At the end of 9th grade, 15% of students in Denmark have poor writing skills. This has consequences for the future opportunities for these students, and is estimated to cost society €5.3 billion in lost productivity each year.
Edtech startup WriteReader, together with the Danish Institute for Education and Education (DPU) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), received €1.4 million from the Innovation Fund to help students improve their reading and writing skills in an efficient, meaningful and motivating way, by writing their own digital books. WriteReader has expanded to over 40 countries, and its platform has been used to create over one million digital books.
WriteReader has developed digital learning tools that it claims significantly improve students’ writing skills in just six weeks. The startup also uses artificial intelligence to analyse students’ activities and writing tests, and provide a more accurate picture of students’ writing skills. With the new technology, schools will be able to track reading and writing development early, identifying challenges like dyslexia, and help teachers support students.
Jeppe Bundsgaard, professor of professional didactics and IT at DPU said: “From a scientific perspective, the project gives a new and deeper insight into the literary development of young students. Educationally, teachers will get a tool that can support their students in exactly the challenges they face.”
