New Products- CD-ROM Offers Fluent Reading, Speaking

Renaissance Learning, Inc. will soon unveil Fluent Reader, software aimed at helping struggling readers improve word pronunciation and reading speed. The pending release of Renaissance's product couldn't have been better timed, considering the January 8 signing by President Bush of a $900 million education bill to teach reading. Using the interactive CD-ROM, planned for release this spring, students listen to a proficient reader, and repeatedly read a passage; then the students reading is compared to the reader's. "Listening to a more proficient reader read aloud improves word recognition and shows students what smooth, natural reading sounds like," says John Hickey, the company's president. Students are then asked to record the same passages repeatedly until they can read them smoothly at their goal rate. Students are also encouraged to model their recording against that of the proficient reader by listening to their own recording and then the pre-recorded passage.

The CD-ROM works with all computers and portable CD players, so no additional software or hardware is required. It sells for between $995 and $2000 for a school version. See www.renlearn.com for more info.