School-wide usage of Soliloquy Reading Assistant began in September of the 2006/7 school year after success with special education students the previous year.
Students use Soliloquy Reading Assistant by reading e-books into a computer using a standard headset and microphone. Through a proprietary speech-recognition technology, the software is able to ‘listen’ and recognize when readers hesitate or make mistakes on specific words. When a student struggles, the program assists or corrects the reader by repeating the word clearly while creating a record of it for the teacher’s review.
Other features of the program include vocabulary assistance and comprehension questions. When students do not know a word’s meaning, they can click on it for a context-sensitive definition, pronunciation example and photographic memory aid.
Students can also have the story read to them, and compare the model with their own version to improve pronunciation.
Dana Horst, South Daphne’s principal, commented, The Soliloquy Reading Assistant helps teachers as much as it does its students by freeing up their time to focus on core teaching. It also provides that one-to-one ratio that so many students need, but are unable to get, because teachers have to tend to 20 or more students at all times.
Soliloquy Reading Assistant is available for students in grades one through 12, plus adult remedial reading classes. 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 (grade 5 – grade 12 or above), content is drawn from science and social studies subjects covered by many state tests, providing experience with the content to improve comprehension as the student gets older.
