Dictoria started at the kitchen table.
Hello, I’m Michael Calinski, father of two primary-school children and founder of Dictoria. Here is how it came about.
When a dictation is coming up, someone has to read it aloud
If you have children in primary school, you know the drill: a dictation is coming up and one of us has to read it out. For us that often meant dictating after a full school day, in the middle of work hours. Or the session slipped to the evening, when the children were already tired. Sometimes they even sat at the table before breakfast so that we could get the practice done.
It was stressful for everyone. With foreign languages it gets harder still, because not everyone in the family speaks every language flawlessly.
Why not let the app read it aloud?
From a small script to an app
I started with a small script that turned dictation texts into MP3 files. It quickly became clear that a dictation can’t simply be read out one-to-one by a speech engine. It needs pauses in the right places and a pace that suits the child’s age.
That is why Dictoria runs an age-dependent algorithm in the background. It splits the text into sensible sections and reads it aloud the way dictations are normally given.
One person enters it, everyone adopts it
Parents constantly share material in the class chat anyway. That gave me the next idea: the problem can be solved for the whole class. One parent enters a dictation or word list once, the others adopt it with one click and only set the practice schedule for their child.
After that the child practises independently on a tablet or laptop. Our younger daughter has been doing this since the middle of first grade and has enjoyed practising on her own from the start. In the evening we look at what was practised and correct it together with the child. That keeps us connected to our child and gives feedback on how well it went.
What matters to us
Time for the family
The app takes over reading aloud and quizzing. The time you win back goes to your family.
Listen, speak, write
Children hear the words in near-native pronunciation and write them down themselves. This matters especially when learning foreign languages.
Parents helping each other
When one person enters it once and everyone benefits, the whole class saves time.
Who is behind it
Dictoria is run by OC Projects GmbH in Kaarst, Germany. I have built other websites for families before, such as baby-vornamen.de and paradisi.de. Dictoria is the project I needed most myself.
Questions, ideas or wishes? Please get in touch. Feedback from parents helps us make the app better.
Michael CalinskiFounder of Dictoria · Managing director, OC Projects GmbH
Try it with your next dictation
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