Chalk it up to a case of entrepreneurial ants in the pants. When Mike Wood, an attorney-turned-educational toy maker, retired in 2004, he didn’t stop working for very long. In fact, the founder of LeapFrog Enterprises--which is now responsible for 120 million educational systems, interactive children's books, and games in homes worldwide--got busy creating SmartyAnts, an online learning tool and companion toy designed to help kids read.
It started when Wood spent time in India trying to help children learn to read in English with software programs. It was part of an initiative to raise the standard of the country’s public schools, Wood says. Female college graduates unable to find work were given $30 per month to become principals or teachers at schools for slum children.
Watching the students help each other read the few books available to them was “powerfully motivating,” Wood tells Fast Company. As was working with a...
It started when Wood spent time in India trying to help children learn to read in English with software programs. It was part of an initiative to raise the standard of the country’s public schools, Wood says. Female college graduates unable to find work were given $30 per month to become principals or teachers at schools for slum children.
Watching the students help each other read the few books available to them was “powerfully motivating,” Wood tells Fast Company. As was working with a...
- 11/16/2010
- by Lydia Dishman
- Fast Company
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