Talk:VIPKid

Proposed Changes

Request Edit #1

Information to be added or removed: "Born in Heibei" should be changed to "Born in Hebei"

Explanation of issue: Misspelling

Y done.--SamHolt6 (talk) 01:54, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Request Edit #2

Information to be added or removed: "employing native English speakers" and "60,000 teachers employed" should be changed to "contracting native English speakers" and "60,000 teachers contracted"

Explanation of issue: VIPKid teachers are "hourly-paid independent contractors" (see reference)

References supporting change: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-04-27-chinese-tutoring-startup-vipkid-could-be-on-its-way-to-a-500-million-raise

Dzstoyanov (talk) 01:32, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Y done.--SamHolt6 (talk) 01:59, 7 February 2019 (UTC)

Request Edit #3

Information to be added or removed: "Her first business venture, a brick-and-mortar tutoring service she started in 2000, failed."

Explanation of issue: This statement is not backed up by the provided reference, which in fact gives a revenue number of greater than $30M USD. Hardly the definition of a failed business. :)

References supporting change: https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-vipkid-cindy-mi-and-3-billion-startups-teacher-community-2018-8, already included as Ref #1.

I declare a conflict of interest as it relates to this article. I am an employee of VIPKid, and am requesting this edit during paid time. I am also an administrator and former WMF staff member. -Philippe (talk) 21:55, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Y @Philippe: done. SamHolt6 (talk) 22:13, 22 April 2019 (UTC)

Thank you. :) . -Philippe (talk) 09:18, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Request Edit

Edit request 21-AUG-2019

Request 1

Information to be added or removed: Append subsection after first paragraph ending in "These experiences inspired Mi to establish an online-focused English teaching service."

Description Section Subheader: Business Model

Teachers give lessons using a proprietary platform and in-house developed curriculum in real-time, one-on-one, from the location of their choice during hours of their choice and when the student demand is the greatest, after school and other activities in China. All teachers on VIPKid are independent contractors and are paid service fees per class.

Students and their parents sign up for classes and select the teachers that they want to work with. Parents of the students are closely involved in the process. Parents scroll through teacher profiles, book sessions, and leave and read reviews from other parents. During every sixth class, there is a student evaluation where a different teacher reviews content learned during the first five classes to monitor student progress.

Explanation of issue: Current article doesn't provide a clear description of company's product and services.

References supporting change: See embedded references.

Dzstoyanov (talk) 23:49, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

Request 2

Information to be added or removed: Move remaining description section beginning with "Following its inception, VIPKid began to develop a curriculum that would involve pairing English speaking tutors with Chinese students ranging in age from 4 to 12." and ending with "As of November 2018, the company reported having 60,000 teachers contracted to teach 500,000 students.[7]" under a new section as shown below.

Section Header: History

Explanation of issue:Improving article structure and flow.

References supporting change: Not applicable.

Dzstoyanov (talk) 23:49, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

Request 3

Information to be added or removed: Add the following text as a new Events section following the History section.

Section Header: Events

Events Section Subheader: Journey

VIPKid holds a regional conference for teachers called “Journey” where teachers come together to share their experience and learn new insights about online teaching. Optional workshops are hosted on a wide range of topics including the student experience, tips and tricks from veteran teachers, using technology in the classroom and Chinese culture.

Past Journey conferences include:

• Las Vegas - Hosted in Las Vegas on July 13, 2019. Five hundred teachers were in attendance from thirty-nine states to share experiences and advice about how to improve their online teaching skills.
• Chicago - Hosted in Chicago on March 9, 2019. Over five hundred teachers were in attendance from thirty-eight states and were joined by CEO Cindy Mi and City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
• Orlando - September 29, 2018, over 400 teachers gathered in Orlando to hear from VIPKid Founder and CEO Cindy Mi and Co-Founder Jessie Chen as the company celebrated its five year anniversary.
• Dallas - Hosted in Dallas, TX on August 8, 2018. Four hundred teachers were in attendance and former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at the conference.
• Salt Lake City - Hosted in Salt Lake City, UT on March 10, 2019. Nearly three hundred teachers were in attendance for VIPKID’s first ever regional conference.

Explanation of issue: Adding substance and depth to the subject article. These activities are heavily publicized with high attendance and receive substantial coverage at a national and local level.

References supporting change: See embedded references.

References

Dzstoyanov (talk) 23:49, 21 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 21-AUG-2019

  Edit request partially implemented  

• Please note that the numbers below correspond to the numbers in the edit requests, which were moved to the Edit request section above.

1. N The information provided in this part of the request resembles that which might be found in a college's catalog of courses, where in depth descriptions of course offerings are delineated. It is not the purpose of Wikipedia to reproduce such items.
2. Y The requested text was moved to a new History section.
3. N Please provide references from reliable, WP:SECONDARY sources for the claims in this section of the request. The sources provided in request #3, with phrases such as "The palpable passion and energy at Journey Chicago radiated throughout the gathering. Teachers traveled from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Some even traveled from as far as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and California to participate in the highly-anticipated Journey regional teacher conference" are not journalistic-quality references.

Regards,  Spintendo  00:27, 22 August 2019 (UTC)

@Spintendo: Thanks for your assistance and feedback. I agree with your assessment regarding edit #1, I've proposed an updated description which will refocus on the article subject in an informative manner. As for edit #3 I've updated the references and simplified the content. Please see Edit Request 8/23/19. Dzstoyanov (talk) 23:06, 23 August 2019 (UTC)

References

Request Edit 8/23/19

Extended content

Request 1

Information to be added or removed: Update current description section text with the following:

Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2014 by Cindy Mi, VIPKid has become China’s largest online education technology startup. As of June 2019, the VIPKid platform connects more than 600,000 paying students with more than 70,000 teachers in the United States and Canada. VIPKid’s online-classroom portal enables students ages 4 to 15 to receive 25-minute English language lessons from fluent English-speaking teachers.

Explanation of issue: Previous description is more focused on a person (the founder) than the company. Updated description focuses on the article subject specifically.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

Request 2

Information to be added or removed: Add events section and description of the event as shown below.

Events

VIPKid hosts a regional conference for teachers called “Journey” where teachers come together to share their experience and learn new insights about online teaching. Workshops are offered on a range of topics including Chinese culture, calligraphy, online connections with students and building digital presence.

Past Journey conferences include:

• Las Vegas - Hosted in Las Vegas on July 13, 2019. Five hundred teachers were in attendance from thirty-nine states to share experiences and advice about how to improve their online teaching skills.
• Chicago, IL - Hosted on March 9, 2019.
• Orlando, FL - Hosted on September 29, 2018.
• Dallas, TX - Hosted on August 8, 2018. Four hundred teachers were in attendance and former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at the conference.
• Salt Lake City, UT - On March 10, 2019. Nearly three hundred teachers were in attendance for VIPKID’s first ever regional conference.

Explanation of issue: Content and references updated to meet Wiki guidelines following rejection of last proposal.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

References

Dzstoyanov (talk) 23:06, 23 August 2019 (UTC)

Reply 24-AUG-2019

  Edit request partially implemented  

1. Y The phrasing under request one was edited and inserted into the article.
2. Y The portions of request two discussing the conference in Las Vegas was added to the History section, because it was referenced by News 3 Las Vegas, a major local-area broadcaster.
3. N Portions of request two discussing other conferences were not added, because these were either not referenced or were referenced by sources which weren't independent of the subject (Ms. Mi's quasi-press release-interview with CNBC, the Business Insider press release, etc.).

Additional changes made:

• The Controversy section heading was deleted and the contents therein were subsumed under the History section heading, per WP:CSECTION.

Regards,  Spintendo  09:04, 24 August 2019 (UTC)

@Spintendo: It seems like edit request #1 was not implemented? The description section appears to have been deleted entirely instead of being updated to the new text included in request #1. Please let me know if there was a misunderstanding. Dzstoyanov (talk) 19:43, 26 August 2019 (UTC)

Request Edit 9/26/19

Extended content

Request 1

Information to be added or removed: Update current history section text with the following after the first sentence, "Founded in 2013...teachers in the United States and Canada.":

"By the end of the first year-and-a-half, VIPKid had 20 teachers on the platform and 200 students."

Explanation of issue: Expanding history section.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

Request 2

Information to be added or removed: Update current history section text with the following after the first paragraph:

"Between 2015 and 2019, the Beijing-based startup grew from serving just over 3,000 students to over 600,00 while growing the number of teachers on the platform to over 70,000. As of 2019, teachers on the VIPKid platform teach over 180,000 classes daily."

Explanation of issue: Expanding history section.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

Request 3

Information to be added or removed: Update current history section text with the following after the sentence "In 2017 VIPKid...students called Lingo Bus.":

"The program, which teaches students between the ages of 5 and 12, is a subsidiary of the wider VIPKid brand."

Explanation of issue: Expanding history section.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

Request 4

Information to be added or removed: Add description section above the history section with the following content:

"VIPKid is China’s largest online education technology startup. The VIPKid platform connects more than 600,000 paying students with more than 70,000 teachers in the United States and Canada."

Information to be added or removed: Move second and third sentences from current version of the history section and append to new description section: "VIPKid’s online-classroom portal enables students to receive 25-minute English language lessons from fluent English-speaking teachers.[3][4] Students and teachers communicate via a video chat platform.[5]"

Explanation of issue: Creating clearer article structure.

References supporting change: Included within the above.

References

— Preceding unsigned comment added by Dzstoyanov (talk • contribs) 18:57, 26 September 2019 (UTC)

Reply 26-SEP-2019

  Edit request partially implemented  

1. N Requests 1, 2, and 4 gives claims on how the service is growing, or claims regarding company-provided statistics on how many students participate. The article does not require additional claims which further promote the company's reach.
2. Y The age range of the students serviced by Lingo Bus was given (request 3).

Regards,  Spintendo  19:52, 26 September 2019 (UTC)

Request Edit 4/9/20

Request 1

Information to be added or removed:

"“The company donated 1.5 million math and English classes to students in China affected by COVID-19. Priority for the free classes was given to students in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, and for the children of medical workers."

to be added in the History section.

Explanation of issue: Recent news on impact of COVID19 outbreak on VIPKid classrooms and teachers

References supporting change: http://netnebraska.org/article/news/1209222/nebraskans-see-boost-english-language-classes-chinese-kids-stay-home

Request 2

Information to be added or removed:

“Teaching English online gave North American teachers a first-hand look at what children are going through halfway across the world during the spread of the coronavirus. As a result, teachers on the VIPKid platform showed care and concern by supporting their students in China impacted by COVID-19. This was demonstrated by giving words of encouragement in class.”

should be added to the History section.

Explanation of issue: Recent news on impact of COVID19 outbreak on VIPKid classrooms and teachers

References supporting change:

https://www.fox21online.com/2020/03/05/duluth-tutor-focuses-on-encouragement-as-she-teaches-kids-in-china/ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouverite-teaches-esl-chinese-students-schools-closed-coronavirus-1.5487500

Request 3

Information to be added or removed:

“In January 2020, VIPKid announced Dami Wangxiao (Dami Online School). Dami Wangxiao is a new online classroom model that offers one-on-many live-streaming courses on English and mathematics to primary school and higher grade students.”

to be added in the History Section

Explanation of issue: Update in company product offering.

References supporting change:

https://www.scmp.com/tech/venture-capital/article/3044954/tencent-sequoia-lead-us80-million-funding-vipkids-new; https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-01-13-vipkid-s-small-class-tutoring-subrand-raises-80m-in-series-a-funding

Dzstoyanov (talk) 01:05, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

I am currently bad at detecting non-obvious promotional tone.

Request #1: Your request was close paraphrasing the source provided. It has been paraphrased by me. It's also in a new section.

Request #2: Declined It appears to me that this request is off topic of the subject.

Request #3: Declined This request and your explanation appears to me that this is in a promotional tone.

{{replyto}} Can I Log In's (talk) page 22:57, 10 April 2020 (UTC)

@Can I Log In: Thank you! Dzstoyanov (talk) 19:32, 20 April 2020 (UTC)

References

Request Edit 6/3/20

Request 1

Information to be added or removed: Request to add website link to infobox:

| website = vipkid.com

Explanation of issue: Add additional info to infobox

References supporting change: N/A

Dzstoyanov (talk) 21:51, 3 June 2020 (UTC)

 Done though this is a non-controversial request and could've been made by you. also, you were expected to place {{request edit}}, but instead you placed {{request edit|P}}. {{replyto|Can I Log In}}'s talk page! 00:26, 4 June 2020 (UTC)

@Can I Log In: Ah sorry about that, copypasted from another section and forgot to remove it. Thank you for updating! Also, I noticed that a recent event was added twice in the main article. Are you able to take a look and see if it needs to be cleaned up? I'm referring to:

"VIPKid teachers recently learned that their pay will be affected by changes by a new "bonus structure". Previously, teachers could make up to $2 per class on top of their base pay. A new sliding scale of bonuses was announced, with bonuses ranging from $0.80 to $2.60 per class. Teachers quickly realized that a few teachers will make more money, but most will make less. This comes at a time when VIPKid has raised the fees students pay for classes."

And

"In May 2020, VIPKID announced that all current teachers will gradually transition to a new service fee structure and the base rate adjustment policy will be phased out. This will effectively result in a pay reduction for the vast majority of their teachers.[14]"

Dzstoyanov (talk) 04:21, 4 June 2020 (UTC)