CSIR unveils technology to support learners with learning difficulties

11th May 2022

By: Darren Parker

Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

     

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The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) unveiled its new learning technology, a voice computing application (app) that translates text into audio, on May 11.

Developed by CSIR researchers, the app called iSinkwe was designed to support literacy development by helping learners overcome barriers to reading and learning. The app will help learners read and learn more effectively through an integrated audio-visual experience.

“The level of illiteracy remains a critical educational issue in South Africa. Many school learners face barriers to reading and learning because of factors such as visual impairment and dyslexia, among many other barriers to education,” the CSIR said.

The iSinkwe app provides an ebook reading experience that is currently only compatible with Android mobile devices; however, CSIR product development manager Georg Isaac Schlünz said compatibility with iOS and Windows was being worked on.

The key differentiating feature of the iSinkwe app is that it allows users to upload and attach audio files to ebooks, which are then synchronised with the text to allow for a guided reading experience.

As the audio plays, the text being read aloud is highlighted on the screen in real time, allowing learners to read along with the audio and assisting them in reading at their own pace. Learners can click or tap on any section of text to play the audio, skipping ahead or going back as often as needed.

Where an existing audio book file cannot be located, the app will simply revert to reading the book aloud using a selection of artificial intelligence (AI) narrators. While the AI narrators might not have the same level of nuance and expression present in a human-read audiobook, they fulfil the core function of helping learners associate the words on the page with the way they sound.

However, Schlünz said many caring parents or teachers might choose to record themselves reading the book or other material for the child, which can then be synchronised with the text and used by the app.

The app can facilitate documents of all kinds, not just ebooks, by providing the functionality to convert .docx or .pdf files into .epub3 files.

“We have adopted the .epub3 file format, which is a standard in the publishing industry globally. This standard allows one to embed the audio along with the text in a book, as well as the necessary timing information that provides the synchronisation and the highlighting between the text and the audio,” Schlünz explained.

Although similar technology does exist on the market, the major differentiating factor offered by iSinkwe is that it supports all official South African languages. This means that any book written in any one of South Africa’s 11 official languages can be accurately read aloud by the app’s AI narrators.

Schlünz said the technology was designed to support the estimated 78% of learners who struggle with early literacy in the foundation phase, as well as about 15% of learners who struggle with literacy later on owing to conditions such as dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, besides others.

The app is also geared towards helping learners with visual impairments.

The iSinkwe app is funded by the Department of Science and Innovation in partnership with the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

“The iSinkwe app is now available for commercialisation. We would like to invite interested licensees of the technology to contact us,” Schlünz concluded.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

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