Dr. Patricia Scanlon, a Ph.D. in speech recognition, hatched the idea of using voice technology to aid children in learning to read, inspired by her daughter’s reading journey. Traditional literacy instruction involves laborious assessments, where educators meticulously track word count, errors, and accuracy in children’s reading.
Speech recognition holds promise in automating this assessment, freeing up valuable time for teachers and parents to provide more targeted instruction. Existing systems primarily use adult male voices, making them unsuitable for children in practical settings like homes and classrooms. In response, Dr. Scanlon founded SoapBox Labs in April 2013. They developed a unique voice engine tailored to children as young as 2 years old. Unlike off-the-shelf tech, SoapBox’s engine accounts for the distinct and unpredictable speech patterns of young kids.
In 2022, SoapBox’s highly accurate voice tech enabled the release of early literacy features. Educators can now assess phonemic and phonological awareness down to individual phonemes, identifying challenges in letter recognition and pronunciation early on.
Highlighted in the Wall Street Journal’s Future of Everything series, this innovation empowers educators to detect literacy foundation issues promptly and offer targeted interventions.
Prominent literacy solutions have integrated SoapBox’s voice tech into PreK-12 oral reading assessments. This integration provides teachers with unparalleled insights into students’ literacy progress, facilitating precise interventions and personalized support.
SoapBox’s technology has the potential to dramatically improve literacy education by automating assessments, providing real-time and longitudinal data per student, and elevating the quality of support for young and emerging readers. In 2023, SoapBox Labs became the proud AI R&D Hub for Curriculum Associates.
For these reasons and more, SoapBox Labs earned a Cool Tool Award for “Best AI Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
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Original Article Published at Edtech Digest
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