SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ello, developer of the world’s most advanced AI reading app, announced the launch of its all new, fully digital AI reading companion that harnesses its proprietary, industry-leading child speech technology to democratize personalized reading instruction at scale. Leveraging the world’s largest child speech data set and the largest library of decodable children’s books, Ello is using advancements in artificial intelligence technology to support parents with struggling readers for a small fraction of what a reading tutor would cost.
Ello is powered by Adaptive Learn, its state-of-the-art AI system that understands, adapts and responds to a child just as a teacher or reading coach would, using principles backed by the Science of Reading to create a fun and educational journey for children in grades K-3. Ello follows a Science of Reading-aligned phonics scope and sequence that teaches children critical literacy skills while they read engaging decodable books. The defined scope and sequence was crafted by literacy experts and keeps children interested and engaged with content at just the right level for each child.
“Parents can be confident that Ello fully aligns with the Science of Reading,” said Timothy Shanahan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Ello Advisor. “It is a first-rate implementation of best practices for literacy development.”
Ello’s proprietary speech recognition can decipher what a child says out loud down to the individual phonemic level. The proprietary speech model is trained on the world’s largest dataset of child speech, more than 130,000 hours, and outperforms OpenAI’s Whisper model on child speech. The ability to identify child speech at the phoneme level underpins the app’s ability to teach decoding skills, which systems that only understand children at the word level cannot do.
The new app includes a library of more than 700 decodable books, helping to solve a critical shortage of decodable reading content that is most effective in helping children learn to read. Ello’s library was created by a team of educators and illustrators using new generative AI tools to expedite the creation process. For $9.99/month, Ello’s E-Books will allow more families access to reading coaching and decodable book content that can often cost in the hundreds of dollars.
“We built a tool that allows a Kindergarten teacher to write a level-aligned decodable book within 20 minutes,” said Catalin Voss, Co-Founder and CTO of Ello. “With reading scores at an all time low since the pandemic, it’s critical to get affordable resources into the hands of parents and educators. Ello is leveraging both GenAI and our speech recognition technology to give children books that are precisely tailored to both their skill level and interest.”
The Ello app was also recently rated by Common Sense Media as one of its top AI products for ethical use, transparency, safety and impact. Common Sense Media recognized Ello as a company that displayed Responsible AI practices, especially its machine learning fairness that contributed to the app’s high rating.
“We are making learning how to read much more accessible to children everywhere,” said Tom Sayer, CEO and Co-Founder of Ello. “Ello’s speech technology and GenAI capabilities means it can tailor instruction to each child, understanding their speech patterns down to the phoneme level, and keep them from getting stuck and frustrated while they’re learning to read a book on a subject they’re excited about. We want kids to become confident, capable readers and technology has now advanced to the point where it can provide that important 1:1 instruction needed to teach learning how to read.”
How It Works
To subscribe to the service, parents sign up for a free 7-day trial and then pay $9.99/month for a digital subscription. The subscription includes full app access to Ello’s 1:1 instruction, an exclusive library of digital books, and digital prizes weekly. For an additional fee, parents can also have an additional five physical books mailed to their doorstep each month. Ello’s subscriptions are available at http://ello.com. Ello is recommended for children Pre-K to 3rd grade level.
About Ello
Ello is helping to solve childhood illiteracy by scaling 1:1 instruction to maximize the learning potential of all children, regardless of resources. Its first product is the world’s most advanced reading companion, powered by proprietary speech recognition and generative AI. It listens, understands, and engages with children to teach them critical reading skills. Ello is founded by a team of experts in education, childhood development and artificial intelligence, and backed by investors including Y Combinator, Goodwater, Project A and Homebrew. Learn more at https://ello.com.
Kerry Metzdorf
Big Swing Communications
978-463-2575
[email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ae0a1522-e75c-4c18-a2a7-b7f2b7f6ce05