LarrySanger.org

Reading Bear improvements

Here’s our latest Reading Bear update.
We’re not done working on Reading Bear–which will always remain a non-profit, free website to teach reading through phonics and vocabulary. Here’s a quick progress report.
Alternative reading systems soon supported. We’re putting finishing touches on a feature allowing us to reorganize our words into the order in which they appear in other reading systems. HeadSprout will be one of the first, but if you’re interested in giving the Reading Bear treatment to your reading system’s list, please let Joe know at [email protected]. (See “Changing of the guard” below.)

Illustrators needed. Larry has written the text of some e-books to go with the first 15 presentations, and we’re calling for volunteer illustrators. If you are an illustrator, and you are interested in supporting a great cause and getting a prominent byline, please email Larry at [email protected].

New media mentions. We had some great mentions in the press and blogosphere after our launch, especially a front-page article in Memphis, Tennessee’s biggest newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, and a story by WREG, the local CBS affiliate. Top education blogger Larry Ferlazzo wrote that a BBC site and Reading Bear are “clearly the two best sites on the Web for phonics reinforcement.” And we were on TheNextWeb’s list of 12 “best educational apps of 2012.”

We still want to get the word out some more. We’re available for press interviews. We think Reading Bear is big news!

Changing of the guard. Finally, we’re announcing that Larry will be departing from Reading Bear and WatchKnowLearn soonish, although he will remain on board as a consultant. His work on Reading Bear is pretty much complete and he’s excited about a new venture he’s pursuing. Dr. Joe Thomas, CEO of WatchKnowLearn, will take over as manager of Reading Bear, as the team focuses on getting the word out about these free resources.
Larry Sanger & Joe Thomas
Reading Bear/WatchKnowLearn

by

Larry Sanger

“Internet Knowledge Organizer.” Currently President of the Knowledge Standards Foundation, started Wikipedia and various other educational and reference sites. Ph.D., Philosophy, Ohio State, 2000. [read more]

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Please do dive in (politely). I want your reactions!

6 responses to “Reading Bear improvements”

  1. Roby Joehanes

    Please also make an iPhone / iPad / Android app of the Reading Bear that allows offline viewing. Thanks. 🙂

    Reply
    1. JoAnne

      Yes!! I would so love this, but my friends who live in Zambia and only have intermittent internet access would love it even more.

      Reply
  2. Marcia Lee

    We are new to the site and cannot locate a way to print out the student Quiz results. Is there a way?

    Reply
    1. Larry Sanger

      Sorry, no, we never made such a feature.

      Reply
  3. Janice McDonald-Zavarce

    Thank you. Reading Bear is the best thing since ‘sliced bread’. I’ve been a teacher for over 40 years and a strong phonemic awareness just works for many kids. Even works better when combined with whole language practices. You have provided the world with a digital format. Now, a couple of suggestions as you move forward:
    – please make iPad friendly if at all possible
    – consider an alternate presentation, which the user can choose, that is appropriate for older kids…even adults. I have tried it out with adult literacy students by opening it first and going directly to flashcards, turning off sound out and working through the sounds. They loved it.
    I live in British Columbia, Canada and I spread the word about Reading Bear wherever I go. Again, a big thank you for caring enough to develop this site.
    JM-Z

    Reply
    1. Larry Sanger

      Thank you for all your kind words!

      We do want to make an iPad version, but the component videos are all in Flash format, which Apple doesn’t support. There’s a significant chance, however, that funding will be freed up within the next year so that this can happen!

      Very interested in your ideas about an alternate presentation. What do you suggest? You observed that flashcards without sound are available…what’s another method that would work better for you?

      Reply

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