With lockdown extending in most of the countries and educational institutes closed indefinitely, the focus has shifted to digital mediums to keep children occupied and in learning mode. To enhance the reading skills of children across 180 countries, Google today launched the Read-Along Android App.
The app was first launched in India as Bolo app with an in-app reading buddy named Diya. It helps children over 5 years old to learn to read by giving verbal and visual feedback as they read stories out loud. Read-Along uses Google’s speech recognition technology to help develop literacy skills. After receiving encouraging feedback from parents in India, Google is now sharing this app with more young learners around the globe. It is now available in over 180 countries and nine languages including English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi.
“Read Along keeps young minds engaged with a collection of diverse and interesting stories from around the world, and games sprinkled into those stories. Kids can collect stars and badges as they learn, which motivates them to keep playing and reading,” says Google.
Parents can create profiles for multiple readers to track their progress. The Read-Along app personalizes the experience by recommending the right difficulty level of stories and games based on their reading level performance. The app can be readily used offline once learning content and stories are downloaded. One doesn’t need to sign in to the app, and Google says it sends no data back to its servers.
