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šŸŽ‰ Shout out for days off!: šŸŽ‰ This is our *last* newsletter of the year because we know youā€™d rather sip hot cocoa than skim emails. Enjoy your holiday in peaceā€”weā€™ll see you in January with fewer puns and more education wins!

Educational Shorts

šŸŽ¬ AI Video Breakthrough: If you have a ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription, you can now play with Sora. This new tool is set to revolutionize high-quality educational videos, making it possible to produce them in hours instead of days or weeks. The future of on-demand video-based learning is closer every day.

šŸŽ§ AI-Powered Audio Tools: ElevenLabs has upgraded its AI audio tools, making it easy to create podcast-style discussions around articles or resources. Now students can enjoy fun, engaging audio materials that make learning feel less like a chore. The big advantage of this tool over Google NotebookLM is you can control and tweak the script.

šŸ’— Support This Nonprofit Newsletter Here šŸ™

šŸ“ Guided Notes Are Here: Thanks to feedback from teachers last Thursday, Outstanda has fully implemented guided notes for all future Learning Gigs. The challenge? Ensuring students donā€™t skip the reading. Weā€™ll be keeping an eye on how this evolves!

In Depth

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Brain Rot and Bringing Back Reading

What is brain rot? Itā€™s the term often used to describe the decline in focused reading, critical thinking, and comprehension skills, particularly in younger generations. Endless scrolling, short-form videos, and bite-sized content have left students unmotivated to engage with complex texts or expand their vocabularies. This isnā€™t about abilityā€”itā€™s about motivation.

At Outstanda, we believe the best way to combat brain rot is to reward students for doing the hard work of learning. That includes focused reading of rich, challenging materials designed to stretch their critical thinking and comprehension skills. By maintaining vocabulary depth and presenting complex ideas, we challenge students to go beyond surface-level understanding. Paying students to learn ensures theyā€™re motivated to do the work, even when itā€™s tough.

Teachers often say, 'My kids just canā€™t do it.' The truth? They *can*, but they havenā€™t been motivated to try. Outstanda is flipping the script by making reading rewardingā€”literally. By bringing back a love for reading and expanding vocabulary, weā€™re setting students up for success in school and beyond.

Doom Scrolling

Noteworthy

šŸ« Project-Based Learning in Action: To combat excessive screen time, Outstanda incorporates project-based learning in physical classrooms. Students develop essential social and emotional skills, leadership, project management, and presentation abilitiesā€”all while engaging with their peers.

šŸš€ Future-Ready Skills: Jobs of the future will demand more than just technical know-how. As tasks become further automated, skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and the ability to produce complex projects will be invaluable. Outstanda prepares students for this reality.

šŸŒŸ Elite Models for Everyone: Mastery-based learning combined with projects is the gold standard in elite schools for motivated students. Outstanda brings this proven model to the masses by offering a free curriculum and motivating students with payments for demonstrated academic mastery. Excellence has never been more accessible.


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