“Endless Reader” is a children’s mobile application created by Originator, which has developed other recognized apps such as “Endless Numbers” and “Endless Alphabet.” This application is the follow-up to “Endless Alphabet,” integrating sight words with an interactive digital environment with the purpose of allowing children to hear words broken down to their simplest phonetic segments. For example, in the word “all,” the individual sounds of “a” and “l” are displayed. By doing so, children are able to see the function of each of these segments, and then see how these segments interact when combined form a whole word. The main goal of this application is to provide children a head start on their education in an entertaining and colorful manner, as can be seen in the introductory sequence below.
When the application is activated, a pack of colorful and funny looking monsters appear on the screen carrying the title “Endless Reader.” They carry them by individual word or suffix depending on the meaning of the word by itself. What is interesting about the opening is that it demonstrates the user of the app a preview of it. The child will be exposed to a series of short words, prepositions, suffixes and other parts of speech. The monsters will aid the child to learn how to use “sight words” on their own and in a complete sentence.
The home menu of Endless Reader displays the words in the order of the alphabet. This in turn, references the previous application of the series and presents new ways to apply what the users have learned.
Each word tells a story. The monsters are carrying out a sort of action that metaphorically represents the word currently being studied. Here we have the word “funny” displayed on a touchscreen device, where monsters run over it and separate the word in letters. When the user touches a letter, it produces the phonetic segment of each letter. The letter itself transforms into a mini monster with facial like features, sort of creating the allusion of the person modeling the sound.
After the word is complete, the user moves on to the next stage of the game, which is using the word in a complete sentence. Here, the movements and gestures of the word is telling the user that “funny” is associated with other terms and expressions such as “smiling” and the feeling of happiness.
Ready for endless entertainment in a next-generation children’s reading app? If you are looking for a way to educate your children in a way that enhances their digital literacy, then this app is right for you. Originator’s website offers more information about this app and its other counterparts, which are available on iOS and Android.
Featured in: Children’s E-Literature