Read Along mobile app in UP Govt primary schools!

PRAYAGRAJ, April 16 (HS): The Read Along app will be introduced in 500 primary schools in 25 districts in the first step, from April to July, after the UP government reached an agreement with Google last year. The app uses Google’s speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies to help students improve their Hindi and English pronunciation. According to the basic education department, the first phase will establish 500 schools in 25 districts, including Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and Agra, and the second phase will develop 1,000 schools in the remaining 50 districts as “demo” schools.

The first phase will start in April and end in July, followed by the second phase in August and ending in March 2022.

Director General School Education Vijay Kiran Anand has directed Academic Resource Persons (ARPs) and State Resource Persons (SRPs) to attend YouTube live sessions to learn how to use the Read Along app. For the purpose of selecting demo schools, Anand has developed four criteria. Schools with a high number of Read Along app installations, as well as smart classrooms, adequate electricity, and internet access, will be designated as ‘demo’ schools. Furthermore, only primary schools with a teacher in each class would be considered for the programme.

The DG has asked BSAs to work with ARPs and SRPs to identify 20 “demo” schools in their districts where the Read Along programme can be incorporated into the curriculum. BSAs should also assist ARPs and SRPs in forming WhatsApp groups and ensuring that toolkits are accessible. They’ve also been asked to publicise the app through Whatsapp and other forms of social media in order to raise community awareness.