Our idea started in the classroom- with constant user input, experimentation and research. And we continue to build it that way.
Tech Trends: Designing customizable reading modules for a high school literature classroom
Education Technology Research & Development: An examination of the effect of customized reading modules on diverse secondary students’ reading comprehension and motivation
The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education: An exploration of the use of technology to address academic language learning in teacher education in preparation for the edTPA
A quick gist of the cognitive science supporting how we designed Read Ahead:
- Studies have shown that the amount of time spent reading correlates directly with reading comprehension ability. Using Read Ahead increases the time that students spend actually reading.
- Differentiated reading instruction is a broadly substantiated and accepted foundation of literacy instruction. Read Ahead differentiates reading instruction by letting instructors and readers customize each experience.
- Gains in vocabulary have been associated with gains in comprehension, while gains in comprehension accompany gains in vocabulary. All literacy tools focus on vocabulary definitions, and we offer them, too. But Read Ahead also reinforces vocabulary in brand new ways.
- Making inferences and predictions is critical to the reading process. Read Ahead stimulates predictive inferences by presenting the key ideas before presenting the chunked text.
The Horizon Report supports that we are on the right track.