Watch, read and listen to these new stories this month:

“Arthur Babysits” read by Tom Arnold
“Arthur’s Pet Business” read by Cheri Oteri
“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” read by Mark Thompson
“Rapunzel” read by Lisa DiSimone

All of our stories can be watched online for free, or downloaded to watch full screen, play on an iPod, or burn to a DVD. Also don’t forget our free games, printable activities, worksheets and lesson plans.

Check back soon for more new stories!

Speakaboos has gone viral! Now you can take our storybook videos and embed them on your own website, blog, or social media profile.

http://www.youtube.com/user/speakaboos

Help Speakaboos grow by rating and commenting on our videos!

To embed a video, just go to the Speakaboos Youtube profile, and click on a video you like. On the right side where it says “embed” just copy the code from the box and paste it onto your page. It will appear on your page like so:

The National Education Association held their Annual Meeting in Washington, DC earlier this month, and Speakaboos was proud to be an official exhibitor at the NEA Expo for teachers. Though we had to compete with big names like Target and Microsoft, who had teachers (and us) lining up for lots of free swag, our little booth was well attended. We met and spoke to hundreds of amazing teachers, demoed the website, held a trivia contest for free Arthur Celebrity Audiobooks, and handed out more than 1500 “Free Download” coupons for the website. It was really gratifying to meet so many friendly teachers who loved the website and gave us ideas for ways it can be used in the classroom!

Where's Speakaboos?

Speakaboos founder Neal Shenoy with an NEA teacher

Noelle and Ronit with NEA President Reg Weaver

A recent independent survey conducted by HotChalk details the attitudes of teachers towards their jobs and resources. The findings show a growing concern among teachers that they are not receiving adequate support from parents. Perhaps the most disconcerting finding in the study is that 65% of teachers believe that parents find teachers to be completely responsible for their child’s education and academic progress.

Edward Fields, chairman and CEO of HotChalk, commented, “Parents often place the burden on teachers for shouldering every bit of responsibility for the education of their children. In reality, educational success of our nation’s youth requires a serious team effort beyond the bi-annual parent-teacher conference. Teachers cannot succeed without consistent parental involvement in the education process. If the parent isn’t connected to their own child’s education, they are not preparing a child to be successful. Period.”

Mr. Fields, along with his company’s survey, poses a serious question to today’s parents; how do we become involved, support, and raise our children’s education? Early literary studies show that reading is perhaps the best way to straighten our children’s educational path. In the year 2000, the National Research Council found that the majority of reading and educational problems faced by today’s adolescents and adults was the result of problems that might been avoided or resolved in their early childhood years. A separate study conducted by the National Commission on Reading found that, “The single most significant factor influencing a child’s early educational success is an introduction to books and being read to at home prior to beginning school”.

With the advent of Speakaboos.com and other popular story book sites, today’s parents can find the neccessary resources to advance their children’s education head-on. Lower income families who are not privvy to a large library of children’s books can now interact with their children’s educational progress, without having to worry about the expense. Speakaboos has also worked with educators to make sure that all the materials we provide are educational and appropriate. Future interactive tools like “Record Your Own” and a diary feature will also help children develop proper speech, language, and writing skills. With these tools, along with the local library, our children’s school, and our ongoing involvement, we can take a proactive stance in our children’s education and become a teacher at home.

After months of work, Speakaboos.com is finally live, and we are really excited to share it with everyone! Since we are in our “beta” phase, the site is of course a work in progress, and we will be uploading tons of new stories, games, and printouts within the next month. We are also working on new features like “Record Your Own,” which will be ready for our official launch in time for the new school year.

We think that Speakaboos is something that all teachers and parents of young children should know about, and we hope that as one of our first users, you will help us spread the word to family and friends, and give us some feedback on how to make the site even better.

Happy Reading!

It’s a sad fact of our society that some students don’t fit neatly into our education system. Whether the blame lies on the school, the parents, or the children themselves is up in the air. A new program in Milwaukee has decided to bypass the questions inherent in such a discussion and instead, focus on a solution. This solution is called “Second Chance”.

Second Chance is a program for high school juniors who complain that, as one student put it, “I don’t like learning”. The program places these kids in a student/work environment where they earn a paycheck while continuing their education in the work place. In essence, the day is part vocational school, part high school. Students believe the dual environment gives them real world experience while maintaining the rigorous studies expected in high school. And in theory, Second Chance sounds like a great opportunity for students sick of the classroom. But that’s just theory.

In actuality, juniors devoid of a proper educational background are placed in a lackluster learning environment. Thirty students are placed in the “Industrial Towel and Uniform” company, washing, drying, and organizing towels. The men and women that work at this company do a vital service, but in no way does this prepare you in American history, musical appreciation (if your school has such a thing), or even gym. As the owner of the company so elegantly put it, “We get workers”. And that’s what this program has become, a cheap workforce for those who fall between the cracks. Why not pair these students with successful businessmen and women? Why not send them to help a local elementary school, the police force, or the library? Let’s send these kids to a place that will reinvigorate their appreciation of learning, not somewhere that will hand them a paycheck and a dish towel to wash. Of course, these are the questions which will haunt our society until a better solution comes to fruition. Until then, we’re left with Second Chance.

To learn more about Second Chance check out this video,

Phoebe Winsor wrote a good post on how the Geo-Literacy Project is using technology to educate. The GLP encourages students to digitally document their educational experiences with photos and videos and then share them with other schools who are doing the same. In the this video example you can see students on a field trip learning about blacksmithing.

This focus on learning the local history and culture helps students appreciate where they live and encourages them to learn about other local cultures via the GLP website. As you can see from the video, the kids love using the video camera to show off their newfound knowledge. This “technology in the classroom” revolution is only beginning. Please start experimenting in your classroom to see how technology can help you inspire your students.

Welcome to the Speakaboos blog. This blog aims to give you updates on our company, as well as provide you news and insights into how the web is transforming education around the world. We’re working hard on creating the best possible storytelling environment for children, parents, and teachers on the web. We love comments and suggestions so please feel free to contact us. Make sure to check back often for new posts and subscribe to our RSS feed.