Conquer Illiteracy, Fight With Tools

Letters alive™ has been our pride and joy. Having the opportunity to design software using cutting edge technology is the dream of every young programmer. But, building something so revolutionary that fills a need in the foundation of our educational system--this has purpose. Kids need help.

Literacy has always been an issue. The mastery of which opens doors to new ideas and innovative thinking. If we can find a way to conquer illiteracy in our global community, imagine what lies ahead. 

We believe we have found a path toward this goal. By engaging students in a way that captivates their attention, we can defeat illiteracy. Integrating technology into a lesson is not enough, we needed to build from the ground up. We incorporated methods that work like phonics and flashcards, however, we started with the technology that we know will grab their attention. Most importantly, we used teachers and early reading experts to help design the curriculum. This is how we know it will be successful for your class and for your students.

ABC recently reported on Letters alive™. What an honor. Take a moment to see what they had to say. 

If you believe, like we do, that this will have a positive effect on the literacy rate in our youth, please join us in sharing this on whatever social media platform you subscribe to.

ABC News | Reading software that will change the way students learn to read - FOREVER http://t.co/CucgaHZ #LettersAlive

If you want to add this curriculum to your classroom, click here to visit our Web Store designed specifically for Educators.

Thank you for your support! 

ISTE Convention in Philadelphia

The show has been a tremendous success. Our booth stays busy with activity throughout the day and there seems to be no end to the flow of people interested in learning more about the products we attest will exact change in the classroom. Our booth is both appealing and welcoming. Regardless of the fact that our location and orientation are less than ideal, we have been drawing large crowds and captivating their attentions with Letters alive. 


One would be hard pressed to find another exhibitor that has been able to gather and keep show attendees as effectively as we have. Our exhibit is 10 x 20. Not nearly enough room for large desks with comfortable seating--like some of the booths we compete with. We don't have promotional "events" or professional acts with choreographed dancers, singing and dancing to our company theme song. Yet, somehow, people are willing to forgo those comforts and entertainment and huddle together (10-15 minutes at a time!) to watch one person demonstrate what we DO have.


We have a product that has the potential to change everything. Educators see that. They are not only excited to discover what we have created, but, they want to participate in it's development. We receive suggestions like "You guys should work on Math and counting next" and "social sciences would really benefit from this type for interactivity." I even had a teacher tell me that she had a dream about Letters alive--that it was in book form and the characters leapt from the pages. 


Our passion for education and the reformation of classrooms through the proper implementation of technology is evident in everything we have done here. Between our success in demonstrating our product lines and the strengthening of our strategic relationships with our partners also attending ISTE, I am very proud to report that we are indeed "Taking the Hill."

The LCT Family - Randy Self (Head Mushroom)

Some call it the Design Studio and some call it the Mushroom Farm, but, it's inmates are all unique individuals. Inside, it’s always dark. And, if you aren’t careful, you could find yourself in the crossfire of one of their impromptu Nerf wars.

The hours are long and the work is filled with strict deadlines and high-pressure projects, so, relieving stress with a soft Nerf bullet or a practical joke played on a co-worker is understandable and a welcome relief.

The head of this unique group, Randy Self, is a very talented Designer and Art Director. He is not only a visionary, but, also a hands-on, skilled craftsman--one of the originators of the Letters alive™ software that is putting Logical Choice on the cutting edge of educational augmented reality curriculum.

But how did someone like Randy come to be the “head mushroom in charge” in Logical Choice’s Mushroom Farm?

Randy’s degree in Media Arts and Animation from the Art Institute of Atlanta enabled this Sandy Springs, Georgia native to get a job with a special effects company in Lawrenceville, GA. All too often, that job led to a misunderstanding with area police. At 4 am, Randy and co-workers would stop by the local QT to buy a drink and a hotdog while covered in the blood (corn syrup and food coloring) used to make their ghoulish designs look like they were bleeding. The manufactured body parts in the trunk of his car did little to alleviate the concerns of the peace officers. When paychecks started arriving sporadically, Randy decided that as much as he enjoyed his job, he needed to find one with regular income.

Randy joined Logical Choice after the gaming company he worked for laid off its entire staff. The project they were working on, a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online) game which had an educational focus was almost  complete when it fell victim to a lack of financial backing. He began his career here as an installer where he lasted a whole day and a half before being introduced to the Customer Care Team. It was in that environment where he introduced our CEO, Cynthia Kaye, to Augmented Reality which led to the creation of Letters alive™.

The influence of his mother, a photographer, and his father, an engineer, prepared him for the path that his career would take here at Logical Choice. “My mom is a creative person who sees things in a creative way and taught me to do that, too. And, my dad is a step-by-step engineer who taught me to follow the steps and work logically,” Randy shared. “He also taught me to use power tools and build things. I had no idea there were people like plumbers and electricians and builders that you paid until I was older because I thought every project was done by father and son.”

Randy shared a little about what makes this company special. “Honestly, I love this company. There are companies that say they are family oriented, but, it doesn’t really work that way. Here, it feels genuine. We joke with each other and people actually get it and don’t get offended. We really are a family.” 

With his unique set of skills, quick wit, and fun sense of humor, Randy is an office favorite. He sees a bright future for Letters alive™ and future augmented reality products and software. “We can go anywhere. As we start dealing with it, we see what it can do – what the potential really is. There are opportunities for infinite expansion,” according to Randy. 

With the Head Mushroom, Randy Self, (alias Randolf Seawolf thanks to a nickname from C.K.), the journey is never boring, always enlightening and full of lots of laughter and Nerf bullets.

-Lisa K.

Teachers Cheer Letters alive™

Literacy professionals in attendance at the 55^th Annual Convention of the International Reading Association in Orlando were raving about Letters alive, the first classroom curriculum based on Augmented Reality technology. With the ultimate goal of teaching children to read, Letters alive allows students to interact with a kingdom of 26 entertaining, intelligent animals — each representing a letter in the alphabet — who virtually come alive in the hands of students. Here’s what some of the teachers who have used Letters alive have had to say:

“Letters alive is an amazing program!” —Rebecca, Pre-K Teacher

“The software is awesome! Very innovative and exciting!” —Janet, 17-year veteran kindergarten teacher

“The Letters alive curriculum is amazing! I love it!” —Jessica, Educational Consultant

“Letters Alive will undoubtedly aid in reading and developing comprehension. Great job, my fellow educators!!” —Robin, 21-year veteran 1^st-3^rd grade teacher

This groundbreaking supplemental curriculum is not only designed for pre-k and kindergarten classrooms, but it also targets specialized instruction within grades 1 - 5 for: ESL students (English as a second language), RTI students (Response to Intervention) and Special Needs students. Letters alive applies research-based, best practices of phonics curriculum, but in a way that has never been so engaging or so interactive for early learners.

The curriculum uses the same mind-blowing Augmented Reality technology implemented by the Imagineers at Walt Disney World. Accompanied by 94 Dolch sight word cards, the Letters alive creatures not only move and make sounds, but react intelligently as well. These animals not only possess the capacity to respond to students’ actions, but they also have the ability to answer their questions.

When the Letters alive cards are arranged to ask, “Can the frog swim?,” a projected image of Frankie Frog actually begins swimming! Next, have a child try “The frog can fly.” Then, Frankie will shake his head “No.” Let’s say a student puts down the cards to read, “The giraffe is red,” To the delight of your class, Gerdy turns from brown to red. By seeing the words in action, learning and retention becomes faster and stronger. As students encounter 3-dimensional characters like Gerdy Giraffe, Henry Horse or Frankie Frog, and see them respond to actions and questions, the students more quickly establish strong connections between the letters and the animals they represent. This includes understanding how letters sound phonetically and how they are used to form words. In addition, the students can easily learn the meanings of sight words and see how those words are used in sentences.

“Students learn best when you capture their imaginations,” said Cynthia Kaye, CEO of Logical Choice Technologies. “Then, they’ll not just be excited to learn; students will also be better able to retain and apply that knowledge. Letters alive directly involves students in what they’re learning on so many emotional levels. They get very involved in the learning process because the students want to see how the animals will react to the different sentences they build. As a result, it’s not just that the experience is effective and fun; it’s more effective because it’s fun.”

Letters alive provides a full school year of lesson plans that are aligned directly to the Common Core State Standards currently being adopted in 48 states. Augmented reality applications for educational purposes, like those utilized in Letters alive, hold the promise of immersing students in experiential learning environments—even at levels beyond early elementary—that were quite unimaginable until now.

To learn more about Letters alive, visit www.logicalchoice.com, or visit our web store at www.logicalchoicestore.com.


-Brian B.