Istation to demonstrate oral reading fluency assessment at 2020 educational conferences
Research-based voice recognition technology measures oral reading skills
DALLAS, Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Educators interested in the leading research-based educational technology can see a demonstration of Istation’s Indicators of Progress (ISIP™) Oral Reading Fluency assessments at several upcoming educational conferences in 2020, beginning at FETC (Future of Education Technology Conference) January 14-17 in Miami, Florida.
Developed through a partnership with Boulder Learning Inc., Istation’s oral reading fluency assessment is a pioneering effort in the use of speech recognition technology in education. It also integrates digital recording programing to help schools measure oral reading fluency, accuracy, and more using norms based on Hasbrouck and Tindal Oral Reading Fluency Data.
“We’re excited to reach out to educators and showcase how Istation’s approach empowers teachers to educate students in ways that haven’t been possible before,” said Ossa Fisher, Istation President and Chief Operating Officer. “Combining over three decades of educational research with more than a decade of technical development and data, this groundbreaking technology gives schools access to innovative voice recognition and recording technology that support powerful growth.”
The ISIP Oral Reading Fluency assessment provides schools with grade-leveled passages, scoring options, audio playback, online access, note-taking features, real-time reports, virtual tours, and additional time-saving support that gives teachers more time to teach.
“We are very pleased with our collaboration with Istation,” said John Ramo, CEO of Boulder Learning Inc. “Our work together is an example of how great teams can collaborate to create breakthrough technology products that accelerate reading proficiency while saving teachers time for other instruction. We hope to expand our partnership with even more advanced learning products.”
“Our teachers love the time savings and feel they do not lose instruction time while students are testing on the oral reading fluency assessment,” said Diana Wright, instructional coach at Aztec Municipal Schools in New Mexico. “The teachers have gained accuracy in grading because they can focus on the recordings, pause and go back to listen closely to each student’s recording. Our students and parents appreciate teachers’ sharing student recordings with them to gain a better understanding of student reading skills. Students are more engaged with the oral reading fluency assessment on the computer because it is fun for them and feels private — like a privilege for them to use.”
Other conferences scheduled to highlight the oral reading fluency assessment include the TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) Convention and Exposition February 3-7 in Austin, Texas; NABE 49 Annual Conference (National Association for Bilingual Education) February 25-28 in Las Vegas, Nevada; ASCD Empower 2020 (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) March 13-16 in Los Angeles, California; and TESOL International Association 2020 International Convention and English Language Expo March 31 through April 3 in Denver, Colorado.
About Istation
Founded in 1998 and based in Dallas, Texas, Istation (Imagination Station) has become one of the nation’s leading providers of richly animated, game-like educational technology. Istation was named one of 2019’s “EdTech 1000: Companies Transforming Education” by EdTech Digest and has received numerous national educational technology awards. The Istation program puts more instructional time in the classroom through small-group and collaborative instruction. Istation’s innovative reading, math and Spanish programs immerse students in an engaging and interactive environment and inspire them to learn. Additionally, administrators and educators can use Istation to easily track the progress of their students, schools and classrooms. Istation now serves more than 4 million students throughout the United States and in several other countries.
About Boulder Learning Inc.
Established in 2016, Boulder Learning is a learning technology company that is a pioneer in children’s speech recognition technologies. Boulder Learning has been the recipient of over $25M in research funding from the U.S. Department of Education, The Institute for Education Sciences and other agencies, and the company has successfully created and disseminated research-based programs such as Istation’s oral reading fluency assessment in schools across the U.S. Through government-sponsored research and private investment, Boulder Learning is continuing to develop technologies for conversational intelligent tutors and automatic assessment systems. Virtual tutors for reading and science have been developed and rigorously evaluated in real-world conditions. Several of the systems are being readied for commercial development.
For more information: www.boulderlearning.com