PALO ALTO – Today, Osmo from BYJU’S, the award-winning, leading edtech company, officially launched Reading Adventure, a personalized learn-to-read program for kids to build their skills and confidence beyond the classroom. Developed with educators, the newest addition to Osmo’s successful portfolio of early educational programs uses “phygital” (physical and digital) play along with speech recognition and artificial intelligence to help kids learn to read. The ground-breaking program was created for kids kindergarten through first grade (ages 5-7), and combines physical books with a digital experience using phonics and sight reading with friendly characters and engaging storytelling.
Today’s children are digital natives and Osmo has a proven track record of bridging hands-on learning tools with the devices that they use everyday. Osmo Reading Adventure includes an iOS app, physical books, and an interactive magic wand. Through a monthly subscription, Reading Adventure delivers skill-based physical books that are tailored to the child’s current reading ability. The program was developed with an emphasis on phonics instruction, such as teaching the connection between speech sounds or phonemes and letters. Teaching phonics allows children to successfully break down new words based on the spelling patterns present in each word.
“Learning to read can be one of the hardest achievements for young children, yet it is fundamental to their success,” said Cherian Thomas, senior vice president of International Business at BYJU’S. “Understanding speech sounds, decoding words, and recognizing word parts is challenging and even frustrating for most children. Reading Adventure makes the difficult process of learning to read easier and more enjoyable so young students everywhere can become more confident and empowered readers.”
LeVar Burton, the legendary actor, and director who also serves as Osmo’s Chief Reading Officer is helping to launch Reading Adventure at an event today in Los Angeles. “I have been an advocate for early childhood reading for decades; this is my life’s work,” said Burton. “Osmo’s Reading Adventure is an amazing product that uses technology plus real books to help children learn to read. Now, more than ever, closing the literacy gap in America is a national imperative and with Osmo’s Reading Adventure, we have a new powerful tool that can help teach our children to read.”
Reading Adventure aligns with key reading standards, is COPPA-compliant, and provides personalized feedback to boost reading proficiency. Reading Adventure also features fun, interactive games and leveled books that grow in skill level as the child progresses. Real-time customized feedback is provided as kids read aloud to their virtual friend Oliver, who is also learning to read, and helpful instructional hints from Nebula, the shining star that guides little learners as they grow and develop their skills.
Osmo Reading Adventure is now available for an introductory price of $25 at PlayOsmo.com and on Amazon. For more information on Reading Adventure, please visit PlayOsmo.com/readingadventure.