A whisper phone is a device that helps young readers and people with delayed reading abilities become more fluent at reading. Whisper phones are most often made from PVC pipe in the shape of a telephone receiver. The reader speaks into one end and listens from the other end to hear what was said.
This project is a computer design for a Digital Whisper Phone to help readers improve their reading skills. The Digital Whisper Phone was designed to allow the user to listen to pre-recorded audio of the provided reading text. The user then reads through the text by themselves while hearing and recording their own voice. The user plays back their recording, listening for ways to improve their reading. The reader keeps trying until they are fluent at reading each of the available texts.
During my project I had to do some redesigning and retesting to match the design requirements and bring the application to full functionality. For my final design, I improved the user interface and available reading texts.
The Digital Whisper Phone has many more useful features compared to a normal whisper phone. Young users are drawn to reading through this exciting and innovative app. Even foreign language skills can be improved by using the Digital Whisper Phone. Beginning readers can use the Digital Whisper Phone to focus on what they are reading to improve their skills.
The Digital Whisper Phone app works with most devices running iOS7 or iOS8. Digital Whisper Phone is currently in beta testing and is in review to be available from the Apple App Store. In the meantime, you may request a beta test invitation.
