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Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Kids love reading more when they choose and talk books with their very own secret agent

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Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Secret Agent Mia's Book Club

Kids love reading more when they choose and talk books with their very own secret agent

Kids love reading more when they choose and talk books with their very own secret agent

Kids love reading more when they choose and talk books with their very own secret agent

Kids love reading more when they choose and talk books with their very own secret agent

Darren Cambridge
Darren Cambridge
Darren Cambridge
Darren Cambridge
1 Campaign |
Washington, United States
$25,240 USD by 127 backers
$25,120 USD by 126 backers on Sep 21, 2019
Overview
Secret Agent Mia's Book Club uses voice chatbot and AI technology that's private, secure, and proven effective to deepen kids' love of reading rather than focusing on teaching to a test. Kids choose two books from Mia's highly personalized recommendations each month and receive new, print copies shipped to their homes. The Club builds resistant/struggling readers' motivation and connects already enthusiastic readers with a steady stream of new books they wouldn’t otherwise have encountered.

 

Deepening kids' love of reading 

Banging your head against the wall trying to get your screens-obsessed child reading on their own?

Having trouble sifting through the endless stream of children’s literature to find the books that will help your super reader soar to new heights? 

Even after 15 years helping literacy educators use technology to support learning, I felt the same way as I struggled to help my older son learn to love books in spite of a reading-specific learning disability and tried to help my always-reading younger son branch out.

So, I teamed up with data scientist Kathleen Perez-Lopez to found Mia Learning in 2017. Since then, we've built software in collaboration with top educational researchers, teachers, librarians, and creative writers, winning the Most Promising Innovation Prize from Booz Allen Hamilton and federal R&D funding. 

 

Virtual conversations and real books 

Secret Agent Mia's Book Club brings Mia Learning's award winning conversational artificial intelligence software directly to homes for the first time, enabling kids to choose and own new books each month that are perfect for them while expanding their interests, increasing their motivation, and deepening their love of reading. 

 

Deeply grounded in research, developed with top experts, Mia Learning's software is already proving highly effective in schools. National Science Foundation-funded study shows Mia boosted students' motivation at a 32% annualized rate, benefiting both struggling and gifted readers.

 

How it works  

Kids talk with Secret Agent Mia, their loveable voice chatbot, to get personalized recommendations, receive copies of real print books each month, and reflect on their reading. 

 

Engaging voice conversations

On a laptop, tablet, or phone—your choice—kids talk to Mia, and she understands them and speaks back (like Alexa or Siri) through a totally private and secure website. They love accompanying Mia on secret missions to defeat Dr. Boredom.

"It’s the coolest when kids see Mia as this character that they identify with, who’s listening to them and interacting with them in a very concrete, realistic way. It’s something that hasn't really been done before." - Chris Hils, Director of Programs, Treehouse Books

 

Recommend, Read, Reflect Cycle 

Mia gets kids eyes off the screen and into a book in just two twenty minute conversations each month through the recommend, read, and reflect cycle. 

1. Recommend: AI linked to our experts' knowledge about reading, learning, and 10,000+ books helps Mia give deeply personalized recommendations that reflect each child's unique interests, challenges, abilities, and dreams. 

"I really appreciate a tool that helps parents to find books that are going to match their particular interests and proclivities, and that include some recently published books maybe we have never heard of but children are very eager and excited to read." - Nell Duke, Professor, Literacy, Language & Culture, University of Michigan

Eliza, 7, explains how Mia helps her discover unexpected new favorites
 
 

2. Read: Mia delivers new print copies of two books kids choose from Mia's recommendations to their home each month, and kids can't wait to read them. 

"I love that Mia guides my child in picking books and that she always regularly has new ones she will read and learn from about without me having to worry about whether I’ve paid enough attention. She’s loved all the books Mia helped her pick." - Rachel Houghton, Parent

 

3. Reflect: Mia talks with kids again after they've read, helping them reflect on their experiences and offering personalized video coaching to help them get more out of reading. 

"Mia's always there. Mia's never crabby. Mia always has time to listen. She can always give a reasoned response. In those ways, Mia is a great support for both the child and the adults who are working them." - Kathryn Pierce, Assistant Professor of Education, St. Louis University

Kids learn to make more powerful choices about reading, and Mia learns too. Machine learning makes Mia get better and better over time. 

 

Bringing Mia directly to families

What we need 

People frequently ask me, "When can I get Mia for my kids?" Although we developed Mia for use in schools, we don't want families to have to wait until their schools adopt Mia to benefit. To provide Secret Agent Mia's Book Club directly to individual homes, we need to raise $25,000 to adapt our software. We will use these funds to optimize our account management, notifications, and book fulfillment systems. The software works great for kids today, but we want to make parents' experience superb as well. 

In addition, due to the technical excellence and educational impact our Phase I project, Mia Learning is eligible for Phase II Small Business Innovation Research funding from the National Science Foundation. Your contribution will help provide the proof of consumer demand required to receive the $750,000 grant when we apply at the end of the summer. 

 

What you get

So, we need your help, and we're offering perks to recognize your contributions, including: 

  • Secret Agent Mia stickers and t-shirts, exclusively available through this campaign
  • Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscriptions for the young readers in your life. Pre-order for three months up to a year. 
  • Subscription sponsorships for children and schools in low-income communities
  • An exclusive, one-time-only chance to teach Mia to answer your question
  • Personalized recording of Mia thanking you  for your support
  • An opportunity for your young reader to write a book review Mia shares with other kids around the world in her recommendations
  • Lunch with the founders of Mia Learning in Washington, D.C. 

Plus, cool prizes: Everyone who contributes receives a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift certificate, a custom drawing by acclaimed artist Jane Mount your ideal bookcase, and more to be announced. 

 

Social impact

Learning to read is essential to success in life, but now more than ever we need kids who not only can read but do read. In our complex, ever-changing world, reading the right books, and lots of them, leads to more than just academic success. Books can deepen kids’ understanding, broaden their interests, and expand their empathy and emotional intelligence.

It’s no exaggeration to say that reading for enjoyment among school-age children is in real danger: around age 9, voluntary reading plummets a staggering 39%. Yet if kids can make empowered, educated decisions about their own reading and build their personal libraries, their likelihood of reading on their own skyrockets. Secret Agent Mia's Book Club can help.  

Mia Learning believes reading’s benefits should not be limited to a privileged few. That’s why when you contribute to Mia, you also provide children from a low-income household with books. Children’s book ownership is highly inequitable in the United States. The ratio of children to developmentally appropriate books for sale in low income neighborhoods is over 300:1. Getting first in line for Mia will benefit your children and those who are in need. 

 

Risks 

The most significant risk we face in delivering on the promise of this campaign is delays due to unexpected technical obstacles. Although Mia Learning's engineers are world class, if there's one thing I've learned about software development over the last 20 years, it's that it's impossible to predict perfectly how long work will take. We've listed our best estimates for each perk, and we commit to sending backers frequent updates on our progress. (Reminder: If we don't make our campaign goal, you get a 100% refund.) 

 

Other Ways You Can Help

If you are not able to contribute, please spread the word:

  • Like or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Share and comment on our posts. 
  • Share this page with your friends and colleagues using Indiegogo's share tools. 
  • Post to your own social media and email friends using our Supporters' Kit.

 

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Choose your Perk

featured

3-Month Book Club Subscription

$48 USD $60 USD (20% off)
Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscription for three months, including unlimited access to the private voice chatbot software, two new print books delivered to your home each month, and responsive customer support from a (human) member of our team. Plus, you get the exclusive Secret Agent Mia sticker.
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • One Month Subscription Credit (3)
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
24 claimed
Ships to United States of America, Canada
Secret Agent Mia Sticker

Secret Agent Mia Sticker

$10 USD
Premium die cast vinyl 2" sticker exclusively available to backers of this campaign
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
Estimated Shipping
September 2019
3 claimed
Ships worldwide.
Secret Agent Mia T-Shirt

Secret Agent Mia T-Shirt

$30 USD
Secret Agent Mia Relaxed Tri-Blend T-shirt from Custom Ink, exclusively available to backers of this campaign. Plus, you get the sticker too.
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • Secret Agent Mia T-shirt
Estimated Shipping
September 2019
6 claimed
Ships worldwide.

6-Month Book Club Sponsorship

$75 USD $120 USD (37% off)
Sponsor a Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscription for a child in a low income community for six months. They will receive unlimited access to the voice chatbot, two books each month (12 total), support, and a stereo headset and microphone. Plus, you get the exclusive Secret Agent Mia sticker and a personalized thank you audio recording from Mia.
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • One Month Subscription Credit (6)
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
3 claimed
Ships to United States of America, Canada

6-Month Book Club Subscription

$90 USD $120 USD (25% off)
Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscription for six months, including unlimited access to the private voice chatbot software, two new print books delivered to your home each month, and responsive customer support from a (human) member of our team. Plus, you get the exclusive Secret Agent Mia sticker.
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • One Month Subscription Credit (6)
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
12 claimed
Ships to United States of America, Canada

1-Year Book Club Sponsorship

$120 USD $240 USD (50% off)
Sponsor a Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscription for a child in a low income community for a year. They will receive unlimited access to the private voice chatbot, two books each month (24 total), and a stereo headset with mic. Plus, you get the exclusive Secret Agent Mia sticker AND t-shirt AND a personalized recording of Mia thanking you!
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • Secret Agent Mia T-shirt
  • One year subscription credit
  • Thank you recording from Mia
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
10 claimed
Ships to United States of America, Canada

1-Year Book Club Subscription

$142 USD $240 USD (40% off)
Secret Agent Mia's Book Club subscription for twelve months, including unlimited access to the private voice chatbot, two new print books delivered to your home each month, and responsive customer support. Plus, you get the exclusive Secret Agent Mia sticker AND t-shirt AND a personalized audio recording of Mia thanking you!
Included Items
  • Secret Agent Mia Sticker
  • Secret Agent Mia T-shirt
  • One year subscription credit
  • Thank you recording from Mia
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
31 claimed
Ships to United States of America, Canada
Teach Mia to answer YOUR Q&A

Teach Mia to answer YOUR Q&A

$250 USD
Would you like Mia to tell anyone who asks that the Hufflepuff quidditch team is #1? Want Mia to know that Maya Angelou’s favorite flavor of ice cream was strawberry? Teach Mia the answer to a question of your choice. When kids around the world ask Mia your question, and she’ll respond with the answer you wrote. (No technical knowledge required!)
Included Items
  • Teach Mia a Q&A
Estimated Shipping
November 2019
0 claimed

1-year school sponsorship

$500 USD
Sponsor a one-year license to use Mia Learning's classroom software for an elementary or middle school of your choice or a low income school we identify. Note: This license covers the software only. If we and the school can't find philanthropic funding for books, Mia can recommend only books available from school and public from the libraries.
Included Items
  • 1-year school license
Estimated Shipping
September 2019
4 claimed

Lunch with the Mia Team in DC

$1,000 USD
Get all the benefits of your choice of other perks and have lunch on us with Mia Learning founders Darren Cambridge and Kathleen Perez-Lopez, along with Head Writer Diana Rustin Black. We can get together at a restaurant in your choice of Washington, DC or Staunton, VA. (You'll need to get yourself there.)
Included Items
  • Lunch with Mia Learning
Estimated Shipping
September 2019
0 claimed

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