Member Article

Teacher's product to boost skills

A County Durham teacher’s idea to use the latest technology to help improve early literacy has become reality - and is now a growing business. Eleanor Johnson was involved in an Early Years project when she recognised a number of problems using audio equipment. So Eleanor began to find a solution using MP3 players, and with the help of her husband Simon - a lecturer in electronics at Durham University - StoryPhones was born.

She said: “Studies have shown that audio work is important when it comes to helping improve listening, language and literacy. “While working with children on a tape machine, some children got tangled up in power and headphone cords and it was always difficult finding a plug and getting a group of pupils together in the corner where the tape deck was. “There was also the problem of finding tapes and I started to think of different ways that audio resources could be delivered.”

Eleanor asked husband Simon if MP3 players in headsets were a possibility and after discussion, the pair set about turning Eleanor’s idea into reality.

StoryPhones come in a seven-piece set of headphones that are individual MP3 players. The equipment uses bright colours, robust plastics and large child-friendly buttons. Children can either listen to stories at their own pace or, with the remote control which is used by a teacher, a small group can work together as the headset functions can be disabled.

As well being a listening device, the system can record a child’s story or ideas for playback to classmates, helping to boost language skills.

The County Durham-based teacher is keen to stress, however, that StoryPhones will not replace story-time. She said: “Story-time is extremely important and StoryPhones won’t replace that. They are intended to help develop and reinforce children’s love of stories and storytelling.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .