New Google Read Along App May Help Elementary Students Improve Their Reading Skills
If you’re at home with a toddler just starting to learn to read, Google has a new free resource you can use to help.
This week Google launched the Read Along app for elementary school students to help them practice their reading skills. The app is based on the existing Google Bolo app launched in India last year.
The app has a reading assistant that will listen to your child read aloud and offer help if he starts to find it difficult to phrase. When they manage to read a passage, they can earn stars, which gives the app a bit of a playful quality.
Once you’ve downloaded it to a device, that device no longer needs to be connected to the internet for the app to work, making it a little safer for unsupervised use. There are also no in-app purchases or side sales, so you don’t have to worry about your child asking for expensive add-ons if you let him try it.
Also, in terms of privacy, Google does not ask for your child’s name, age, specific location, email address, or phone number in order to use the app. Your child’s reading is analyzed in real time on your device, but is never stored on the device or sent to Google servers.
The app currently works in nine languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi and Tamil.
There are many built-in picture stories in each language, as well as games your child can play to improve their reading skills.
If you have a new reader at home, you should definitely take a look at it.