The Sounding Out Machine 2.0

The Sounding Out Machine is an Assistive Reading Device designed to aid children in focusing on challenging words within their texts and guiding them on how to phonetically sound out these words.

Teachers often find themselves in a position where they listen to students read, demonstrating techniques like chunking words, breaking them into syllables, and utilizing phonics skills to decipher them. However, time constraints prevent teachers from offering this personalized assistance to all students as frequently as they would prefer. The Sounding Out Machine steps in to provide students with the individualized support that a teacher would offer if she were able to assist each student personally.

The Word Window feature allows children to isolate and enlarge difficult words. This tool acts as a virtual teacher, modelling how to break down the word into syllables and apply phonics principles to blend the sounds together, enabling the students to sound out the word independently. Through their personalized digital word card, children can further practice and enhance their reading skills.

Students who could benefit from the Sounding Out Machine include those requiring guidance in chunking words and employing phonics strategies for pronunciation, students struggling with overwhelming text pages, those finding it challenging to coordinate an index card on a book page, and individuals who prefer reading on a digital screen.

• Modes:
  • Camera Mode: Capture an image of the book page.
  • Library Mode: Import snapshots of pages from the photo library.
  • Typing Mode: Input challenging words manually.

Teachers appreciate the feature that allows The Sounding Out Machine to email a report detailing students' difficult words. This list can serve as valuable instructional material or aid in creating personalized spelling lists for students.

The Sounding Out Machine eliminates the need for children to determine the root of a word before consulting a dictionary, allowing them to input words in various forms such as "reply," "replies," "replied," or "replying." This streamlined process ensures that young readers can stay focused on their reading tasks without unnecessary hindrances.

Customization: Children seeking extra assistance can utilize a digital card or marker to track the text they are reading, mimicking how they would use an index card to focus on a specific line of text. This feature is highly customizable, offering numerous color options for word cards. The Shared Reading mode enables children to set a small pointer at the end of each line, akin to what they would encounter during Shared Reading lessons. Furthermore, users can select between a traditional (QWERTY) keyboard or an ABC-order option according to their preferences.

The app supports various phonics models, including Blended or Synthetic phonics, catering to diverse learning needs of students.

Dictionary: Boasting an extensive lexicon of over 80,000 words encompassing multiple forms for each root and names, The Sounding Out Machine includes terms such as "reply," "replies," "replying," "Huggins," or "Lorax." Regular updates will expand this dictionary further; users are encouraged to provide feedback regarding any missing words that should be included in future updates.