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Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

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Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#51

Post by Anisa_Mirza »

1123581321 wrote: post #43

This looks entertaining but it has almost nothing to do with teaching reading and literacy. I’m a little depressed by this, honestly. The failure of Sesame Street to educate beyond pre-reading is well documented and isn’t the model we should be pursuing in 1-12 and especially not via vendor lock-in at a district level. What I’d love to see is someone who figures out how to scale and make attractive the approach of a…

Sorry to hear your disappointment. To be clear, this is not mandated at the District level. In NYC, each school acts as its own mini CEO, if you will. They have full autonomy to choose from any contracted vendor, of which there are many reading tool or reading program options. They choose us by choice, and continue to use us, because of engagement levels, learning outcomes and response from teachers :)

I would love to make sure I understand your feedback and disappointment more clearly in hopes to learn from it, esp since you are an educator. While I reference Sesame Street - we are not Sesame Street (as I am sure you gathered from our description already). What parts of our program or model specifically are you depressed by? I would love to either address it or at least learn from your feedback. Cheers.

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#52

Post by donnythecroc »

Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #42
subpixel wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did miss that from the homepage. And yet, I just watched the Loom and am not bullish on a model where kids have and are asked to read on devices and then are streamed supporting video content. There may be a delta between effective and commercially viable, but sitting with a group of kids and reading to and with them, as a teaching method, is fundamentally not broken. It works really, really well! Kids who don't ge…

Oh no! there is an interactive video call (the live stream is not one way!) where the actor is live and students read with the actor, ask questions, go through the concepts in the episode and the book, and also do the lessons or craft together. Homeroom Teacher is also always present in the classroom while this happens. We can't share that of course because our students are minors and this is protected information (t…

Oh it's live! That changes everything. I feel like your messaging copywriting on the website needs work. Most people don't read watch everything. What was your super short yc application summary?

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#55

Post by dang »

Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #51
1123581321 wrote: post #43

This looks entertaining but it has almost nothing to do with teaching reading and literacy. I’m a little depressed by this, honestly. The failure of Sesame Street to educate beyond pre-reading is well documented and isn’t the model we should be pursuing in 1-12 and especially not via vendor lock-in at a district level. What I’d love to see is someone who figures out how to scale and make attractive the approach of a…

Sorry to hear your disappointment. To be clear, this is not mandated at the District level. In NYC, each school acts as its own mini CEO, if you will. They have full autonomy to choose from any contracted vendor, of which there are many reading tool or reading program options. They choose us by choice, and continue to use us, because of engagement levels, learning outcomes and response from teachers :) I would love t…

Hmm - I think the reference to Sesame Street in the title might have been confusing some readers, so I've changed it in an attempt to highlight what's unique about your approach. Is that ok?

(Submitted title was "Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Sesame Street Inspired Reading Program for Schools")

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#56

Post by Anisa_Mirza »

dang wrote: post #55
Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry to hear your disappointment. To be clear, this is not mandated at the District level. In NYC, each school acts as its own mini CEO, if you will. They have full autonomy to choose from any contracted vendor, of which there are many reading tool or reading program options. They choose us by choice, and continue to use us, because of engagement levels, learning outcomes and response from teachers :) I would love t…

Hmm - I think the reference to Sesame Street in the title might have been confusing some readers, so I've changed it in an attempt to highlight what's unique about your approach. Is that ok? (Submitted title was "Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Sesame Street Inspired Reading Program for Schools")

I agree. Always welcome incorporating the feedback from HN community! My initial reasoning was to highlight where my inspiration came from, not that we modeled Sesame Street :) Clearly was more confusing than helpful. Thanks!

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#57

Post by DiggyJohnson »

Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #9
codingdave wrote: post #6

> The format of our program is such that if you don't complete the assigned reading and worksheets, you will feel like you are missing out on what is happening in proceeding episodes. In this way, reading is layered in as a fundamental core to the program. This needs to be highlighted much more strongly, not be buried in the 2nd half of a paragraph in the middle of your pitch. It is the key that links what you are do…

Thank you for the helpful feedback and for reading twice to understand our format.

I want to second this feedback. It seemed disconnected until I got to that line.

Good luck!

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#58

Post by Anisa_Mirza »

DiggyJohnson wrote: post #57
Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for the helpful feedback and for reading twice to understand our format.

I want to second this feedback. It seemed disconnected until I got to that line. Good luck!

thank you!

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#59

Post by Anisa_Mirza »

donnythecroc wrote: post #52
Anisa_Mirza wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh no! there is an interactive video call (the live stream is not one way!) where the actor is live and students read with the actor, ask questions, go through the concepts in the episode and the book, and also do the lessons or craft together. Homeroom Teacher is also always present in the classroom while this happens. We can't share that of course because our students are minors and this is protected information (t…

Oh it's live! That changes everything. I feel like your messaging copywriting on the website needs work. Most people don't read watch everything. What was your super short yc application summary?

Made edits to help reflect this more clearly :) Appreciate you pointing that out!

Re: Launch HN: Litnerd (YC S21) – Teaching kids to read with the help of live actors

#60

Post by esrh »

I'm interested to know if this actually works at getting students better at reading. Since litnerd already has some 14k students, have you run any studies or recorded any metrics that show that litnerd is really helping kids learn to read better than the traditional strategies?
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