Dive Brief:

• Denmark's No. 1 educational app, WriteReader, plans to use $800,000 in seed funding from Egmont to expand to the U.S. market.
• The company's "Write to Read" iPad app debuted in 2011 and serves as an all-encompassing literacy tool, which allows students to create their own digital books as they learn to read. The company claims that the dual approach to literacy has resulted in first grade students reading on a third-grade level.
• Literacy options with the app include the ability to verbally record stories, which are then spelled out with a speech-to-text feature. The app also allows the use of a phonetic keyboard.

Dive Insight:

While the term "innovative" is often tossed around in the U.S. education marketplace, it's rare to actually hear about products that are completely re-thinking or, dare we even say, "revolutionizing" the way a subject it taught. It's refreshing to hear about such a different and student-oriented approach to literacy. The app's approach doesn't teach students to read and write in such a regimented fashion, but rather provides the opportunity to learn by discovery.

It's not surprising this is a Nordic app. Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland are often called out for having more student-oriented learning experiences than in the U.S.