Earlier this summer, we were asked by one educator whether we would reconsider making our app and its decodable texts for older students (teens and adults) available for iPhone. Initially we thought it would be a tablet-only app, but she made a compelling argument for expanding our vision.
O! Phony, my beloved Phony
In her words, “Kids have developed new norms around their phones. Many of our students prefer to read on their phones, regardless of screen size, even when other options are available….for teenagers struggling with reading, I think having the program on the phone would be desirable. It’s completely portable (in fact, essential as far as they’re concerned), and—very important—discreet. (Insecure older readers don’t like others seeing them reading short books.)” Content delivered via the phone just seem to be more palatable to teens.
Discreet: we like that
Building an encouraging and dignified reading experience for older beginner readers especially dyslexics has been one of our main goals from the outset and her observation that the smartphone is a discreet option really rang true. A few short weeks of development later and we’re happy to announce that TAP is now a universal iOS app; it runs and looks good on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices.
Top Secret Development Plans
Psst…Android, Chromebook and Kindle Fire users: we haven’t forgotten you. Look for the TAP Library app on your platform in the coming weeks. We want to make our decodable texts for older students available on as many platforms as possible.