Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Heads Into Home Stretch

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Reading Rainbow Kickstarter Heads Into Home Stretch

Posted by samzenpus on Monday June 30, 2014 @10:23AM from the almost-there dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A month ago, LeVar Burton and his friends at Reading Rainbow created a Kickstarter campaign designed to bring their app for the iPad and Kindle Fire to the Web at large. They asked for a million dollars, and quickly blew the doors off their goal, receiving over three million dollars in three days. There are 48 hours remaining in the fundraiser, which has garnered over 4.5 million dollars, and with over 92,000 contributors, is the most heavily backed Kickstarter campaign of all time. To sweeten the pot, Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane has offered to match any pledges over the $4 million mark, up to an additional million dollars."

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Seth MacFarlane by Anonymous Coward · 2014-06-30 10:31 · Score: 3, Insightful

I don't necessarily like everything he has done in his career, but he has certainly been putting a lot of money into solid causes lately. The Cosmos series was pretty good and now this. Respect.
1. Re:Seth MacFarlane by mythosaz · 2014-06-30 10:33 · Score: 2
  
  He makes his money telling dick jokes (n.b. I enjoy dick jokes), but he does seem to be doing the right things with said dick joke money.
  ...unless of course you're a Republican. Then he's a jerk.
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S...
2. Re:Seth MacFarlane by Anonymous Coward · 2014-06-30 10:54 · Score: 1
  
  "I enjoy dick" - mythosaz, 2014.06.30
3. Re:Seth MacFarlane by mythosaz · 2014-06-30 11:19 · Score: 1
  
  True.
This isn't going to do much by asmkm22 · 2014-06-30 10:47 · Score: 5, Insightful

The problem with (new) Reading Rainbow is that it will end up targeting and catering to kids that are already interested and proficient in reading, due to those kids being in families able to buy into the subscription. Twenty years ago, it worked because even poor families generally had at least a single crappy TV with rabbit ears, which was enough to get PBS. That 4 or 5 million that ends up getting raised would go a lot further by addressing actual core issues with poverty, rather than giving kids who already know and like to read even more reason to do so.
1. Re:This isn't going to do much by Anonymous Coward · 2014-06-30 10:50 · Score: 1
  
  There is no shortage of upper and middle class kids that while technically able to read rarely chose to do so. I agree the PBS approach made more sense, and I would really prefer if there was a no/low cost option available. But we shouldn't damn an idea that can still do good, just because their may be other better ways to do good.
2. Re:This isn't going to do much by raydobbs · 2014-06-30 10:53 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I thought one of the things they were hoping to do with the extended stretch goals is give subscriptions to poorer communities (libraries in rural or inner-city settings, etc) so that it could be utilized by the people who couldn't normally afford it.
3. Re:This isn't going to do much by Em+Adespoton · 2014-06-30 11:03 · Score: 1
  
  If they figure they can finance this with $1mil, and it looks like they'll probably get around $6mil funding in total, that's $5mil they can put into "free" subscriptions. Not bad. If they set up a donation channel as well, and make the "non-free" subscriptions some sort of matching deal (for each paid subscriber, another free subscription is made available), this could actually work reasonably well.
  Plus, if they can make this a web app that'll run on a phone screen, they'll reach a LARGE number of poor people -- poverty often has to do with bad choices as much as lack of access to resources, and in many places now, people below the poverty line have Android phones capable of running this sort of thing.
4. Re:This isn't going to do much by CaptainLard · 2014-06-30 11:04 · Score: 1, Informative
  
  From the kickstarter page: "And with your help, we'll provide it to thousands of disadvantaged classrooms for FREE."
  
  I could be naive but I'd imagine the more successful the RR app gets, the more they will do to distribute it to people who can't afford it.
5. Re:This isn't going to do much by sandytaru · 2014-06-30 11:10 · Score: 2
  
  That was part of the stretch goals. The initial 1 million was to bring an updated version of the show to the web. At 5 million, they wanted to bring it to all platforms, including mobile devices, video game consoles and set top boxes too.
  
  --
  Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
6. Re:This isn't going to do much by geekoid · 2014-06-30 11:47 · Score: 1, Flamebait
  
  Stop complaining. You, and the idiots that modded up need to go read what they are doing, what the goal is and come back an apologize for being knee jerk stupid.
  
  --
  The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
7. Re:This isn't going to do much by asmkm22 · 2014-06-30 11:56 · Score: 1
  
  Correct, but that doesn't solve the problem of people in those communities having the means of using the free subscription, not to mention jump through whatever hoops are required to be granted access. Most families in that situation don't have great access to a home computer, and trying to get them to make regular trips to whatever library still exists in the area to use those computers isn't much more likely. The subscription -- although definitely a hurdle -- isn't really the major issue. It's how the money is being targeted.
8. Re:This isn't going to do much by dnavid · 2014-06-30 12:05 · Score: 2
  
  The problem with (new) Reading Rainbow is that it will end up targeting and catering to kids that are already interested and proficient in reading, due to those kids being in families able to buy into the subscription. Twenty years ago, it worked because even poor families generally had at least a single crappy TV with rabbit ears, which was enough to get PBS. That 4 or 5 million that ends up getting raised would go a lot further by addressing actual core issues with poverty, rather than giving kids who already know and like to read even more reason to do so.
  That makes an enormous leap of logic, that children who have any sort of basic literacy no longer need any help or encouragement. A four year old that can read isn't automatically going to become a twelve year old that can read better and is still interested in reading anything other than text messages. I would argue that in today's world its even more important to encourage reading because unlike the days when television was the great distraction today there are far more sources of distraction competing for children's attention spans. Promoting the notion that reading is not a necessary evil but rather the gateway skill of learning, intellectual inquiry, and exposure to ideas is I believe incredibly valuable.
  When I was very young, my father taught me to read, for which I will always be grateful. But he also taught me to *want* to read, and that's been the singular reason for my success in life over the years. He couldn't have done more to set me up for success if he handed me a million dollars when I was three (which he did not have nor ever would have).
  Sure, you can always argue with priorities; pick any priority you want to spend money on and I can explain why that's the wrong place to spend money compared to some other place. But if LeVar Burton and his Kickstarter supporters (full disclosure: I am a supporter of the KS project) want to spend resources improving the lives and futures of children who deserve it just as much as any other children, I don't consider that a "problem" just because it doesn't mesh with someone else's priorities. Those people should invest their time, energy, and money on their own priorities instead of criticizing those that are willing to do so. I would respect that far more than armchair critics nit-picking other people's constructive efforts from the sidelines.
9. Re:This isn't going to do much by Jahoda · 2014-06-30 14:22 · Score: 1
  
  That's cool, dude. Your cynicism makes you appear so sagely and world-wise.
  
  "It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness."
  
  Just a thought for you.
10. Re:This isn't going to do much by phantomfive · 2014-06-30 18:10 · Score: 1
  
  Twenty years ago, it worked because even poor families generally had at least a single crappy TV with rabbit ears, which was enough to get PBS.
  Did it actually work? Genuinely curious because I can't find any studies on the topic
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
11. Re:This isn't going to do much by stoborrobots · 2014-06-30 20:42 · Score: 1
  
  http://www.jstor.org/stable/41...
  http://jlr.sagepub.com/content...
  http://works.bepress.com/leah_...
  http://www.npr.org/2009/08/28/...
  http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03...
  http://www.literacytrust.org.u...:
  
  Educational programming has also aimed to elevate knowledge of texts and literacy as in the programmes Barney and Friends (Guofang, 1999) and Reading Rainbow (Wood and Duke, 1997), which offer content on reading books and raising childrenâ(TM)s knowledge of books. This is important since researchers at the University of Sheffield have also suggested that pre-schoolers who develop an ability to talk about texts become familiar with literacy and have greater success with learning to read once they enter school (Hannon, 2000; Hannon, Weinberger and Nutbrown, 1991). "
  
  --
  "Go to CNN [for a] spell-checked, fact-checked summary" -- CmdrTaco
12. Re:This isn't going to do much by KozmoStevnNaut · 2014-06-30 21:50 · Score: 1
  
  >
  I have absolutely no problem at all with poor people having smartphones, although I do cringe a bit when they have something like a new iPhone or other flagship phone
  Why? Is it because you don't think they've "earned" the right to own a fancy phone, because they're poor?
  Perhaps they saved for it for a long time. Perhaps it's their only link to the online world and their only source of entertainment (Youtube etc.). Perhaps it makes more sense to buy an expensive phone and keep it for years and years, than it is to buy a new low-end phone ever 6-12 months.
  Please don't judge people for their actions, when you have no idea what led to them.
  
  --
  Eat the rich.
13. Re:This isn't going to do much by drinkypoo · 2014-07-01 01:16 · Score: 1
  
  Stop complaining. You, and the idiots that modded up need to go read what they are doing, what the goal is and come back an apologize for being knee jerk stupid.
  From the kickstarter page it looks like they're going to put it on the web, and put it in classrooms. Unless I misread that, or the kickstarter page fails to adequately explain the goals, they're explicitly not going to be reaching the kids who need them the most with this plan.
  
  --
  "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
14. Re:This isn't going to do much by phantomfive · 2014-07-01 03:31 · Score: 1
  
  Wow, thanks for the effort
  
  --
  "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
15. Re:This isn't going to do much by Em+Adespoton · 2014-07-01 06:02 · Score: 1
  
  Don't be too hard on him -- he was responding to my point: "poverty often has to do with bad choices as much as lack of access to resources, and in many places now, people below the poverty line have Android phones capable of running this sort of thing."
  iPhones really are a poor choice for people with limited income, as they tend to be associated with the more expensive contracts. However, there are lots of exceptions.
  In this case, it would have been useful to judge the parent poster taking into consideration what led to his response....
What LeVar Burton really thinks of reading rainbow by Cito · 2014-06-30 10:57 · Score: 1

Reading Rainbow's New Theme Song with LeVar Burton: http://youtu.be/VQ34s3kKFDY
The details for nerds part is missing by biochozo · 2014-06-30 10:59 · Score: 1

I'm a backer. I'm a backer because LeVar made my childhood awesome and I'd like to pay it forward. I also trust LeVar more than I trust where my current tax dollars are going. However, I'd like to see more details concerning the grit of how he's going to do what he's trying do to. Where is all of this money going? Is the majority paying for licensing of books? Is a third going to software development? Is $750,000 going to researching best methods of teaching kids?
1. Re:The details for nerds part is missing by Salgat · 2014-06-30 23:51 · Score: 1
  
  It's just a discussion, he is not literally asking slashdot.
2. Re:The details for nerds part is missing by biochozo · 2014-07-01 15:31 · Score: 1
  
  I was looking for a more intellectual discussion on the topic I presented from fellow slashdotters. It seems I lose this round...
Growing Potential by deathcloset · 2014-06-30 11:01 · Score: 1

I feel like we've barely grazed the surface of the potential of crowd funding. I mean, in a real sense here we, as society, are funding self-education - we are funding the education of our own society. That's cool.
1. Re:Growing Potential by praxis · 2014-06-30 11:12 · Score: 1
  
  I feel like we've barely grazed the surface of the potential of crowd funding. I mean, in a real sense here we, as society, are funding self-education - we are funding the education of our own society. That's cool.
  Government and taxes have been a way of society crowd funding its own education for far longer than kickstarter has been around. It says something about how youngsters perceive our extant system if kickstarter campaigns funding education seem like a new thing.
2. Re:Growing Potential by whoever57 · 2014-06-30 11:17 · Score: 1
  
  I feel like we've barely grazed the surface of the potential of crowd funding. I mean, in a real sense here we, as society, are funding self-education - we are funding the education of our own society. That's cool.
  
  If only there were a central organization that could collect all this money, with those who could afford it paying more, and then re-distribute it ....... oh wait!!!!
  
  --
  The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
3. Re:Growing Potential by tomhath · 2014-06-30 11:27 · Score: 1
  
  Non Government Organizations have been around for decades. I suppose crowd funding makes it a little easier though.
4. Re:Growing Potential by tomhath · 2014-06-30 11:30 · Score: 1
  
  That is the opposite of crowd funding. People want to have a say in where their money is spent.
5. Re:Growing Potential by Loki_1929 · 2014-06-30 18:24 · Score: 1
  
  The Reading Rainbow Kickstarter campaign isn't going to send men with automatic weapons to break down my door and haul me to prison if I decline to provide it funding. The entity you describe will.
  
  --
  -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
6. Re:Growing Potential by Loki_1929 · 2014-06-30 18:30 · Score: 1
  
  What it can do is provide an interface between NGOs and common people. NGOs typically receive much of their funding from governments and rich or wealthy benefactors. Fundraising means getting those folks into a room and convincing them to cough up some cash. Crowdfunding allows a wider audience (literally everyone on the Internet) to see the intended actions of the NGO and then choose to contribute. Rather than getting $45,000 from 100 rich people, they can get $45 from 100,000 without the immense overhead of doing so without using the Internet. That's the real difference. It isn't easier so much as it's a different way of fundraising from a different audience.
  
  --
  -- "Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else."
Library hours by tepples · 2014-06-30 11:16 · Score: 2

give subscriptions to poorer communities (libraries in rural or inner-city settings, etc)
Getting children to commute to these libraries might be a challenge. A lot of public libraries close for the night around the time the parents get home from work, and then they close for the weekend.
1. Re:Library hours by tepples · 2014-07-01 01:17 · Score: 1
  
  I think either they're designed for people receiving welfare checks or they think they're important enough for people to take a day of unpaid leave.
2. Re:Library hours by Triklyn · 2014-07-01 09:23 · Score: 1
  
  in my community, my local public library was situated a quarter of a mile from my middle school. Served as day-care, spent so many hours there, playing reading and generally being underfoot for the poor librarians. I think i also learned to love reading there too. since there was not much else to do. :)
  thank you public libraries and tolerant librarians.
Creative Commons Children's Books? by CanEHdian · 2014-06-30 11:30 · Score: 1

Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper to pay authors to write English-language childrens' books as a "work for hire" then release them under a Creative Commons license? That way you can serve up these books globally instead of just in the USA.

--
When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
It was simple. by geekoid · 2014-06-30 11:42 · Score: 1

all he did was reroute Reading Rainbow funding source through the Kickstarter phase array.

--
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
Re:Turn on the tablet by urbanriot · 2014-06-30 12:48 · Score: 1

I learned more about bees in an episode of Reading Rainbow than I've read about in the papers, even after all the attention bees have been getting. Reading Rainbow was more than just a show that reviewed books or relayed stories, Levar Burton and others also interacted with all manner of people on all manner of topics. Regardless of the source of education, kids learn from wherever can retain their interest. You may need to partition sources of data, like TV from reading, but plenty of kids parse all the information that's provided to them and one experience does not corrupt the other.
Re:CLARIFICATION TO THE SUMMARY by turp182 · 2014-06-30 13:58 · Score: 2

The summary mentions that funding is at $4.5 million and Seth will match $1 million above $4 million.
The project is at $4.66 million now with 41 hours left. Seth is going to be in for $1 million.
I like his shows, but he is showing some true character lately. Good guy all around.

--
BlameBillCosby.com
Re:Turn off the TV by _merlin · 2014-06-30 15:48 · Score: 1

We don't have a TV, but we got a Wii U (it's driving a 4K monitor, there's a complicated story behind it). Legend of Zelda is the biggest incentive our six-year-old has had to improve his reading.
Public Failure by DiniZuli · 2014-06-30 23:17 · Score: 1

Cool and good that this is being done, but! I'm really surprised that no one in here appears to be outraged about the fact that a kickstarter campaign like this one is needed at all.
25% of 4th graders can't read an comprehend a simple English sentence like the one presented in the kickstarter video.
It's a massive failure of the (public) school system, and the public school system can probably thank the politicians for this failure.
To get such grand scale illiteracy in a country takes something else than just bad teachers and school leaders - it takes amazingly bad policy decisions at state/country level.
1. Re:Public Failure by stewsters · 2014-07-01 04:32 · Score: 1
  
  "The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."
  
  - Socrates, 469-399 B.C.
  
  Don't worry too much. The children will grow up, and invent some shit that we haven't even thought of yet. Sure they may seem dumb to us now, but a few will learn and lead the rest.
Re:Turn on the tablet by drinkypoo · 2014-07-01 01:19 · Score: 1

kids parse all the information that's provided to them and one experience does not corrupt the other.
Up to a certain age, children are incapable of discriminating between commercials and programming. One experience does corrupt the other.
Of course, that was what was so great about PBS. You saw a lot of begging, but no commercials.
I speak of it in the past tense only because it's television, which in its current form is losing influence.

--
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"