My word: Phone app teaches children to read

21 : 01 : 2013 Education : Mobile Phones : Qualcomm

Las Vegas – Sesame Workshop, the non-profit-making educational organisation behind Sesame Street, has teamed up with 3G and mobile technology provider Qualcomm to create Big Bird’s Words, a smartphone app that teaches young children how to read.

Big Birds Words by Sesame Street Workshop Big Birds Words by Sesame Street Workshop
Big Birds Words by Sesame Street Workshop Big Birds Words by Sesame Street Workshop

Powered by new technology by Qualcomm, the app uses a ‘word-a-scope’, which recognises any printed word that the child points at. The app asks the child to pick a word using an image that depicts it. The child then has to find the word in the real world using the word-a-scope.

‘We designed the app with three- to five-year-olds in mind,’ says Carla Riney, director of product management at Qualcomm. ‘We had to design the app in such a way that it is intuitive for children, and make the graphics work with how they hold the phone.’

For Generation I, learning is indistinguishable from play. For more key lessons for this emerging group, book a place at our forthcoming Trend Briefing.

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