Microsoft has announced that it will make its AI-powered reading tutor, Microsoft Reading Progress, available to all educators and students for free. Microsoft Reading Progress is a tool that helps students improve their reading fluency and comprehension by providing personalized guidance and feedback.
Reading fluency is the ability to read with accuracy, fluency and expression. It is a fundamental skill for developing reading comprehension, which is the ultimate goal of reading. However, many students struggle with reading fluency, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted the learning of millions of children worldwide.
Microsoft Reading Progress tiene como objetivo abordar este desafÃo mediante el uso de inteligencia artificial para analizar el rendimiento de lectura de los estudiantes y brindarles comentarios y sugerencias en tiempo real. La herramienta funciona de la siguiente manera:
– Students record themselves reading a text passage on their device.
– The tool transcribes the audio and compares it with the original text, highlighting any errors or mispronunciations.
– The tool calculates the student’s accuracy, speed and expression scores and generates a report showing strengths and areas for improvement.
– The tool also provides the student with tips and resources to help them practice and improve their reading skills.
Microsoft Reading Progress is designed to complement the role of teachers, not replace them. Teachers can assign text passages to their students, monitor their progress, and provide additional feedback and support. Teachers can also customize the tool to suit their students’ needs and preferences, such as adjusting the difficulty level, choosing the language, and enabling or disabling certain features.
Microsoft Reading Progress is part of Microsoft’s broader effort to provide educators and students with innovative tools and resources that support learning and well-being. The tool is integrated with Microsoft Teams, the company’s online collaboration platform that has been widely adopted by schools and universities during the pandemic. Microsoft Teams also offers other features that enhance learning, such as live captioning, immersive reader and breakout rooms.
Microsoft Reading Progress is currently available in preview mode for English language learners in grades K-8, and will be rolled out in more languages and grade levels in the coming months. Microsoft hopes that by making the tool free to all educators and students, it will help close the literacy gap and foster a lifelong love of reading among students.
Microsoft today announced that Reading Coach, its artificial intelligence-based solution that gives students personalized reading practice, is now free to anyone with a Microsoft account.
Reading Coach is currently available on the web in preview mode and a Windows application is in the works. Microsoft also says that Reading Coach will soon be integrated with learning management systems such as Canva later this spring.
“Reading is essential to a student’s academic success; research shows that fluent readers are four times more likely to graduate from high school and get better jobs,” Microsoft says in a blog post. “With the latest artificial intelligence technology, we can provide students with personalized, engaging and transformative reading experiences.”
Reading Coach is based on Reading Progress, a feature of Teams for Education, Microsoft’s education-focused version of Teams, that helps teachers improve their students’ reading fluency.
