新奇事件簿 芝麻街和IBM联合开发词汇app（在线收听）

Sesame Workshop (the company behind the hugely successful children's TV show Sesame Street) and IBM have teamed up to create a revolutionary new app for kids to learn vocabulary. The joint venture has created the first vocabulary learning app powered by IBM's artificial intelligence software. The app discovers for itself a child's current reading level and vocabulary range, and then uses its algorithms to challenge the child with appropriate, new vocabulary to improve the child's skills. It personalizes the learning experience for children. As the child continues to use the app, it will ensure he or she has learned and understood the new words before introducing additional, tailored vocabulary items.

芝麻街工作室（该公司打造的儿童电视节目芝麻街取得了巨大成功）和IBM合作开发了一款儿童学习词汇的革命性的app。这项联合项目研发出了首款词汇学习app，由IBM人工智能软件驱动。这款app自行检测儿童当前的阅读水平和词汇范围，然后使用其运算法则，用合适的新词汇来挑战孩子，提高他的技能。这款app使孩子的学习经验个性化。随着儿童持续使用这款app，可以确保引入新的量身定制的词条之前已经学习和理解了新单词。

IBM says it has just completed a pilot program testing the app. It collected 18,000 multiple-choice assessments given to kindergarteners over a two-week period. The researchers said the results were very promising. They said the kids learned words like "arachnid," "amplify," "camouflage," and "applause," which are typically learned at a much later age. The children could also use these words in context. Sesame Workshop CEO Jeffrey Dunn said: "We expect to develop the next generation of tailored learning tools….Educational technology like the platform we've created…is a promising new channel for learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and we're excited to explore it further."

IBM表示，他们已经完成了检测该app的试行项目。他们对幼儿园的小朋友进行了为期两周的1.8万份多项选择评估。研究人员表示，结果非常令人满意。他们表示，孩子们学习了"arachnid," "amplify," "camouflage,"和"applause"等词汇，这些基本上是年龄比较大的时候才学习的。孩子们也可以根据语境使用这些词汇。芝麻街工作室的首席执行官Jeffrey Dunn表示：“我们希望研发出下一代个人定制的学习工具。类似我们开发的平台的教育技术是教室内外学习机会非常有前景的新途径，我们希望能够进一步探索。”