kids, bringing benefits to many who may need it most! We've seen video and photos of these events. It’s AMAZING how the kids respond!!

The program provides a comprehensive, whole child approach to health and wellness. Including a fitness component that engages both teachers and the students to do stretches and basic yoga poses together, as they understand what each pose represents. Anxious, angry, even autistic kids are able to have instant structure and focus, and brreeeeeathe it out… A wonderful, wonderful program.

Heather Quillen developed the full classroom programs along with the help of a team of children's psychologists, education and curriculum advisors, wellness doctors and even yoga masters. The programs are in alignment with national learning standards and frameworks, Head Start/Body Start and several other health and pediatric recommendations.

PUBLISHERS, teachers, therapist and parents looking for a new, incredible, stand out health and wellness program that has already been shaped and approved by doctors and psychologists: TAKE NOTE!!!

Visit www.yomagination.com for more information.  =)