Customer Background
United Through Reading (UTR) is a nonprofit dedicated to keeping military families close, even when they’re miles apart. Through shared reading experiences, UTR helps service members and veterans record and send storytime videos to their children. The organization has reached over 3.3 million military family members worldwide, helping promote literacy, emotional well-being, and a sense of connection despite the physical distance.
Challenges
United Through Reading (UTR) aimed to close the emotional gap created by military deployments. Service members and their families needed a safe and simple way to stay connected through reading together. However, several challenges hindered this connection, making it difficult for families to maintain emotional bonds and literacy engagement. Some of the key issues included:
- Separation struggles during deployments: Extended time apart made it harder for service members to maintain close emotional connections with their children.
- Coping with separation anxiety: Military children often experienced distress, loneliness, and emotional disconnect during parental absences.
- Keeping literacy progress on track: Inconsistent parental involvement in reading made it challenging to ensure steady literacy development for children.
- Communication hurdles for deployed families: Traditional communication methods like phone calls or letters lacked the personal connection that shared activities provide.
- Access to resources: Families did not always have access to physical books or recording equipment for seamless interaction.
- Overcoming digital learning curves: UTR required an intuitive and secure app that military families could easily adopt without technical difficulties.
Solutions
After a comprehensive consultation and understanding of UTR’s challenges, we designed and developed a mobile application that offers a seamless and secure platform for service members to connect with their children through recorded storytime videos.
Real-time emotional connection
- The app allows service members to record videos of themselves reading books, fostering a sense of presence despite the distance.
- Personalization features like festive frames enhance the warmth of the recorded messages.
Reducing emotional stress
- Secure cloud-based storage ensures private and safe sharing of videos.
- Offline recording capabilities allow service members to create videos even in areas with limited internet access.
Enhancing literacy development
- Integrated eBook library offers a wide range of stories, allowing children to follow along in real-time.
- Families can request free physical copies of books that match recorded videos, encouraging continuous reading habits.
Simplified logistical operations
- Offline uploads allow videos to be stored locally and uploaded once an internet connection is available.
- On-demand access enables children to watch videos anytime, overcoming time zone differences.
Improving access to resources
- Preloaded eBooks ensure that storytime is always available, even in remote locations.
- Families can engage with the recordings through an integrated web viewer.
User-friendly experience
- Whether users are comfortable with technology or new to it, the app’s interface ensures a smooth experience.
- Secure authentication via ID.me allows service members and their families to register safely and access the platform securely.
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Industry
Nonprofit
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Technologies / Platforms / Frameworks
React Native, JavaScript, Swift, Kotlin, Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics, GitHub, VS Code, Xcode, Android Studio, SQLite, AWS
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Benefits
- Strengthened family bonds: Created a meaningful way for service members to maintain emotional connections with their children.
- Improved literacy support: Increased access to books and reading materials, supporting childhood literacy development.
- Seamless user adoption: The intuitive interface and secure authentication led to high adoption rates among military families.
- Flexible access: Offline recording and uploads ensured uninterrupted engagement, even in remote locations.
Decade of Trust & Experience
1630+
Projects
545+
Technocrats
26+
Products and Solutions
1020+
Customers
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