Speaking Graphic Stories
New Web-Based Novels to Use Sound to Teach Language, Reading Skills
Oct 22, 2008
Somewhere between age 10 and 13, students reach the crossroads of language development.
“Fifth grade is where you start to lose kids,” says Allegra May, president of Speaking Web. “There’s a drop-off in reading interest, ability, and enjoyment.” By eighth grade, 69 percent of American students do not meet National Assessment of Educational Programs reading proficiency standards.
Lack of engaging stories is one factor, according to May.
To address this need, May’s company is developing Speaking Graphic Stories, a series of 48-page web-based interactive novels in which words and sentences, when touched with the mouse, are read aloud with clear and proper pronunciation. The novels enable readers to proceed at their own pace as ancillary materials designed to develop and reinforce skills within a broader reading curriculum.
Allegra May Discusses the How, Why, and Where of "Speaking Graphic Stories"
Q. What’s your background in reading education?
A. I was a process design engineer at Lucent Technologies, and later developed products that added sound and images to web applications. I thought rollover sound and images could be employed in applications that teach reading and language skills. Going further back, I made films about early language development at the Center for Cognitive Studies at Harvard, where I earned my Master’s in Education.
Q. How did you decide on your target audience?
A. My first thought was to develop products for children in pre-school through the 2nd grade. When I saw how saturated that market is, I shifted my focus to underserved segments such as middle school children and ESL students.
Q. Why graphic novels?
A. Graphic novels tell gripping action, adventure, and mystery stories with limited language. There’s a lack of early language materials designed for adult intelligence. When you’re 12, “See Spot run” doesn’t draw you in. You have to tell complex stories that move fast (no cliffhangers), use a modicum of words, and don’t take half a year to finish reading.
Q. What advantages does the online environment offer?
A. Putting stories on a server enables many students to access them at once. Web-based stories also afford creation of an environment and visual style used in computer and video games, which tend to compete with books.
Q. What was your most important design consideration?
A. The software had to be story-centric and uncluttered by all the pedagogic bells and whistles engineers often add. I wanted an intuitive, low-tech product for those with limited computer skills. My focus was on the content, to make it dead simple to put the reader at ease. The rollover sound had to be impeccable, so we use actors.
Q. What’s your biggest challenge in developing titles?
A. Finding suitable material. I’m currently seeking funding to acquire content, either by hiring writers or adapting existing independent comics. I’m working with three authors who have produced engaging content, including Wireman and Fade Resistant, though Fade Resistant 's PG-13 language and humor makes some of it unsuitable for general classroom use. It’s a long process.
Q. What gives you confidence that graphic novels are an effective medium?
A. The genre continues to expand. Librarians love them. Recently, an ESL teacher used the webcomic Fade Resistant to teach non-English speakers at a local jail. The story had some sophisticated humor, some less so. The prisoners loved it.
May feels that when properly constructed and delivered, Speaking Graphic Novels can raise cognitive ability by maintaining reader interest, presenting clear pronunciation, and enabling readers to go at their own pace.
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