Read Better!

Use Case Title:

Read Better!

Description:

Imagine you are assigned 3 readings, and they are 20 pages each. The problem is that you have only a few hours to capture the main ideas of each author and how they are related to each other. When doing this task, your main goal will be to summarize these complex concepts, but you may zone out because the readings are too long, and your notes might be a little messy by the end of the readings so you'll spend even more time organizing them and trying to understand what you wrote about 2 hours ago. This is without mentioning that you still have to understand the context in which the research was published and you have to look into the cited work and understand how the paper you are reading builds on previous research. Your goal is to make the most out of your reading sessions and to understand the most information without missing the nuances of the papers. This is exactly when AI enters the game to save you! My way to solve this problem is a combination of 2 AI tools: Speechify and Scholarcy. Who is the target audience? If you are a:

CS student taking AH classes (like me)
Student with dyslexia
PhD Students
Or anyone trying to read academic research and long documents in an efficient way. This project is for you! What problem does this solve? I am facing two major difficulties when taking an AH class:
Difficulty in summarizing complex ideas in simple sentences and notes.
Length of the assigned readings.
Unorganized notes.
Forgetting the main takeaways of the readings after a few days.
Having to do more research about the context of the research and how it builds on previous research.

Tutorial for Use and Best Practices:

Go to this website to install speechify: https://speechify.com/text-to-speech-chrome-extension/?landing_url=https%3A%2F%2Fspeechify.com%2Ftext-to-speech-chrome-extension%2F Here you can personalize the voice that is going to read the text. I personally choose a male voice without any accent, but feel free to customize it as much as you want since you are going to use it a lot!
Open your file, website, or any format of text you want to read and click on your Chrome extension Speechify on the top right of your screen.
Choose your reading speed. I personally go with 2x since I am used to the tool and I have been using it for the last 2 years, but you should start with 1.25x to 1.7x to get used to the feeling of reading and listening to what you're reading at the same time. Speechify has a new AI feature that highlights the important sentences in your reading so you can better skim read.
Once you feel you captured what you need from the reading, go on Scholarcy: ( https://article-summarizer.scholarcy.com/summarizer ) or use the Chrome extension. Then you, upload your document or paste a URL. You will have a summary of the paper in readable and easy-to-understand bits and also have explanatory bullet points if you use the Chrome extension. You can have flashcards that you can keep to enhance your science of learning and remember these concepts later. (I personally love this feature)
Keep reviewing the flashcards and the summaries to remember the reading!

Impacts on Learning:

Efficiency and Depth of Understanding: Integrating Speechify and Scholarcy significantly streamlines the learning process. By converting text into speech, Speechify allows learners to digest information audibly, often a more efficient method for processing and understanding complex material, particularly during extensive study periods. Scholarcy complements this by distilling dense academic papers into clearer, concise summaries, thereby ensuring concepts are not just understood rapidly but also comprehended deeply. This synergy aids in dismantling academic jargon and intricate arguments into more accessible formats.
Engagement and Retention: Both tools serve to heighten engagement. Speechify's audio assistance diversifies the learning format, providing an auditory interaction that can alleviate the monotony of text-heavy content. This variety aids focus and interest. Meanwhile, Scholarcy fortifies retention through its summarization features and flashcard extracts, underscoring and reinforcing critical points of study and ensuring that learners engage actively with the main takeaways, rather than passively reading without absorption.
Accommodating Learning Differences: The combination is particularly transformative for students with learning differences, such as dyslexia, or those who find navigating voluminous academic literature challenging. Speechify offers an alternative medium to process information, reducing the strain of reading, while Scholarcy's ability to synthesize information into digestible parts makes comprehension more manageable. By facilitating alternative avenues for information intake, these tools ensure inclusive education, providing equal footing for academic exploration.
Research and Critical Thinking: Furthermore, this technological duo enhances critical thinking. They manage the groundwork of summarizing and highlighting central themes, allowing students more time to devote to analytical activities. With the basics taken care of, learners can invest more energy in drawing connections between materials, understanding the wider research context, and crafting well-informed critiques or arguments.
Without This Use Case: In the absence of these tools, students revert to traditional, more laborious methods. This involves grappling with potentially intimidating volumes of text, which can be time-consuming and mentally exhausting, often detracting from the capacity to engage in deeper analysis. The contrast between the traditional approach and this innovative, AI-assisted method underscores the transformative effects on efficiency, engagement, and equity in the educational journey.

Limitations and Ethical Considerations:

While Speechify and Scholarcy can enhance the learning process, reliance on these tools may inadvertently stifle the development of specific skills. For instance, students might become less proficient in critical reading and the ability to analyze complex texts independently. Over-dependence could also reduce their exposure to diverse writing styles and nuances found in primary texts, potentially limiting their academic growth. AI tools should be an aid, not a replacement, for human judgment. Students should critically assess the information these tools provide, questioning the results and evaluating their credibility. This involves considering whether the AI-generated content aligns with known facts or if something may have been misinterpreted or omitted. Another limitation on the personal level: I consider some artistic and philosophical readings as an exception to this method because, in such cases, words carry significantly more meaning. It wouldn't make much sense to rush these readings because I prefer taking my time and appreciating their value.

Inspiration

I am a CS student taking an Art and Humanities class. I struggled with the assigned readings and I wanted

to find a way to get done with them as fast as possible while having a deep understanding of the content. So I combined Speechify to read much faster and skim using AI and Scholarcy to have summaries and flashcards about the readings.

What it does

"Read Better!" revolutionizes the way we interact with academic texts. It merges Speechify's rapid, focused reading with Scholarcy's comprehensive summaries and flashcards. This combination not only accelerates the pace at which you complete readings but also deepens your understanding by distilling complex ideas into absorbable takeaways. It's particularly life-changing for students grappling with hefty material, as it breaks down barriers to comprehension and makes learning more accessible.

How we built it

This project didn't require traditional 'building' since it's more about intelligently integrating existing AI tools. I experimented with various tools before settling on Speechify and Scholarcy, appreciating their complementary strengths. The process involved extensive trial and error: testing different types of texts, tweaking reading speeds, and comparing AI-generated summaries against my understanding of the texts.

Challenges we ran into

One major challenge was ensuring that the AI summaries maintained the original context and subtleties, as some nuances can get lost in translation. Balancing speed with comprehension also posed a dilemma, as faster reading doesn't always equate to better understanding. Additionally, I faced the ethical conundrum of relying on AI, questioning whether it could potentially undermine the original thought process or critical thinking.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I'm proud to have created a learning approach that respects both efficiency and depth of understanding. It was exhilarating to find a sweet spot where technology could serve academic purposes without diluting the essence of learning. Witnessing tangible improvements in my grasp of intricate subjects and the time saved, which could be allocated to other academic endeavors, was incredibly rewarding.

What we learned

This journey was enlightening in terms of understanding my learning style and the vast potential of AI in education. It reinforced the idea that technology, when used thoughtfully, can be a significant academic enabler. Most importantly, I learned the importance of discernment in using these tools, ensuring they enhance rather than overshadow my cognitive processes.

What's next for Read Better!

Looking ahead, I envision Read Better! expanding its reach to support students across various disciplines, tailoring its approach to different texts and subjects. I also anticipate collaborating with developers to possibly integrate more features or even create a unified platform that combines various learning tools. Continual refining, based on user feedback and studies on learning impacts, will be crucial for its evolution, ensuring it remains a relevant and empowering asset for students everywhere.