October 15, 2015 - Read the full Forbes article and watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1GbToGU. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwitunes or on Stitcher by clicking here: http://bit.ly/ymotwstitcher. Jamie Austin and Aisha Bukhari co-founded Attollo SE Inc. as graduate students at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Attollo was selected as a finalist for the 2015 Hult Prize competition, awarded last month at the Clinton Global Initiative. Jamie explains, “Young children from underprivileged families do not develop the vocabulary they need for success in primary school. The extent that the vocabulary of these children is behind their more privileged peers has been termed the vocabulary gap.” Aisha notes that over 100 million under-privileged kids are not ready for primary school, adding, “A key reason less-privileged children are not primary school ready and drop out of school later in life is that they are unable to understand and communicate with the world around them. They lack the quantity and variety of words needed to develop meaning and understanding of words. They lack the vocabulary needed to succeed.” “Talking Stickers, which is comprised of an electronic device called ollo that can scan stickers, record and play-back audio in any language or dialect, helps parents deliver educational content from our partner educational organizations to their children. Talking Stickers also enables children to learn in unstructured ways through exploration of their world and environment,” Jamie says. Aisha adds, “Since stickers can be placed on anything, Talking Stickers transform common household items into educational toys. Talking Stickers follow proven, culturally relevant, early learning curriculum to deliver the best education for every child in their home. In essence, Talking Stickers is a teaching tool, empowering parents to talk, sing and read to their children in a playful manner and build their vocabulary.” Aisha explains their passion, saying, “We believe that literacy is a fundamental human right.” “Language development is just the beginning. We envision Talking Stickers as a tool to communicate information about health, nutrition and all areas of early childhood development. Millions of parents struggle with correct usage of child products (medicine, nutrition supplements etc) because they are unable to read. Talking Stickers solve this problem by providing audio instructions enabling parents to correctly use child products,” Aisha concludes. Jamie adds, “We aim to help underprivileged children below the age of 6 to develop their vocabulary skills, making them ready for primary school. This will help them to succeed in school and will increase their chances to get a good job and lift their family out of poverty.” Please consider whether a friend or colleague might benefit from this piece and, if so, share it.
#312: Student Entrepreneurs Create ‘Talking Stickers’ To Prep Kids For School