West Midlands, Dec 4, 2018 (Issuewire.com) – A Midlands based technology startup has invented a revolutionary new app aimed to help improve the way children learn to read and experience stories. Yap Books is the brain child of Yap Technology Ltd, a company bringing new visually aided learning to books, with the aim of making the processes of reading and learning more engaging and totally rewarding.
Yap is a learning platform where stories come to life with the use of voice activated technology, enabling readers to trigger animations, sounds, videos, images and digital content completely in sync with their storytelling. Yap utilises a multi-sensory and child-centred approach, captivating each sense and ensuring that every reading experience is more intriguing and memorable.
Yap Books also marks a major leap forward in the field of literacy assessment, by utilising voice technology to listen to children read and then generating individualised data analysis from what is heard. This enables teachers and parents to gain a greater understanding of a child’s reading level and ability, and can help to identify achievement and to assist with the implementation of child centred interventions. Yap Books are equally effective when taking a ‘whole class’ approach to planning or when undertaking child specific differentiation and inclusion.
Yap Books is available free of charge to all schools, providing teachers with the opportunity to bring this exciting new learning platform into their classrooms, as well as to take advantage of a rapidly expanding and diverse ‘Yap Library’ filled with books, learning materials and digital content all of which is available to download directly into the app.
Yap Books offers users the opportunity to gain access to a diverse range of existing books and also boasts a new digital publishing platform where budding authors and illustrators can create and upload their very own voice activated stories using their own digital content. These can be shared with colleagues and contacts, or added to the Yap Library to provide users with the opportunity to market and promote their creations within the Yap community.
Product developer & founder, Benjamin Ridgway
“The Yap Books concept was first born whilst exploring ways to help our son overcome delayed speech. This prompted me to begin developing software that could provide instant visual feedback and animated rewards in response to his speech and pronunciation. Our son seemed very engaged with this method and I believe that it has helped to develop his speech far quicker and more effectively than other methods we had tried.
We are happy to see the Yap concept fully developed into a product which is now readily available to help children of all ages and abilities, whether as a speech development tool, or to simply provide a more immersive reading experience. Seeing so many children and young people enjoy Yap Books has inspired us to continue in our bid to help more individuals to adopt this new chapter of books.
We’re excited to explore the ways in which this creative use of voice technology can be developed further and are looking forward to working with creators and authors to deliver this exciting way of reading to a wider audience”.