Students in Grades K-3 at St. Mary's Academy Charter School are building reading proficiency using Soliloquy Reading Assistant
BEEVILLE, Texas, 05/07/2007 -- Students at St. Mary's Academy Charter School are using a computer-based speech recognition technology program called Soliloquy Reading Assistant to help them to improve their reading fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The kindergarten, first, second and third grade teachers have implemented the program into their curricula, giving each child one to two thirty minute sessions of reading with the program each week.
"We began using Soliloquy Reading Assistant on a school-wide basis at the beginning of this school year," said Alice Whitley, Reading Coach. "The kids love it because it's an interactive experience, and the teachers find it easy to use and helpful in tracking the reading development of their students."
"Many of my students are thrilled with the Soliloquy Reading Assistant," said Mrs. Elizondo, First Grade Teacher. "Sometimes they don't know the correct pronunciation for certain words. With Soliloquy's help, they are able to listen carefully to the way those words are pronounced and be guided in modifying their own pronunciations."
Second graders have also experienced great gains with Soliloquy. One student increased the amount of words he can read correctly per minute from 35 to 77 in just six months. This increase of 42 words is well above average, according to AIMSWeb, a scientifically based, formative assessment system, which reports that a child at this grade level should increase reading fluency by 30 words per minute during a six month time period.
"This student started the year by reading below the class average," reflects Alice Whitley, "Using Soliloquy Reading Assistant has helped him not only improve his skills, but has also dramatically boosted his confidence."
St. Mary's Academy Charter School originally purchased Soliloquy Reading Assistant in September 2005 and began use on a school-wide basis in September 2006. "I visited St. Mary's Academy last year and helped to train their teachers. I am thrilled that the students are benefiting from our program," said Jon Bower, CEO of Soliloquy Learning, the company that develops Soliloquy Reading Assistant. "We feel proud to contribute to the success of these young children."
Students use Soliloquy Reading Assistant by reading e-books into a computer using a standard headset and microphone. Through Soliloquy Reading Assistant's proprietary speech-recognition technology, the program is able to "listen" and recognize when readers stumble or make mistakes on specific words. When a student struggles, the program assists or corrects him/her by reading the word clearly, meanwhile making records in the background for teacher review. Vocabulary assistance and comprehension questions are other features of the program. When students do not know a word's meaning, they can click it to gain access to a context-sensitive definition, pronunciation and photographic memory aid. When students reach the end of a reading passage, comprehension questions are presented to ensure understanding and to focus students on acquiring meaning in addition to speed. Students can then have the program read the story to them, and compare the model with their own readings to improve their pronunciation.
Soliloquy Reading Assistant is available for students in grades 1-12, plus adult remedial reading programs. For elementary students (grades 1-5), reading content is drawn from children's stories, poems and expository passages to build literature appreciation. For secondary students (5-12), content is drawn from science and social studies subjects required by many state standards, providing experience with the content to improve comprehension later on. Since its launch in 2002, various versions of Soliloquy Reading Assistant have been used by over 5,000 schools across the country. For more information, visit www.soliloquylearning.com, or call 1-877-235-6036.
About Soliloquy Learning, Inc.
Founded in 2000, Soliloquy Learning has pioneered new and effective methods for improving reading and spoken language skills. The company's flagship product, Soliloquy Reading Assistant, provides one-on-one reading support, using proprietary speech recognition technology to monitor and assist students through Guided Oral Reading, the research-proven best practice for fostering reading progress beyond the basics. Design has been led by literacy expert, Dr. Marilyn Jager Adams. Research on the efficacy of Soliloquy Reading Assistant has been sponsored through research grants from NICHD and IES . Soliloquy Learning is a privately held company based in Waltham, Mass. For more information visit: http://www.soliloquylearning.com.
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