Trying to get children to read — especially when they would rather be outside swinging from the monkey bars or inside playing games on their devices— is no easy task for parents and educators.
But the stakes for choosing age- and interest-appropriate books for kids are high. Make poor choices, and they dislike reading for the rest of their lives. Pick books they can’t put down, and they develop a lifelong love of books.
K-12 reading comprehension plays a crucial role in this process. Prompting and motivating kids to read independently and picking the right books for their level, interests, and age range makes this a complex issue… but an important one.
The Challenge
One K-12 publisher decided to solve this problem by designing an online application that puts the reins in the hands of the students. The student completes a survey that identifies the types of books they are interested in. This survey combined with other data captured for the student on grade and reading level surfaces books that match the student’s interest categories and reading ability. The student now has hundreds of books available at their fingertips to build and add to their online reading library.
The design and development for this application utilized skills and expertise from a variety of different vendors, and the publisher needed to find a partner that could help them put it all together.
Why Unicon?
Unicon has vast experience in the educational space developing web applications from inception through to production delivery. In addition to outstanding product development capabilities, we have a team dedicated to standards-based integration, which is critical for any product requiring seamless integration. To round out our technical depth related to this project’s needs, we have deep experience delivering large scale AWS solutions with a focus on reliability and availability.
Beyond our technical capabilities, Unicon is known for having unparalleled project management. With a tight timeline and multiple vendor partners, Unicon’s track record for on-time and on-budget delivery made us a top candidate for the partnership.
Results: K-12 Reading Comprehension
Unicon, in tandem with the publisher, created an independent reading environment that offers students a personalized bookshelf. These carefully curated shelves are tailored to each student’s age, interests, and K-12 reading comprehension level, and provide a purposeful and effective way for children to read independently.
The bookshelf features a suite of ebooks available in both English and Spanish, a set of quizzes to test comprehension, and a reading readiness assessment to assist teachers in evaluating reading levels. It also provides students the ability to set, track, and monitor progress toward meeting their individually defined reading goals.
Not only does the bookshelf provide assessment resources for educators, but it also helps parents by providing convenient and accessible books specifically targeted to their children.
This new offering means kids can read books they enjoy from the beginning of their reading journey and ensure a lifelong love of reading.
