EdTech

The Importance of a Balanced Diet of Screen Time

Each parent has pondered the impact of screen time on their children, contemplating both duration and potential benefits. It can be challenging to navigate something that was absent during our childhood and beyond our parents’ experience. Without a frame of reference, comparisons are elusive, making it difficult to grasp and comprehend fully. Following a captivating interview with Amanda Gummer on the BBC, this blog delves into the ways in which screen time can effectively aid children’s development.

A Balanced Diet
Just like anything in life, a well-balanced diet is crucial. The same goes for a child’s play. While it is crucial to promote engaging and imaginative child-led play, known as the ‘broccoli’ of play, we should not completely deny them other play experiences and screen time can have a place in that diet. It is important to strike a balance and offer a variety of play opportunities to enrich their development and enjoyment.

Amanda Gummer recently shared an incredibly insightful image illustrating the components of a well-rounded play diet. It provides valuable guidance on how to foster a healthy and balanced approach to play. During her recent interview, she expressed that parents shouldn’t feel guilty for letting their children have screen time. She also emphasised the value of incorporating high-quality screen time judiciously, acknowledging its rightful place. Fonetti not only provides purposeful screen time to aid reading development, it also incorporates gamification to make reading fun and interactive.

Guidance is Key
Regardless of our personal preferences, technology has become an integral part of our daily lives. We therefore need to embrace it and teach our children how to use it responsibly and safely. Without clear guidance, children may struggle to distinguish between what is appropriate and what is not. It is crucial that as adults, we empower our children to harness the potential of technology in a beneficial manner by making them aware of what is suitable and what isn’t. 

Fonetti and other educational apps provide an immersive screen time experience for children, seamlessly blending learning with enjoyment. By guiding children to choose the right apps, adults can ensure that screen time is not only enjoyable but also beneficial for their development.

Active & Passive
Screen time has often been negatively portrayed, and I do agree, there are certain aspects that may not be beneficial for our children. Nonetheless, there exist incredible opportunities for children to utilise their screen time in productive and meaningful ways. Screen time can be split into two parts:

  • Active Screen Time

This is a time when screen time is utilised to enrich children’s learning and foster cognitive development. Fonetti exemplifies how children can utilise technology to boost their reading abilities and accelerate their progress. Through platforms like Fonetti, children not only acquire knowledge but also derive pleasure from embracing technology’s marvels.

  • Passive Screen Time

This is when children are not having to think at all and are passively looking at a screen. This can include watching TV or looking at social media. There is no critical thinking taking place and children are just simply absorbing what is on the screen.

In Summary…
When it comes to children and screen time, it is important to approach the topic with consideration rather than demonization. Screen time can be beneficial for educational purposes and can have a place in child play, if used appropriately. Fonetti strongly supports productive screen time as an opportunity for children to enhance their learning through technology. Today’s children are tech-savvy, and we should embrace this by exploring alternative methods of learning that incorporate technology.

Posted in Insights, EdTech, Literacy, Reading

How Reading Aloud Benefits Dyslexics: Unlocking Story Magic

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that can make reading difficult for individuals. It can be challenging for dyslexics to engage with the written word, which can impact their ability to keep up in school, work, and personal life.

While there are various techniques that people with dyslexia use to make reading easier, including text-to-speech software and dyslexia-friendly font, reading aloud is often found to be the most effective. It’s an excellent exercise that can help improve reading comprehension, pronunciation, and confidence.

In this blog post, we’ll look at how reading aloud helps dyslexics, and how an app like Fonetti can make reading more accessible and engaging for them.

Reading Aloud Helps with Phonics
Phonics is a method of teaching reading that focuses on the relationship between sounds, letters, and how they work together to form words. It helps dyslexics to understand that words are made up of smaller sounds and how these sounds can be blended together to create words. When dyslexics read aloud, they are not only seeing the words they are pronouncing them which helps them to learn the sounds

Reading Aloud Improves Comprehension
For people with dyslexia, reading silently can be a struggle as they may find it challenging to keep their attention on the text, which can cause them to miss crucial details. Reading aloud can help to improve their comprehension of what they are reading by increasing their engagement with the text. It helps them to process the information more slowly and makes it easier to visualise the words on the page.

Reading Aloud Helps with Pronunciation
One of the most significant challenges for dyslexic people can be mispronouncing words. Reading aloud can help them to see which letters make which sounds, and how this relates to the words they are reading. By hearing the words, they are learning how to pronounce them correctly, which can help improve their confidence when reading.

Fonetti: The Read Aloud App
Fonetti is an app that can help dyslexic people to engage with reading better and the National Read Aloud Challenge, powered by Fonetti will keep them entertained during the summer holidays. With Fonetti, your child can read aloud while the app listens, corrects, and encourages when they don’t get it right. It provides regular feedback, guiding the reader through the text and highlighting areas that they need to work on. Fonetti’s speech recognition software ensures the reader always gets accurate feedback, and its interactive features make reading more engaging and fun.

The Importance of Regular Reading
Reading regularly is crucial for all children, but for dyslexics, it can be even more beneficial. They need plenty of opportunities to practise their reading skills, and reading aloud can be an excellent way to help them improve their accuracy, comprehension, and pronunciation. Fonetti can make this process more enjoyable and engaging by providing a fun and interactive approach that keeps them motivated.

In Summary…
Dyslexia can be challenging, but reading aloud can make a significant difference. It is a highly effective way for dyslexics to improve their accuracy, comprehension, and pronunciation. Fonetti is an app that can help provide dyslexics with the support they need to become confident readers. With its interactive features and speech recognition software, Fonetti is an excellent tool for engaging children in reading and the National Read Aloud Challenge will keep them entertained during the holidays. By making regular reading a priority, dyslexics can unlock the magic of stories and improve their reading skills.

Posted in SEND, EdTech, Reading

Auris Ranked #1 as UK’s Most Innovative EdTech Creators in 2022!

Auris Tech, the company behind Fonetti has been voted the UK’s most innovative edtech creator for the second year in a row!

Following the creation of a 99-strong shortlist, the final ranking was decided by a combination of selections from an independent judging panel and a public vote which attracted around 1,000 votes.

The judges were:

For our technology to be recognised in this way, yet again, is testament to the hard work and commitment of the team, and unwavering support of our partners and schools.

Huge thanks to the esteemed judges and everyone who voted for Auris!

If you’d like to try Fonetti (empowered by Auris) in your school, sign up for a free 4 week trial!

#EdTech50
#BusinessCloud
#InnovativeEdTech

Posted in Awards, EdTech

How Educational Screen Time Can Support Children’s Reading And Wellbeing

How do you feel about screen time?
If you’ve changed your mind over the last few months you’re not alone. Perceptions of technology and our relationships with it (especially tablets) have changed recently.

And it’s mainly because of how our own lives have changed.

Cast your minds back to this time last year and you, like many parents, were probably in favour of setting strict time limits on tech for your kids.

Never in a million years did you expect to be so reliant on it yourself, let alone as a household.

And now here we are in a post-lockdown society dealing with the demand for tech that meets the habits formed during lockdown.

A time when we all turned to technology to find our new ‘normal’.

Have family quiz nights over Zoom become a regular activity in your house?
They have in many of ours. Face Timing friends is now normal, not a novelty.

And using a screen to enhance learning feels as natural as exploring the great outdoors.

Tech has slipped into our daily routines conveniently. It’s like putting on a comfy slipper and making us feel at home with what it offers.

But it’s also provided us with an unchangeable constant we can rely on, and Fonetti is just one example.

The reading assistant at home or away
Fonetti is more than a constant, it’s a welcome friend for our kids that blends fun and learning whether in the classroom, at home or wherever there’s Wi-Fi.

Fonetti makes reading fun.

It’s educational as well as entertaining. So, kids still get all the satisfaction from a game but with reading rewards. As a parent, you don’t need to worry about unhealthy screen time.

Fonetti is safe and secure.

It’s also current and compatible with the latest software updates most devices use. The language used in Fonetti stories reflects the way our subscribers speak, in UK English.

We work with our authors and publishers to update classic texts to make sure they’re still as relevant today as they were when they were first published, to keep kids entertained and hold their attention in direct competition with tech that’s less beneficial.

Mindful texts
If 2020 has taught us anything, it’s how vital mindfulness is in our children. And you can rest assured their wellbeing is being supported.

Fonetti has a range of titles that promote mindfulness and that help younger readers make sense of these changing circumstances.

From ‘Our World Needs A Clean’ by Nicky Nash that explains COVID-19 through a fairy tale to ‘Sadsville’ by Martin Roberts that tackles the theme of child sadness and anxiety – Fonetti caters for every ability.

For less than the price of a takeaway coffee, your kids can access a month of books from an ever-evolving library. Books with a difference, Listening Books™.

Think karaoke but for stories instead of songs.

Your child chooses a story and starts reading aloud. When they get the words right, they turn green, if they get stuck, they simply double-tap for a clue. And when they’ve finished, they receive instant rewards, fanfares and badges.

Encouragement for learning without them realising they have.

Posted in EdTech, Reading

Screen Time for Children: A Shift in Perceptions

Screen time – a sudden shift in perceptions
The recommended daily screen time allowance for children is an hour per day (based on the World Health Organisation guidelines issued in 2019).

Easily manageable when you take nursery/school hours and outdoor activities into the equation. That is until one little word introduces itself:

Lockdown

If there was ever a metaphorical rule breaker, tempting us all, lockdown is it.

As adults, let’s consider our own screen time use. Pre-lockdown it would probably have been high but during lockdown it’s potentially doubled.

Zoom is no longer a word we see in the pages of a picture book at bedtime, it’s a verb we use daily and a virtual ticket that connects us to colleagues, friends and family via a screen.

Smartphones, tablets, laptops and TVs become our focus out of necessity and our children are no exception.

Screen time used to be viewed as ‘lazy-parenting’ and was seen as an ‘easy option’ to entertain, frowned upon by many.

But in a world where technology offers our safest way of communicating, keeping in touch and educating ourselves, perceptions are changing daily. Screen time is being embraced and the positives are being explored, for some for the first time.

Educators are way ahead of us. They know the positive powers of screen time and are already taking advantage of technology as a teaching resource.

With four in 10 British children predicted to own a tablet before their 6th birthday it’s clear that screen time is becoming habitual in a large percentage of homes.

Our children are a generation of ‘digital-natives’ who adapt to technology instinctively. All sounding positive so far isn’t it? But what about the guilt?

“As a busy mum of 3, I am guilty, as I’m sure many others are, of using screen time as a babysitter in order to get jobs done. However, it’s not all bad, I have noticed a marked improvement in my two-year-old’s vocabulary from the educational games that he has been playing.”,

Chloe Smith (Mother and Primary School Teacher)
Many parents feel guilty for using screen-time. They believe it will make their children anti-social, damage their eyesight and lure them away from traditional methods of learning.

But feelings of guilt should actually be replaced by gratitude. Screen time can enhance learning rather than hinder it.

Just as the world is changing rapidly, so are the perceptions of screen time.

In fact in their The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 2019 screen time study shows that social media has more of a negative impact on an individual rather than the use of the device itself.

They recommend that screen time use with digital devices should be made on a case-by-case basis within families rather than a general limit based on age.

It’s time to turn the spotlight on the advantages of screen-based technology
When used effectively, screen time can be hugely beneficial to a child’s development.

Fonetti:

  • Encourages independent learning
  • Connects students directly to schools and syllabus
  • Improves cognitive skills
  • Develops motor skills and co-ordination
  • Nurtures life-skills such as email comms, coding and video conferencing
  • Provides access to educational tools and resources

So where does Fonetti fit-in?
Quite simply, Fonetti injects fun into screen time. Accredited by The Department for Education’s Hungry Little Minds Campaign, Fonetti is an approved platform, and a safe place, for children to practise their reading.

With Fonetti screen time and story time merge into one with a little bit of magic and many benefits including:

Building confidence:

  • There’s no fear of reading aloud or peer pressure. With Fonetti children can read independently without the need of a grown-up (great news for parents working from home). If children stumble on certain words, they just double tap for hints and help – it couldn’t be simpler.

Entertaining all abilities:

  • We have a range of reading levels to suit every reader and that works alongside the National Curriculum. Our library is constantly evolving with new titles added daily ready for eager readers to jump in and enjoy a new adventure.

Supports children learning English as a second language:

  • Fonetti recognises a child’s speech patterns regardless of dialect, accent or native tongue, making it the ideal learning platform for those learning English as a second language.

Provides encouragement:

  • Think of Fonetti as a virtual high-five, as the pages turn, the fanfares, prizes and encouragement begin

Keeps parents in the loop:

  • If children use the app at home, you’ll be notified weekly of their child’s progress – we’ll email you to tell you how much time your child has spent reading, which books they’ve finished, which words they’ve struggled with and if they’ve progressed from one reading level to another.

We’re the world’s first listening bookshop.
And we’re the only platform that listens to children while they read, that recognises their speech regardless of dialect, accent or native tongue.

You could say, at the moment, we’re the teaching assistant available to every home and the technology behind interactive reading.

And we’re building confidence on an hourly basis…or however long your children choose to interact with us.

Screen time is a personal choice.

The results of screen time resources are fact. Using some of your child’s screen time allowance on Fonetti will benefit them more than playing on their games console.

It still entertains, feeds their imagination and gives them valuable life-skills as well as nurturing a love of reading.

We’re sharing this experience together.

The fears, the frustrations, the pain. The pride, the gratitude and the love. We’re sharing our space, our time and our skills. We’re sharing our screens. We’re sharing our stories.

And there has never been a better time: #Fonetti

Posted in EdTech, Insights

Fonetti debuts in London

Clare Balding introduces Fonetti at a reception held at the IOD in Pall Mall.

What a week we’ve had here at Fonetti HQ!

Not only does today mark a whole 7 days of our app being approved by the Department for Education – but Wednesday night saw our Fonetti Showcase at the Institute of Directors on Pall Mall, marking our full public launch.

And what an evening it was! Our Brand Ambassador, Clare Balding OBE, kicked off the evening by welcoming all of our fabulous guests and introducing our co-founder and CEO, Kim Antoniou. Kim gave us a brilliant speech (with a little bit of help from our CCO, Colin Tankard keeping the slide-show going smoothly). Great job there, Colin.

Kim spoke about the back story and how a chance conversation between her and co-founder Bil Bungay 7 years ago  which started with “my 2 year old grandson knows how to use a smartphone even though he still cannot string a full sentence together” ended up with “Lets build a listening Bookshop for children to practice their reading on”  (Little did they know at the time that they would actually have to develop the technology to support the idea!)

They went on to talk about the past, present, and future of EdTech and how what we have developed had the potential to transform they way that the tech enthusiastic kids amongst us practice reading.

Then we heard from the world class Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) expert Dr. Peter Bell of Edinburgh Universities renowned School of Informatics who is the brains behind our unique voice recognition engine, and it’s fair to say a few minds were blown… Our technical lead Lee Sherwood and Colin took some questions about the possibilities of Fonetti and the ASR engine.

Finally, we heard again from Clare, Kim, and Colin. “I’m glad to be a part of something that is going to change the world,” said Clare.

After all the talking, we were all absolutely spoilt with drinks and canapes!

We’d also love to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has downloaded Fonetti over the last week. We hope you’re enjoying our Listening Books!

And don’t forget, our ears are wide open for feedback. Just send an email to us on info@fonetti.com

Get in touch!
Thanks for stopping by! If you would like to find out any more information about Fonetti, or even who we are as a team, please do get in touch.

We are always happy to speak with our users, and look forward to hearing from you sometime.

Posted in Team Fonetti, Automatic Speech Recognition, EdTech

Auris Collects an Evidence Aware Edward

We’re delighted to announce our successful completion of UCL’s Educate programme!
Last Friday we were at Educate’s Demo Day and Edward Ceremony which took place at City Hall in the heart of London where we were honoured to have collected our very own Edward Award which was presented to us by the legendary Professor Rose Luckin.

Educate is a research accelerator programme for EdTech companies, based at UCL Institute of Education. This Demo Day saw 8 EdTech companies pitching to a panel of investors, and over 40 companies picking up an Edward after participating in the Educate programme and successfully applying real research in their ventures. 

We were one of them!
The Educate programme operates on the idea that the EdTech industry has to be based on excellent business practice and academic research. When we began the Education programme, Fonetti was in beta phase of development. From then, Educate has aided us in gathering data, and now we have an Evidence Aware Edward, and a technology at the heart of our app which just keeps getting better and better.

Through Educate, we gained valuable data on product developments. We made improvements to the gamification element of the app, collected data on customer experiences and market value of Fonetti. And, of course, we were able to clearly evaluate the performance of our own speech recognition engine. 

And right now, Fonetti is live in the AppleStore. 

Our experience with Educate has been better than we could have imagined. We’re over the moon to have been a part of it, and to be a part of the wider EdTech community.

Congratulations to everybody else completing the programme and thank you to Educate for such a smashing day! 

Posted in Awards, EdTech

The Decline of the Library – Can Tech Help?

3 Reasons to Love Libraries (And Support Them In The Digital Age)
At The Listening Bookshop we love libraries. We support them passionately, and truly believe in the wonderful things that they do. However, we are aware that changes are on their way. Changes which, potentially, could threaten the existence of this well loved institution.

All around the country public libraries are closing. Cuts in council spending are steadily increasing, and although local authorities have a statutory duty ‘to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons’ in the area, libraries are really feeling the hit.

Studies suggest that the number of adults visiting public libraries has fallen by almost a third over the last decade, with an approximate £25m hit to its budgets in 2016 alone. With such stark figures, one cannot help but wonder how this may be felt on a personal level, particularly when it comes to our children’s literacy.

Can we fill this gap with technology?

The benefits of using a library 
Many believe that the cuts libraries are facing are unavoidable sacrifices. Some even go as far to suggest that libraries are now redundant. But many (including us!) believe that libraries offer huge benefits to everyone who use them, but in particular children.

1. Variety
The most significant function of the library is of course the huge array of books that they house. Princesses, pirates, fairy tales or superheroes- there’s nothing you can’t find within the shelves! Children have the luxury of browsing through at their leisure, making their own choices.

The library also stocks a huge amount of non-fiction texts which, as mentioned in a previous blog, are really beneficial in building up a child’s reading comprehension. If a child doesn’t like to read traditional fiction, or has a particular interest in a subject, then hey presto- the information they seek is at their finger tips!

Without spatial limitations, the library houses as many books as a child could need at every stage of their reading journey. And with no limit on how many times a child can borrow a book, they can work at improving their own understanding of the text as often as they wish.

And, with recent studies conducted by the Oxford University suggesting that reading books can improve a person’s life chances, the importance of maintaining these facilities becomes crucial!

2. Extra support
Learning to read is a process that requires the help and support of an adult. Children will need both guidance and encouragement for them to grow as readers, and often having an adult’s feedback can really inspire them to continue with their work.

With growing class sizes and an increasingly busy home life, finding the right amount of time to support a child with their reading can be difficult or rushed.

The staff at the library can make a difference here. By offering a further layer of support in many ways, ranging from rhyme-time classes for preschoolers to seasonal reading events throughout the year, the presence of an extra adult with specific training and experience can be invaluable source of feedback.

3. A positive shared environment
The library offers a positive space for children to talk about their reading with their friends, parents, teachers and other adults. The environment is focused, friendly and dedicated to literacy. By really ‘zoning’ into reading and books with such a high level of positive reinforcement, improvements in ability and enthusiasm are inevitable.

We like to think that by offering a child a focused and positive space (and this could of course be a digital one!) dedicated to books, a child’s reading will thrive.

Are these attributes transferable to the digital age?
If one day we lost all of our beloved libraries, could tech fill that void?

Of course we are biased here at The Listening Bookshop, but we really do believe that in this digital age, tech can help offer the child a virtual library.

We’ve tried really hard to ensure our bookshop offers the same benefits as a library does! We would love to hear what you guys think about this subject – do you still use your local library? How do you use yours? Let us know!

Posted in Insights, EdTech, Reading

BETT Awards 2019 Finalists

Fonetti is a proud Finalist! 

We had an amazing evening last night at the BETT Awards 2019 where we were finalists in the Best Education Support Resource for Parents or Home Learning.

We were amongst some truly great competition and were honoured to have been selected by the esteemed panel of judges.

Auris Tech Limited & Fonetti
Auris Tech has created the World’s First speech recognition engine built specifically for children’s read speech. It powers Fonetti, our tablet app that provides a highly interactive and encouraging reading environment for kids through our voice-enabled Listening Books.

Think: reverse karaoke. As a child correctly reads our familiar content aloud, the words light up. Kids are so engaged, they actually want to read during tablet time! They feel brave and comfortable reading, love earning rewards, delight in visual and voice engagement, and their supportive adults benefit from the progress tracking. Auris aims to advance literacy globally, starting in the UK.

Many congratulations to the winning company Tassamai

…Next Year!!!

Posted in Awards, EdTech