The Read Read™

T-var EdTech

The Read Read™

The Read Read™ is a physical device that empowers Blind & Visually Impaired individuals to learn phonics & braille, to foster literacy & independence.

Columbus, OH, USA

United States

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

Braille literacy is the linchpin of employability for adults who are blind: a staggering 97% of blind adults who do not use braille are not employed. Presently, literacy rates for blind students are abysmal: only 8% of blind students can read braille, a statistic that is down from 50% in the 1960's. The majority of students who are blind attend public schools where they typically receive braille instruction from itinerant specialists as infrequently as one hour every other week. During this time, braille is not the only topic that these specialists need to cover, and many of these specialists are not even adequately trained to teach braille. While a move towards inclusion is good, the public school system isn't prepared to provide the access and support BVI students need in tier 1 classrooms. Braille instruction currently entails a teacher sitting beside a student, guiding the student to a letter or group of letters and saying the letter names or sounds they make, before the child is tasked with repeating the procedure. The process of constant direct instruction is time consuming and inefficient. Most children aren’t afforded the amount of high quality instruction required to become literate.

Video demo - user with blindness: https://youtu.be/0K5w1rrP6e8 Accessible product explanation video - piloting teacher: https://youtu.be/iRJQ_stASdk The Read Read™ is the first device that allows kids to independently learn and practice phonics and braille, receiving the same audio feedback that they would receive if a teacher were sitting beside them. The device is particularly effective for kids who do not tolerate direct instruction well, and for students whose educational needs outstrip the teacher and specialist time afforded to them. The Read Read™ allows students to interact with physical tiles that include large, high-contrast, embossed letters, and braille. When a tile is placed on the device and touched, the device provides the same audio feedback that a teacher would provide if she were sitting beside the student. Children can practice braille letter names and letter sounds, and by placing multiple tiles on the device, the child can practice 'sounding-out' words through phonics. Developed at the Harvard Innovation Lab, with engineers from MIT, the device is changing the trend of 'who learns to read'. Students who were previously classified as 'non-readers' have been able to learn to read using The Read Read™.

The majority of US children with visual impairments and blindness attend public schools, where they receive braille instruction from itinerant teachers of the visually impaired and blind (TVI's) as infrequently as one hour every other week. During this time, braille is not the only topic that these specialists need to cover, and many of these specialists are not even adequately trained to teach braille. For public school teachers with a blind student in their class, The Read Read™ bridges the gap between teacher skills and student needs without requiring the hundreds of hours of specialized training that would be required for a classroom teacher to learn braille well enough to effectively teach it. This scaffolding provides the student with braille instruction that would otherwise only be provided by itinerant specialists whose visits are too infrequent for sufficient progress. Studies have linked early braille learning with high academic achievement. Ryles (1997) found that blind students who received braille instruction 4-5 times per week had literacy scores as high as fully sighted students, but students who received inconsistent or no braille instruction were significantly behind their peers. Only 30% of blind adults are employed, but of this group, 90% are braille readers.