Aon Scéal, an app for primary school classrooms which brings together technology and education, is being developed by LIT student David Byrne for his MSc.

“When it is implemented, the app aims to meet the needs of the English primary school curriculum, through a collaborative storytelling medium,” says David. “By utilising the native advantages of tablet technology, each student will partake in a communal story while also having the content of the story tailored to their own reading level when asked to read aloud. This means that, while all students read together, each student is catered to at their own level of reading, enabling those who are lagging to catch up and students who excel to push the envelope even further.”

The other benefit of this app is an increase in student engagement in learning. “Where tablets have proven to be successful is in engaging the attention of children and adults alike. The app will utilise a ‘Create Your Own Adventure’ storytelling format: the reader controls the outcome of the story by choosing from many options after each juncture of the story. Whichever direction the classroom decides, that is the way the story will proceed.”

There will also be puzzles and riddles to be solved using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. Aon Scéal is an app which mixes the disciplines of education and technology in exciting new ways and promises to revolutionise reading in the classroom.