Life-Changing “Personal AI” Device Supports Student Reading & Learning Abilities

OrCam Technologies, innovator of life-changing, personal “AI as a companion” solutions, has introduced robust new features to the recently-launched OrCam Learn, a comprehensive AI-driven study partner. 

The OrCam Learn empowers students, including those with learning differences such as dyslexia and ADHD, to effectively read and learn, resulting in enhanced comprehension, reading fluency and overall confidence. The newly-added ‘Translation’ and ‘Dictionary’ features further enrich the OrCam Learn’s ability to support learners throughout their studies.

An evolution of the OrCam Read device – a 2021 TIME Magazine 100 Best Inventions Winner – OrCam Learn combines a voice-activated handheld device, intuitive web and mobile apps, and informative analytics and reporting that keep parents and educators fully informed on the student’s progress.

The solution has a simple point and click operation to “capture” and immediately read out loud a full page, paragraph, or single word of text – of the student’s choosing – from books, smartphones, classroom handouts, and virtually any source of printed or digital text.

The OrCam Learn’s ‘Reading Pal’ utilizes highly advanced AI to provide students an interactive learning experience – and helps improve reading fluency and comprehension. This innovative feature listens to, and evaluates, the student’s reading; then voices encouraging “on the spot” feedback; asks content-related questions about the text that was read; and reacts to the student’s responses.

The ‘Translation’ and ‘Dictionary’ features represent the continued growth of OrCam Learn by empowering students who may struggle with understanding unfamiliar words while reading, wish to increase their vocabulary, or for whom English is a second language.

“We implemented the Translation and Dictionary capabilities to enhance OrCam Learn’s ability to support and encourage students throughout their education journey,” said Irie Meltzer, UK Regional Director of OrCam Technologies.

“Offering Translation was partially in response to input from many schools in the UK and U.S. which specifically requested the feature to help address the needs of non-native English-speaking students – including having Ukrainian as a supported language for school-age refugees.” 

With the press of a button, OrCam Learn translates any English text (one word, paragraph, full page, or entire screen) into more than a dozen languages which include Chinese, French, German, Korean, Spanish, and Ukrainian. The Translation feature adds particular value toward integrating English as a Second Language students – both those who have reading differences such as dyslexia and also those without identifiable reading challenges – into English language-based education systems. 

OrCam Learn’s Dictionary – powered by the Oxford Dictionary to ensure maximum accuracy – reads the definition of any word out loud. OrCam Learn’s proprietary AI integrates advanced machine learning algorithms to determine the relevant definition based on the word’s context and eliminate irrelevant definitions.

Moon Hall School and Oldham College are early adopters of the OrCam Learn in the UK. Both Moon Hall School, and select schools in the Wisconsin Public School System in the U.S., are currently engaged in OrCam Learn pilot programmes with devices that include the new features.

“The OrCam Learn is fantastic – it’s designed specifically to cater to the unique needs of individuals with learning challenges,” said Michelle Catterson, Executive Headteacher at Moon Hall School, and Chair of the British Dyslexia Association.

“No matter what their reading ability, students can all access their educational resources in lessons. Using the OrCam Learn has really helped our pupils’ independence in their learning experience. They find it fun, engaging and really easy to use.”

“Our students have been completely blown away with the OrCam Learn’s ability to read text back to them,” said Faye McLaughlin, Assistive Technologist at Oldham College.

“It has given them increased independence and we’ve seen a very positive response in their learning experience since its use. We’re now recognising that assistive technology is also having a huge impact on reducing anxieties for our learners, especially during exams.”

From each reading session, OrCam Learn generates a comprehensive analysis of the student’s progress – and identifies areas requiring additional attention – for teachers and parents to review. Delivered via web and mobile apps, the reading evaluation reporting incorporates a variety of metrics that help evaluate reading performance, including those commonly used by learning specialists, such as text difficulty, reading fluency, and total accuracy.

“We are driven to level the educational playing field for a wide range of students who can benefit from OrCam Learn’s new methodology and technology – enabling them to develop and maintain critical reading and learning skills, gain confidence, and thrive,” said Irie Meltzer, UK Regional Director of OrCam Technologies.