livingbytruth January 16, 2011
Dear Andrius (and readers of my open letters at http://dadamac.posterous.com )
I share your email email copied below. I agree there is great overlap between what we are doing. You know that I always saw Minciu Sodas as a kind of "alternative online non-accrediting university", and I saw you as a great learner, an innovative thinker (and doer) and also an enabler of other people's learning.
Regarding your thoughts on using kickstarter. I support that idea, but think you are thinking of much bigger rewards than is usual (which could cause you to finish off financially worse off rather than better off through your proposed use of kickstarter). I suggest you look at the kind of rewards other people have offered - I think for example of Vinay and his funding of the Future we Deserve - the only other example I am really familiar with.
Also I want to apologise - I have always struggled with the pronunciation and spelling of your name, especially letters "a" and "u" in your your surname and I seem to have misremembered the spellling at some point and repeatedly referred to you wrongly at dadamac.net and in posts to posterous. I will not be able to correct it all but will try to do better in future.
Pamela
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Pamela McLean, I liked very much your letter about Dadamac Learners
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/learningfromeachother/message/3147
I've made progress thinking through what I want to do with myself, how
I might make a living, and how does that relate to the Minciu Sodas of
1998 to 2010. I'm shifting my outlook from "independent thinkers" to
"self-learners" which I suppose may be very much related to what
you're doing.
I want to foster a culture of self-learners and a Self-Learners
Network http://www.selflearners.net I want to share hundreds of ways
of "figuring things out", especially as games. Some of these I hope
to make a living from, especially as projects through
http://www.kickstarter.com
Today I submitted my first project, which is to publish Face-the-Facts
Phonics Flash Cards http://www.face-the-facts.com which I created in
1995. I share my proposal. I want to raise at least $900 in 30 days.
I appreciate our thoughts, who might I reach out that might like these
flash cards?
Andrius Kulikauskas, ms@ms.lt, http://www.gospelmath.com, +1 (773) 306-3807
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What would you like to create?
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In 1994, I tutored a second grader who was smart, but hadn't yet
learned how to read single-syllable words. I created a system of
phonics flash cards for him to teach himself. There are 55 beginning
sounds (b, bl, br...) and 500+ ending sounds (ill, it, ip, ...). Each
week I introduced one of the 16 vowel sounds. At home, he'd practice
melding beginning and ending sounds. His father would reward him if
he read the cards fast enough. I also created games for him to play.
I want to brand these cards as Face-the-Facts Phonics Flash Cards,
design them so they look nice, create and test at least 8 fun games
with them, write a booklet and videos which explain how to learn and
play with them, and make it all available in the Public Domain.
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What rewards would you offer? People love limited editions,
one-of-a-kinds, and fun experiences (parties, screenings, balloon
rides!). What you offer and how you price it is completely up to you
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For contributions up to $30, I would offer rewards such as: an
electronic PDF of the cards (about 25 pages) and booklet; the cards
printed out with an inkjet printer on card stock; the booklet printed
out; small or large poster of the card system; a phonics party in
Chicago at the Ghetto Gallery; an online party by Skype; a weekly
newsletter with progress reports, games and puzzles.
For contributions from $30 to $300, I would offer: custom versions of
the cards with pictures or portraits that I draw (I'm an artist);
tutoring by video Skype or in person; a series of Skype conference
calls; an email group with games and tips; appearances in our videos.
For contributions above $300, I would offer: a presentation at a
school; materials for a class of 30; an online version of a game; a
special edition of the booklet; a custom game; a custom video for them
with St.Benedict the African's gospel choir (where I sing); work with
children in inner city Chicago, Uganda or elsewhere.
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Where can we find out more about you and your project?
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The current version of the cards (which I made in 1995 with a
Macintosh) are available for download at http://www.face-the-facts.com
You'll also find there a 10 minute video that Sasha Mrkailo and I
made with his children in Serbia where we show how to use the cards.
More than 2000 people saw the video and we received some encouraging
comments.
I'm currently active online at: http://www.gospelmath.com From 1998
to 2010, I organized the Minciu Sodas laboratory http://www.ms.lt,
including Worknets http://www.worknets.org and Pyramid of Peace
http://www.pyramidofpeace.net I'm currently starting Self-Learners
Network http://www.selflearners.net The Minciu Sodas sites aren't
what they once were, so here's my resume:
http://www.gospelmath.com/upload/andriuskulikauskasresume.doc