The Robotics Institute

My current interest is using computers to listen to children read aloud. The Reading Tutor adapts automated speech recognition to analyze oral reading. The Reading Tutor responds with spoken and graphical assistance modelled in part after expert reading teachers, but adapted to the strengths and limitations of the technology. Experimental use of the Reading Tutor in elementary school classrooms has produced dramatic gains in reading comprehension. My previous work in artificial intelligence included machine learning, automated replay of design plans, and discovery of search heuristics.

Project LISTEN offers exciting opportunities for interdisciplinary research in speech technologies, cognitive and motivational psychology, human-computer interaction, computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, graphic design, and of course reading.