MyReadingTablet (MRT) (Monash University)

This project will create a portable reading device – MyReadingTablet (MRT) – equipped with breakthrough WordSwitch technology, which will allow diverse learners to successfully navigate complex texts despite limited reading proficiencies. The hundreds of e-books pre-loaded on MRT will feature a variety of topics/genres to spark curiosity and maintain young children’s reading motivation. The most innovative aspect of the solar-power enhanced MRT is the reader’s ability to adjust the reading level of the e-books. Currently, most reading tablets offer unknown words to be clicked on and defined using an online dictionary, which is helpful for adult readers but somewhat impractical for beginning readers. Presently, there is no existing technology that provides for unknown words to be switched for another word, let alone a word of an easier readability with the same meaning. This aspect of MRT sets it apart from other devices and will revolutionize digital reading for beginning readers.