Reading

Escribo

Evidence-based learning games to assess and foster early learning from preschool to 2nd grade.

Overview

Last updated on:November 19, 2024

Grade

Early Childhood Education

Connectivity

Works offline but connectivity for updates required

Technologies

Smartphone, Tablet

Support

Email, Chatbot

Customisation

Course Content

Active users

12k

Website

escribo.com

Countries

50.00USD/user/year

Base Price

Languages

Evidence

Safety First

Privacy

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Product alerts users of significant changes to the privacy policy

Data Sharing

Product does not share data with third parties
Product does not show external advertisements.

Data Origin

Product utilizes AI
AI has not been trained using product datasets

Impact on learning

Theory

Escribo Play integrates literacy and math learning theories for early childhood. Literacy combines traditional (syllable memorization), constructivist (Piaget’s stages), and phonetic (sound-letter linking) methods to build phonological awareness. Math applies Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories, fostering skills through exploration and collaboration. Game-based learning encourages engagement, problem-solving, and teamwork, making Escribo Play an engaging tool for foundational education.

Impact Level 3/3

Data shows a positive change towards learning outcomes.
There is causality between this product and a positive impact on improved learning outcomes (e.g., a control or comparison group).
There are one or more independent evaluations that confirm these conclusions.

Evidence

External Evidence

Randomized Control Trials

Escribo’s impact on preschool literacy was studied with 749 children using phonological awareness games. Results showed 68% improvement in reading and 48% in writing over controls, showing the tool can boost early literacy in low-resource settings.

Engagement

Recommended use

Early Childhood Education

2 times per week, 30 minutes each time.

School administrators, Students, Teachers

Target audience

Countries

12k

Monthly Active Users

Designed For Children

Learning Objectives

What is the learning objective of Escribo?

The primary learning objectives are to enhance phonological awareness, phonics, word reading, word spelling, reading fluency, and early mathematics skills such as counting orally up to 20, associating numbers with quantities, sequencing, classifying geometric shapes, numerical order, size relationships, spatial concepts, representing basic addition and subtraction.

Curriculum

National curriculum
Adaptable to different curriculums

Information about curriculum

Escribo Play offers +2,000 games. Each one was created to foster a specific learning goal. These learning goals are included in state and national standards and include oral language, print, vocabulary, early mathematics and science knowledge. The games can be easily tailored to fit specific curriculum needs and can be rearranged to align with the school’s specific lesson plans.

Pedagogical design

Overview

Using this educational technology, traditional schools can incorporate games focused on syllables, rhyme, and alliteration to broaden students’ syllabic knowledge, addressing limitations of memorized syllabic families. Constructivist schools benefit through phonological awareness activities that aid developmental transitions, advancing students from pre-syllabic to syllabic-alphabetic stages. Phonics-based schools can use Escribo’s engaging activities to reduce reliance on rote memorization of sound-letter relationships, alleviating the potential stress of phonics approaches for young learners

Additional Details

Flexibility

The product allows learner agency (e.g. it provides flexibility for the learner or teacher to make choices, take actions, or influence their learning outcomes and experiences).

The product supports adaptive personalized learning, including tailoring instruction and content with feedback to the unique needs, preferences, and goals of each learner

Learner engagement

The product has elements that raises the level of affection in learner (e.g. pedagogically meaningful narrative, characters, etc.).

The product has interactive design where a learner can interact with the content via different actions, like for example solving problems.

Creativity

The product allows content creation

The product includes problem-solving activities

User Experience

User interface

Internal Testing Procedures Initially, a series of laboratory tests is conducted to evaluate the intended usability, using paper mockups of the interface. During and after the technology implementation, the game designer and product owner conduct adherence tests to verify if the technology and its content meet the established requirements. An alpha version of the technology is tested with a group of children in the company's lab. Field Testing Procedures Usability and functionality tests are carried out with students from initial adopter schools. These tests are closely monitored by various members of the project's R&D team, including the game designer, graphic artists, programmers, the pedagogical team, and company management. At the end of each session where students use the content, Escribo's team collects verbal feedback from the teachers. During debriefing sessions held at the company's premises, the positive and negative aspects identified are discussed, and decisions are made on what improvements should be implemented in the educational technology. Subsequent tests are conducted to evaluate the impact of the changes introduced, following the same process. The scope of these tests is expanded to include several other schools to gather comprehensive feedback and ensure the technology's effectiveness across different environments. Over the years many improvements have been made to the program, including the development of more than 1,500 games based on the teachers requests. Tailored learning reports that mix quantitative data collected by the games with qualitative data from teacher’s observations were created in 2023. And in 2024 we released the much requested reading fluency module after extensive research, development and tests.

Open Product Screenshots

Data-driven product development

Escribo is a startup that originated at Johns Hopkins University and Porto Digital in Recife (PE, Brazil). All programs developed by the company are based on academic research and scientific evidence (meta-analytical and experimental studies). The instructional sequence, usage frequency, and basic program duration, consisting of 20 hours for each curriculum component (language and mathematics), were determined according to previous meta-analyses and validated through applied research in schools in Brazil, Panama, and Indonesia. One example is from our first randomized trial in schools serving students in poverty, where we identified during pretests that children lacked the prerequisite skills to benefit from the program. As a result, we expanded the program to include activities that foster those essential skills. Based on data collected by the games during experiments and correlating this data with standardized test results, we identified the best process metrics to use in learning reports. This evidence-based approach ensures that our product enhancements are informed by reliable data and contribute to improved learning outcomes. For more details, you can refer to our published research in Computers & Education Open: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666557321000379 We also collect qualitative data from teachers' perceptions and school leaders' needs, which have been used to expand the program (e.g., to mathematics and reading fluency) and develop new features (e.g., adaptive tracks, mixed-methods reports, generating playful tips for families to use at home to foster the main skills needed by their children, etc.).

Geographic focus

We initially developed the program for Latin America + portuguese speaking populations. As the program demosntrated significant and sizeable effects in Brazil, we were approached by research teams in Panama and Indonesia. Then we translated, culturally adapted the program and conductect randomized controlled trials to assess their efficacy.

Ensuring content quality

Expert Review: Content is reviewed by subject matter experts.

Educational Standards Alignment: Content aligns with educational standards.

User Feedback Incorporation: Regular updates are informed by user feedback.

Evidence-Based Content: Content creation is based on current educational research.

Quality Assurance Processes: Implementation of rigorous quality control measures.

Editorial Oversight: Editorial teams oversee content development and accuracy.

Language Accuracy: Content undergoes professional linguistic and grammar checks.

Supervision and communications

This product is primarily designed for classroom setting

The product includes communications capabilities.

Ready to Reach All

Infrastructure

Device compatibility
Smartphone, Tablet, Desktop/Laptop, Chromebooks
Designed for low-cost devices
Yes
Environment
Web-Based (Accessible via a web browser without requiring installation on a device), Device Installable (Requires installation on a device to be used, i.e. a mobile or desktop app)
Offline availability
Works offline but connectivity for updates required
Integration with 3rd party
Education/Learning Data tools, Single Sign-On or other secure login tools, User data/metrics platforms, LMS platforms

Support

Training materials
Video tutorials, User manuals, Webinars, Online courses, Live training
Training material languages
English, Indonesian, Portuguese, Spanish,
Training material target users
Educators and teachers, Students, Institutional or administrative staff, Parents or guardians
Technical support

Email Support

Chatbot Support

Live Chat Support

Local Adaptability

Curriculum / educational content can be customized
Yes
Visual / audiovisual content can be customized
Yes
Content can be customized
Yes
Current languages
English, Indonesian, Portuguese, Spanish
Possibility to translate the product to new language
Yes
Licensing information
The solution is proprietary

Data import/export

Export data capability
CSV, JSON, API
Exportable data types
User data, User performance and progress, Assessment results, Usage statistics, Communication logs
Import data capability
User data, Educational content
Automation
Individual upload/onboarding, Classroom or school level upload by administrator, Large-scale upload at a ministry/institutional level

Affordability

Background pattern representing engagement statistics

Business model

Business-to-Government

Business-to-Business

Pricing model

Subscription

Pricing tiers

District based pricing

National pricing

Per student pricing

School based pricing

50 USD/year

Starting price

Flexible pricing available

Ask for details

Pricing Strategy

The annual cost per student, USD 24 is much lower than that reported in 90% of studies reviewing other educational interventions (M = $4,752, SD = $9,720) (Kraft, 2020). When compared with these benchmarks (Kraft, 2020), Escribo Play positions itself as an easily scalable solution that provides medium to large learning gains.

Organisation and Operations

DEVELOPED IN

United States

Type of organization

Business enterprise

Stage of organization

Growth Phase

(since 2016)

Number of employees

25-50

FINANCIALS

Dealroom,

DEVELOPED IN

United States

Type of organization

Business enterprise

Stage of organization

Growth Phase

(since 2016)

Number of employees

25-50

FINANCIALS

Dealroom,

DEVELOPED IN

United States

Type of organization

Business enterprise

Stage of organization

Growth Phase

(since 2016)

Number of employees

25-50

FINANCIALS

Dealroom,

Experience with large projects

Regional or state government projects
Local government projects
Partnership models with national institutions

Case Study Link

Large implementation example

We provide the technology and gamified content for Santillana Brazil (Moderna Soluções). They deployed their Aprova Brasil project to support more than 2 million first to fifth-grade students in over 2,000 Brazilian schools. We provide professional development and technical assistance for Santillana's team, which implements the textbooks and games within the state and municipal schools across all regions of Brazil. Our reading fluency module was evaluated in 2023 through a reading olympiad that had a randomized controlled design and involved 23,000 children. This project was conducted solely by our team. The evaluation revealed significant and robust gains from the fluency module. We are currently preparing scientific publications on this evaluation.

Leave No One Behind

Accessibility of Design

Users with disability have been taken into account in the design of the product.

Escribo fulfils the WCAG 2.1 level AA requirements

Go to w3.org

Tool tested with:

Expert validation (using free NVDA screen reader)

Testing with person with disability

Equity of access & Gender

Product usage between genders

We have not yet searched for differences in the ways or the extent that women/girls and men/boys will benefit from the product. As the product is typically a mandatory educational resource, all students use it regardless of their gender. This ensures that every student has equal access to the educational benefits provided by our product.

Catering to the needs of marginalized or disadvantaged child groups

Our product is designed to cater to the needs of marginalized or disadvantaged child groups through several targeted strategies: 1. Building Foundational Skills Early: We focus on developing foundational reading and mathematics skills early on. By doing so, we aim to prevent learning gaps that often manifest between students in poverty and their middle-class peers. This early intervention is crucial in ensuring that all students have a strong educational foundation. 2. Safe and Pedagogically Relevant Screen Time: For students who spend long hours without adequate caregiver educational support, our product provides safe and pedagogically relevant screen time. This ensures that their time spent on devices is beneficial and contributes to their educational development. 3. Vocabulary Development: We foster vocabulary development by introducing words that are different from those commonly used in their local contexts. This exposure to a broader range of vocabulary helps to enhance their language skills and better prepare them for academic success.

Principles of inclusion and equity

Gender inclusivity is a core principle reflected throughout our product's development process. Here are some specific ways in which we ensure this: 1. Diverse Pedagogical Team: Our pedagogical team is predominantly composed of women, ensuring diverse perspectives and inclusive approaches in the creation and evaluation of our educational content. 2. Representation in Games: Girls are represented in all of our games. This inclusive representation helps to normalize and encourage the visibility of girls in various contexts. 3. Leadership and Important Roles: Girls are depicted in leadership positions and important societal roles within our games. They appear as presidents, medical doctors, lawyers, scientists, and other influential figures, demonstrating that girls can aspire to and succeed in any career or position. 4. Themes Appreciated by Girls: We create games with themes that are traditionally appreciated by girls, such as princesses and unicorns. These themes are included alongside other diverse themes to ensure that all children find content they enjoy and relate to.

This product promotes AI equity

Our product promotes AI equity through several targeted strategies: Diverse Image Generation: When creating images for our games, we ensure that AI image generation models produce diverse settings and characters. This is achieved by using specific prompt parameters designed to suppress inherent training biases. Additionally, when necessary, we provide reference images to the generators to ensure an adequate level of equity and diversity. Teacher Empowerment: We empower teachers of low-income children with state-of-the-art interfaces and text generation models to register, process, and report behavioral and learning data. This enables teachers to effectively use AI tools to support their students' educational needs. Inclusive AI Applications: We strive to make AI applications accessible to all teachers, regardless of their training background. By bringing teachers closer to practical AI applications relevant to their work, we promote reflection and the integration of AI in educational processes. This approach helps teachers leverage AI to enhance their teaching practices and better support their students. Data Privacy and Bias Prevention: We ensure privacy and prevent the introduction of racial bias in educational outcomes by not feeding racial, gender, or any personal data to third-party large language models (LLMs) when generating information for teachers based on their observations. This practice ensures that third parties cannot train their future models with information that could introduce biases.