An advanced AI reading coach

One company is harnessing the power of AI to help make child illiteracy a thing of the past

Spotted: In the United States, it’s estimated that 40 per cent of students in the classroom can’t read at a basic level, with 21 per cent of American adults being reported as illiterate in 2022. Not only do poor literacy skills hinder a child’s development in the classroom, but in the longer term, it can hamper an adult’s employment prospects and make daily tasks like reading medication instructions extremely difficult, if not impossible. This is where Ello comes in.

Ello is the creator of an advanced and sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) learning platform that helps children learn to read. The struggle of getting children to engage with books they find boring or not knowing specifically what things would help a child most when first starting are all addressed by the AI and its ability to listen to a child reading and help them along in the moment. Once more, the AI will suggest books that can help advance a child’s reading based on what the child has engaged with before. 

It is the AI’s ability to listen to a child read and provide this feedback that makes Ello a novel and highly effective reading assistant. The feedback is not only instructional but motivational and aims to help a child develop an organic love of reading. The tailored book selection removes the awkwardness for a parent in deciding if a book is ‘just right’ for their child’s ability, filtering out stories that would be too hard and discouraging, or too easy and less worthwhile. 

Ello has just received $15 million of funding from Project A ventures in order to help further develop its product and expand access to customers. 

Huge technology advancements in recent years mean that teaching tools are becoming more efficient than ever. In the archive, Springwise has also spotted one generative AI learning platform and another that helps students with learning differences.

Written By: Archie Cox