alexsouthmayd

6 ms·

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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   This is a very thoughtful response! Thank you. I'd love to chat with you further, if you'd like to reach out directly to me (just use the demo form on the site). We are launching Bloomy this fall with Prenda and Apogee microschool
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   Great points! Agreed on the distinctions. With enough data we should be able to identify lots of cool things about mastery.
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   These are really thoughtful points. Thanks for sharing them. I'd love to check out your code. The percentage mastery threshold on Summit may indeed be quite high, but the Summit also comes after the student has proven they are ready fo
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   Bloomy (YC S26) is hiring a founding engineer

   1 points by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   Thanks for engaging! Let me clear up some inaccuracies lest others misunderstand. First, those are all verbatim quotes from the educators. They were taken directly from letters of reference (which I recently had to compile for a quite inten
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   Thanks, that's very helpful feedback! We'll improve this.
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   Thanks for engaging! Our passages are a mix of public domain passages and in-house authored material which are specced to a long list of requirements. This allows us to create passages spanning a rich variety of characteristics, including g
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   Thank you! It's an interesting time for sure. In the face of all the headwinds, there are also some interesting tailwinds and opportunities: -Shrinking budgets forcing reevaluation of longstanding contracts, especially those that provi
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   by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

   That would be great. Please fill out your information on the below contact form, & I will follow up with you! https://www.bloomylearning.com/#demo
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I'll check them out, thank you for your suggestions!
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I agree that how we approach the market will be the difference between being successful and failing. At this stage, we’re focused on finding early adopters who have the autonomy to try a different curriculum and already believe mastery lear
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Thanks for the thoughtful comment. We’ve actually had a few school districts ask about paper workbooks, so this is already on our radar. Right now, students can move at their own pace and use a notebook alongside Bloomy, but we haven’t figu
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    We ran a pilot with roughly 150 students in grades 6–8. Students who used Bloomy for one hour per week averaged 1.8x their expected winter-to-spring growth on NWEA MAP. Our team was understandably energized by these results, and we plan to
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Thanks! I’ll have a read. Appreciate your taking the time to source and share these.
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    There are many problems to solve within education! To say there’s only 1 aspect would be a massive disservice to the ~2 decades the average person spends going through a school system. Some studies estimate the average American is at a midd
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    This is interesting, can you say more?
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Funny you say that. We actually just released a voice mode that allows students to engage, interrupt, and even switch languages. I'd love to design this to a greater extent throughout the experience so Bloomy becomes voice-first (where
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Thanks for the support! On motivation: we have something called Bloomy Bucks. Kids earn these for getting questions right, mastering skills, and being consistent. They can then redeem them for privileges that the teacher/school/pa
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Yes—and the whole hypothesis here is that teaching could be more efficient than it currently is!
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I've been extremely inconsistent in my dashes today as I flip between different devices :)
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Good questions. I like that you're digging into the mechanics. First principle: BloomyBot does not proactively engage the student unless they make 3 mistakes in a row in "Climb" (the practice portion). Then it engages them. O
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I misread this -- yep I agree with the original statement!
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I just posted something pretty relevant to this in a different comment. Totally agree with the dangers. 2 important points: 1. Not all AI is the same. I see 2 MECE categories in education: AI that does all the thinking/execution for yo
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I empathize with the screen time concerns - the reality is most kids in classrooms are already on screens, which are doing very little to move educational outcomes (from what I can tell based on the NAEP evidence). And then you also have ki
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I've personally both had and seen great success with the Anki approach for specific terms (e.g., vocab flash cards). Spaced repetition is built into Bloomy based on similar principles. A little harder to get right as you're now sp
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I have a slightly different perspective based on how I've observed schools use Bloomy. Focused use of Bloomy has allowed teachers to deliver higher-touch support to students who need it most (it also helps that our system identifies co
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I love self-learning. I read a lot of books as a kid (at one point my dad even got mad at me because I was ignoring him while reading yet another book). At the same time, I believe -- and have seen firsthand as a teacher -- that many studen
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    I like that you're touching on a bit of Horizon 3 education here! I agree that the model is antiquated and is long overdue for an upgrade.
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    Great point. The responsibility and consequences of the tech (both bad and good) rest upon the humans who designed it.
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    by alexsouthmayd 2mo ago

    AI is certainly not a monolith. Many aspects and use cases of AI are dangerous -- fully agreed. As others have commented, it would be better if we could give every student their own personal tutor. Until that's possible, I believe AI c