ScootPad Gets Text-to-Speech Upgrade Via New Partnership

  • By Kevin Hudson
  • 02/21/13

Online learning platform ScootPad has partnered with text-to-speech specialist ReadSpeaker to enhance its service with a "click and listen" feature.

The new feature will enable K-5 students using the platform to listen to math and reading practice questions and answers, which can help students "improve word recognition skills and vocabulary" and lead to "improved reading comprehension, fluency, accuracy, and concentration," according to a ReadSpeaker release.

The text-to-speech enhancement is intended to make ScootPad's online educational materials more accessible to students who use English as a second language, as well as those with learning difficulties, cognitive issues, or vision problems.

"Adding text-to-speech capabilities to ScootPad's math and reading lessons helps all of their K-5 students better understand, perform, and succeed," said Joop Heijenrath, ReadSpeaker co-founder, in a company release. "The ReadSpeaker audio and highlighting features that ScootPad now offers brings a new, useful, and fun approach to learning."

Features of the ScootPad platform include:

  • Alignment with Common Core standards;
  • Assessment of student progress with real-time charts and drill-down reports, allowing for identification of areas for improvement;
  • The ability to track proficiency by standard or concept for each student and across the classroom; and
  • An adaptive learning platform designed to deliver continuously personalized learning experiences for each student.

ScootPad is free and currently available for all elementary grades K-5, with premium classroom upgrades available for a fee beginning at 16 cents per day, according to the company Web site.

ReadSpeaker was founded in 1999 and provides Web-based text-to-speech services for Web sites, mobile sites, mobile apps, RSS feeds, online documents and forms, and online campaigns. More than 5,000 corporate, media, government, and nonprofit customers use ReadSpeaker online text-to-speech services, according to information released by the company.

ScootPad is a for-profit technology company based in Silicon Valley. The company was founded in 2011 by Bharat Kumar and Maya Gadde.

About the Author

Kevin Hudson is a freelance journalist based in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached at [email protected].

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