Sesame Workshop (the company the hugely successful children's TV show Sesame Street) and IBM have teamed to create a revolutionary new app kids to learn vocabulary. The joint venture has created the first vocabulary learning app powered IBM's artificial intelligence software. The app discovers itself a child's current reading level and vocabulary range, and then uses its algorithms to challenge the child appropriate, new vocabulary to improve the child's skills. It personalizes the learning experience children. As the child continues to use the app, it will ensure he or she has learned and understood the new words introducing additional, tailored vocabulary items.
IBM says it has just completed a pilot program testing the app. It collected 18,000 multiple-choice assessments given to kindergarteners a two-week period. The researchers said the results were very promising. They said the kids learned words like "arachnid," "amplify," "camouflage," and "applause," which are typically learned a much later age. The children could also use these words context. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeffrey Dunn said: "We expect to develop the next generation tailored learning tools….Educational technology the platform we've created…is a promising new channel learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and we're excited to explore it further."
