Multiple studies show that the reading skills of children in Germany are deteriorating. This problem has been addressed by an innovative project at Chemnitz University of Technology: CLELO, a non-profit research project led by Prof. Dr. Herbert Endres.
The inspiration for CLELO came from the professor's home. He asked himself: "There must be a way to teach every child to read, even if time is sometimes short or a child needs special reading support. You also have to be able to awaken children's love of reading. But how?"
The solution came to him like a flash of inspiration: "We have to invent something!" Gradually, the idea became more concrete: "We can connect the digital world with the world of children's books." And so the vision of CLELO took shape. Prof. Endres sought an exchange with the Reading Foundation and educators in order to develop a concept. Together with a friend, he began to put the idea into practice.
The result of these efforts is CLELO - the first e-reader specifically for children. With CLELO, children can have books read to them an infinite number of times by up to eight caregivers, even if no one is there to read to them. CLELO uses fascinating interaction possibilities to bring children's books to life and encourage a love of reading.
The fact that CLELO is a stand-alone children's book system is particularly impressive. There are no distractions from apps, games or videos - the focus is entirely on reading and enjoying it.
After intensive testing in elementary school and nurseries, where the feedback from teachers, parents and children was extremely positive, CLELO is now in the final stages of product development.
The chair is currently looking for support for the non-profit funding project. Donations can be made on the website at https://clelo.de/spenden/ - so that every child has the opportunity to discover the joy of reading.
Further information on the project can be found at: https://clelo.de/
