How Marni Teaches Children to Read

Our animated conversational agent, named Marni, interacts with children to teach them to read and learn from text within a comprehensive, scientifically-based reading program called Foundations to Literacy. Marni is designed to behave like a sensitive and effective reading teacher. We discuss the scientific rationale for the Foundations to Literacy program, the technologies and behaviors that make Marni a credible and effective teacher, and the experiences of children in Colorado classrooms who have worked with Marni to learn to read.