BOOKR Class

What is BOOKR Class?

BOOKR Class is a digital interactive reading platform designed to engage language learners between age 4-14 (K-8) to read in English.

BOOKR Class enables your child to establish their reading, writing, listening and communicative skills. Stories also develop 21st century skills such as introducing new cultures, raise awareness and develop creativity, promote critical thinking and social-emotional skills. The in-app educational games, exercises and quizzes help the user practice English spelling and grammar, pronunciation and improve their reading comprehension skills.

BOOKR Class is free from in-app adverts but does have an in-app purchase for further content. The application is subscription-based as a monthly or yearly charge after the initial trial period. The digital library plays in a landscape mode and is suitable for both mobile and tablet devices. It is noted that once the application has been downloaded an internet connection is not required for some content.

BOOKR Class opens promptly in landscape mode displaying a beautiful ‘Splash screen’ followed by the tutorial guide. This tutorial guide explains how to select a book, switch narration, highlight text, pause, jump pages, play games, search for a book using topics/keywords and much more. Once the tutorial has been watched the user is required to register for the application. It is noted that this can be skipped. We recommend that the user registers to enable them to gain the full benefit of the application. Students can also use a student code from their teacher to access the application. By-pass the parental gateway by completing the sum and read the Privacy Policy of the application carefully.

Users now have a choice to choose their roles. For this review, we will choose the role of a teacher. Create an account using your details and add a child using the ‘+’ icon. Enter the details of the child including name, user name, password and date of birth. Teachers can sign up for a 2-week trial and enjoy full access to the BOOKR Class App, BOOKR Class Desktop App and the teacher dashboard. Once complete the user can choose a profile to enter the library as either the teacher or the child. Once selected the application provides a video tutorial on how to browse the library, select a book, use the ‘My Family’ dashboard and more.

Once in the library view, the user has several options. ‘My Profile' can be selected in the top left to gain access to your account details where you can change passwords, monitor the progress of children or students that have been added, switch subscriptions, change settings such as auto narration, text highlighting and UI sounds, access the app’s tutorials and contact support. This part of the application also allows access to BOOKR’s ‘Read methodology’ which explains the concept, passion and pedagogy of BOOKR.

Returning to library view the user can search for a book using several methods. Sliding the books across the main page displays recommendations. Tap the magnifying glass to search by topic, keywords, narration and much more. Topics include colours and shapes, alphabet, numbers, people, nature, home, travel, shopping, food and drink, lifestyle, hobbies, time and weather, health, science, school and work. Users can also search for books via levels from level 1 to 6.

Once a book has been selected the application will display the books cover, description, author, BOOKR level, coins available for the child once read and as a Lexile score. The Lexile Score is a popular method used by US schools to measure a student reader’s ability. A Lexile measure is a valuable tool for teachers, parents, and students. It serves two unique functions: it is the measure of how difficult a text is OR a student’s reading ability level. A student receives his or her Lexile measure from one of two ways: taking a school-administered SRI (Scholastic Reading Inventory) test, which is specifically designed to measure Lexile or reading ability OR by taking a standardized reading test which converts the reader’s results to a Lexile measure. If a student gets a 550L then he or she is a 550 level Lexile reader.

Enter the book using the ‘Play’ icon next to the collectable badge in the bottom right of the screen. The user can set Text Highlighting and narration on or off. The books and wonderfully illustrated and a real pleasure to read. The text and narration are clear and colourful. Pages can be paused, moved on or returned to using the arrows on the right- and left-hand sides. The book finishes with a range of games such as find the words using the illustrations, match the words to the places, listening skills, jigsaw puzzles, sentence structure and many more. Each complete game is rewarded with a series of stars and recommendations of other books that the user may enjoy.

When using the application as a child they get to choose their avatar from a range of characters. The child can test their knowledge using the 30-question test based on comprehension, illustrated words, vocabulary, word association and sentence structure. Once the test is completed a Level is awarded to the child along with a Lexile Score which can be seen in the teacher’s or parent’s dashboard. Children can view their profile, reading time, consecutive reading days, coin collection and badges in the children’s dashboard. This information is excellent for parents or teachers who wish to monitor the progress of their child or student.

The teachers’ dashboard that supports the application is an excellent platform for managing students and monitoring their progress. Teachers can add students and fellow teachers, produce flashcards for further learning, assign karaoke singalong themes and manage the books within the digital library. This support platform has been thought through and provides a versatile dashboard that accompanies the application well.

Related: Best Book Apps for Kids

What we love about BOOKR Class.

It was reassuring that the application provides some different languages and an easy to navigate interface. This application delivers on many levels and we particularly enjoyed the following:

• The developers have focused on the user experience, especially with the in-app tutorial guides. We found these informative and engaging.
• The games after the books were engaging, challenging and provided a real educational focus.
• Our users love the coin and badge collections, this would certainly create competition amongst siblings or fellow students.
• Our users love the notifications for motivation.
• The process to sign up for the application was seamless with a very straightforward interface.
• The teacher dashboard that accompanies the application is a pleasure to use.
• We particularly like the ability to monitor each student's Lexile level, coins gained, book read and time spent reading.
• The teacher dashboard also provided a useful insight into each digital book which includes level, Lexile level, Min/Max age, Genre, Topic, Grammar tense, accent, pages, coins, badges, reading length and topic tags. This could help when searching for classroom topic titles, keywords and grammar skills.
• The placement test is an excellent way for teachers to gauge their students from the outset.

Is BOOKR Class easy to use?

BOOKR Class is a versatile application with menu systems and features that are very easy to navigate. The application has a clean look to the interface and the graphics are user friendly. At no point does the screen look over cluttered. Each of the menus can be easily accessed and the digital library works seamlessly. The application and teacher dashboard support each other well and provide a versatile platform that requires little training.

How will the user benefit?

It’s great fun! Our users found the application a delight to use and kept reading some of the books again and again. They particularly enjoyed the variety of gameplay at the end of the books and enjoyed demonstrating their vocabulary skills and understanding of the book. Knowing that the games provided coins enabling our users to gain a real focus when reading the book.

How will teachers benefit?

Teachers can set their students off and running with the application with very little support from the outset. Teachers will welcome the teacher dashboard where multiple student profiles can be added and monitored. The flashcards are ideal for further learning and classroom ideas which can also be downloaded as a PDF. The Karaoke songs are a delight to watch and listen to with a range of songs including classics such as Humpty Dumpty, Five Little Monkeys and Head, shoulders, knees and toes.

How will parents benefit?

Parents can set their child off and running with the application with very little support from the outset once a profile has been created. The range of content is good for differentiated learning and the support from the website is welcomed. Parents can have a piece of mind knowing that the digital books are age and Lexile level appropriate with no-app purchases or adverts.

How much does BOOKR Class cost?

BOOKR Class is a free application on a trial basis. Once the trial has expired the application is available as a monthly or yearly subscription providing constant updates.

Is BOOKR Class safe to use?

Yes. Although the application does not require an account and email to start with the application does not contain any offensive elements or 3rd party adverts. Sensitive areas are also protected by a parental gateway lock.

Overall rating of the app.

BOOKR Class is an all-around wonderful application providing digital animated books for young English learners. The application comes with a user-friendly platform and a variety of content that is suitable for ages 4 to 14. BOOKR Class comes highly recommended by The Educational App Store.

You can download BOOKR Class on your iOS or Android devices from the app stores. Download the BOOKR Class app from the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.

You can download BOOKR Class on your Windows devices from the Windows Store.