
Projects extend through all grade levels
Partnerships between members of the business and educational communities in South Florida are not strictly limited to the university level. Many companies and organizations actively seek to enhance the learning experience for younger students as well. In this third installment of SFBWโs โEducation Collaborationโ series, a few of these programs are examined as well.
When Facetime and Kindle Unite
Picture this common scenario: Youโre on a business trip, thousands of miles from your home and kids. You notice itโs their bedtime. You would love nothing more than to read them a bedtime story.
Thanks to Caribu, a Miami educational-tech start-up company, you can do just that. Described as โFacetime meets Kindle,โ the program enables parents, family, and mentors to read and draw with children remotely. โIt works on a shared screen,โ says Caribu CEO and co-founder Maxeme Tuchman. โYou can even play live tic-tac-toe.โ
Tuchman credits the U.S. military for inspiring Caribu to create the app, which is available on Google Play and in the Apple Store
Caribu is free to download, Tuchman says. After seven days, itโs $6.99 monthly for unlimited access. (Active U.S. service personnel receive Caribu for free.)
The shared screen allows parents and their kids to draw, as well as read the same book together on the shared screen. Both parties require an account.
โThereโs a pointer where you can point to where youโre reading,โ says Tuchman. โMost kids want to read the same book over and over.โ
The app is now available in six languages, with a seventh on the way. So far, Tuchman says, the company has downloaded many classics into the system, including The Wizard of Oz and Sesame Street titles. โWe also have a lot of smaller authors and publishers,โ she says