[LRUG] [Jobs] Teach Your Monster to Read: Small agency / team required to help us scale up

Thu Jun 12 01:42:32 PDT 2014

Hi Everyone,

Wow - a really interesting discussion going on here! Sorry I haven't been
able to input until now, I was out of action all afternoon and evening
yesterday.

There is of course lots of debate about the age at which children start
learning to read - the comments here demonstrate the variety of opinions on
the matter.

Leaving that aside, the fact is that (in the UK anyway) all children start
learning to read when they begin school. Our primary market is actually
teachers, although the product can be used by parents too.

The charity has built this game because teachers told us repeatedly they
were desperate for good digital resources that support them in doing this.

We decided to help, and now get around 20 - 30 emails a week from teachers
thanking us for having helped them and given a product away like this for
free (check our reviews page to see some of them).

There's obviously also debate about screen time - our feeling is that
digital content can be incredibly helpful for children, but obviously as
long as it's used in moderation. This is of course up to teachers and
parents to decide themselves - we just provide the product, and it's up to
them how much they use it.

Thanks again for all the input - it's always fascinating hearing people's
thoughts on these matters, and we do listen.

All the best

Antonio

On 12 June 2014 08:45, Claus Geissendoerfer <claus at prehash.com> wrote:

> Interesting discussion. Anyone aware of studies in that area? I was
> discussing that topic intensely with my wife a few years ago. Our daughter
> is now 7.
> In Germany for example school doesn't start until the age of 6 and only
> runs from 8 am to noon or 1 pm. So German kids learn reading later and
> spend less time in school but eventually catch up. So I'm not sure if
> starting age per se matters but I agree that if all your peers start
> learning with 4 and you don't you are naturally behind.
>
>
>
> On 11 June 2014 23:57, Richard Drake <rdrake98 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> Great report.
>>
>>
>> 07952130635
>> skype: rdrake98
>> blog <https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/51971271/drake/index.html> -
>> twitter <https://twitter.com/rdrake98>
>>
>>
>> On 11 June 2014 23:02, Ronny Ager-Wick <ronny at ager-wick.com> wrote:
>>
>>>  I just heard about Teach Your Monster to Read via the original post,
>>> and immediately put my 5 year old son in front of it. He's in exactly the
>>> right stage, knows most of the sounds already, can read some words, and
>>> loves repetition! To provide some real user feedback from someone in the
>>> target audience, this is definitely a hit! He liked it right away, and
>>> completely forgot that I closed his cartoons on YouTube to show him this.
>>> This game is really very well made!
>>>
>>> To continue the OT discussion. My experience is that *when* a child is
>>> mentally ready to start reading varies greatly, but it doesn't matter. The
>>> final outcome is not given by the starting age. The all learn it
>>> eventually, and because interests come and go, an early start does not
>>> necessarily mean they'll be better 10 years later, and vice versa. But when
>>> they're ready, I see no reason to deprive them of material. As they not
>>> only tolerate, but even enjoy repetition up to around 6-7 years old, it's a
>>> huge advantage if they start learning to read before that, as it involves a
>>> lot of repetition. When the can play a game like this and learn at the same
>>> time, why stop them?
>>>
>>> I totally agree with the balance sentiment. I have let my children play
>>> with computers from a very early age, but I don't use them as a way to keep
>>> them quiet (trust me, they're far from quiet!). They cycle, play with
>>> sand/soil/mud, play games outside with the neighborhood kids, etc.
>>> Computers and tablets and the like give them something else to do when they
>>> can't play outside, as they don't have TV (good riddance!). Plus, if you
>>> can manage to keep them from watching YouTube all day (which is almost as
>>> bad as TV, bar the passiveness of just sitting and receiving), they also
>>> might just learn something useful!
>>>
>>> Other feedback; the generated passwords are a bit complicated for small
>>> children to type by themselves.
>>>
>>> Ronny.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11/06/14 20:59, Rory Sinclair wrote:
>>>
>>> I don't see why its an absurdity - many kids start primary school at 5,
>>> and reading and writing are fundamental skills to learn in early years.  If
>>> the kid is ready to take on reading (even very basic stuff, eg the word
>>> 'Ball' beside a picture of a ball, etc) then why not?
>>>
>>>  My eldest son was reading at 3, and is now 8 - his primary school
>>> teacher says he's reading at the level of a Primary 5, although he's in
>>> Primary 3.  I don't think there's any sense in trying to prevent
>>> development - if he's ready, he's ready.  My youngest is 3 now, and doesn't
>>> have nearly the same grasp of reading yet, but its absolutely not something
>>> i'm concerned about.  He does, however, have an intense fascination with
>>> things like iPhones and iPads, which I think is something perhaps to
>>> ration, though not actually prevent.
>>>
>>>  Cheers
>>>
>>>  --
>>> Rory Sinclair
>>>  Head of Technology
>>> ASMALLWORLD
>>>
>>>  On Wednesday, 11 June 2014 at 12:21, Hakan Ensari wrote:
>>>
>>>   This is off-topic, but do you want to teach your monster to read at
>>> age FOUR? Do you even want them to sit in front of a computer screen at
>>> that age?
>>>
>>>  My son is in pre-school (Lauriston, anyone?), and we're having to deal
>>> with the immense absurdity of an public educational system that thinks it's
>>> priority to teach five-year-olds to read and write rather than have them
>>> play, make things with their hands, socialise and generally get settled.
>>>
>>>  Sorry for flaming. Consider it customer feedback, assuming your real
>>> customers are the parents who are freaking out why their kids are not
>>> liking phonics and have yet to make the leap to a Steiner school or some
>>> other private refuge.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 11 June 2014 09:45, Antonio <antonio at teachyourmonstertoread.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>  Hi everyone,
>>>
>>>  We have developed a product called Teach Your Monster to Read, a
>>> BAFTA-nominated educational game which helps 4-6 year olds practise the key
>>> first stages of reading.
>>>
>>>  http://teachyourmonstertoread.com
>>>
>>>  It's a free game, and has been funded by a literacy charity founded by
>>> Peter Usborne (of Usborne Publishing).
>>>
>>>  We're growing year on year, and we need some support in keeping our
>>> Rails-based server side component up and running as we scale up.
>>>
>>>  I'm looking for a small company or team that has some specialism in
>>> supporting sites in this way.
>>>
>>>  I've put further details in this Google Doc. If you're interested, see
>>> my contact details at the bottom of the document (please do this rather
>>> than reply to all obviously!)
>>>
>>>
>>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jh_PMIb8geFtQbTpn1GrD5oA8g3phRgTzqTIKDlpTTE/edit#
>>>
>>>  All the best,
>>>
>>>  Antonio
>>>
>>>  --
>>> Antonio Gould
>>> Producer: Teach Your Monster to Read
>>> http://teachyourmonstertoread.com
>>>
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>

-- 
Antonio Gould
Producer: Teach Your Monster to Read
http://teachyourmonstertoread.com
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