Digital literacy technologies: Leveraging orthographic learning for maximum reading outcomes.

学习阅读是孩子们学习的最重要的技能。在童年时期，它是学校学习的基础；在成年期，它是参与社会的基础。然而，超过40%的加拿大成年人没有为我们的知识经济做出贡献所需的阅读水平，这对经济产生了广泛的影响。道明银行金融集团的分析显示，全国平均识字率每提高1%，每年的GDP就会增加320亿美元。我们需要为孩子们提供最好的机会来学习阅读技能，这对充分参与加拿大社会至关重要。该项目将通过将研究人员、教育工作者和企业家联系起来，提供旨在优化儿童阅读成功的循证创新。EyeRead公司以Squiggle Park的名义运营，主要提供两款支持阅读技能的软件：Squiggle Park和Dreamscape。Squiggle Park面向幼儿园到二年级的孩子；“梦境”是3 - 6年级的课程。这些产品取得了显著的成功，并被世界各地的学校（拥有超过15,000个机构和150,000个用户）广泛采用。Squiggle Park公司的下一个挑战是弥合两种产品之间的差距，因为学区希望在整个小学阶段都使用一种产品。问题是，强读者可以在一年级后期完成《Squiggle Park》，但还没有准备好阅读三年级的《Dreamscape》内容；同样，三年级的阅读能力较差的学生还没有准备好阅读Dreamscape中的文本。这些差距使得各地区转向其他软件产品，Squiggle Park公司失去了市场份额。Squiggle Park和Deacon将合作克服这一挑战，利用Deacon的科学专业知识开发新内容并测试其包含的有效性。通过实施干预设计，本项目还将从阅读发展的著名理论中提供因果预测。因此，它将满足重要的科学、经济和社会需求。

Learning to read is the single most important skill that children learn. In childhood, it is the basis for learning in school; in adulthood, it underpins participation in society. Yet more than 40% of Canadian adults do not have reading levels needed to contribute to our knowledge economy, which has broad financial consequences. TD Bank Financial Group's analyses show that each 1% increase in national average literacy levels results in a $32 billion boost to our annual GDP. We need to provide children with the best opportunities to learn reading skills essential to full participation in Canadian society. This project will do so by connecting researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, to provide evidence-based innovation designed to optimise children's reading success. EyeRead Inc, operating as Squiggle Park, has two principal software offerings designed to support reading skills: Squiggle Park and Dreamscape. Squiggle Park is for children in kindergarten to Grade 2; and Dreamscape is for Grade 3 to 6. These products have had remarkable success and remarkable uptake by schools around the world (with over 15,000 institutions and 150,000 users). The company Squiggle Park's next challenge is to bridge the gap between its two products because school districts want a single product across the elementary school years. The problem is that strong readers can complete Squiggle Park in late Grade 1, but are not yet ready for the Grade 3 level content of Dreamscape; similarly, poor readers in Grade 3 are not yet ready for the texts in Dreamscape. These gaps leave districts turning to other software offerings, and the company Squiggle Park losing market share. The company Squiggle Park and Deacon will work in partnership to overcome this challenge, utilising Deacon's scientific expertise to develop new content and to test the effectiveness of its inclusion. By implementing an intervention design, this project will also offer a causal prediction from a prominent theory of reading development. As such, it will meet important scientific, economic, and societal needs.