FAQs
General Information
What is Amira Learning?
Amira Learning is an advanced, AI-powered reading assistant designed to enhance literacy skills among students. It listens to students as they read aloud, assessing their reading fluency, accuracy, and comprehension. Based on each student's performance, Amira provides personalized, real-time tutoring and offers teachers detailed insights into each child’s reading progress. Research shows that Amira’s consistent use can lead to significant reading growth, with students making progress when they engage with the program for as little as 10 minutes a day/30 minutes per week.
Amira’s AI was developed by experts in literacy science, artificial intelligence, and speech recognition. This technology, initially developed by Carnegie Mellon University, enables Amira to provide accurate, targeted assessments and tutoring. Amira is versatile and can be used in various educational settings, including classrooms, at home, or in remote learning environments.
Is Amira aligned with Canadian curriculums?
Amira is being aligned with the literacy curricula of Ontario, Alberta, and the University of Florida Literacy Institute (UFLI) by August 2025, with alignment for all remaining provinces expected by back-to-school 2025. This alignment ensures that Amira’s assessment and instructional tools meet the specific standards and expectations set forth by each province, allowing teachers to use Amira’s insights in a way that directly supports local educational goals.
Amira's alignment means that reports, benchmarks, and assessments will reflect the literacy expectations for each province, helping teachers make data-driven decisions that align with their curricula.
Science of Reading
How does Amira support the Science of Reading?
The Science of Reading refers to evidence-based literacy instruction methods backed by decades of research in fields like cognitive science, linguistics, and developmental psychology. Amira aligns with this framework by focusing on essential reading components, including:
- Phonemic Awareness: Teaching students to recognize and manipulate sounds within words, a foundational skill for decoding.
- Phonics: Helping students understand the relationship between letters and sounds, enabling them to decode unfamiliar words.
- Fluency: Assisting students in reading text accurately, quickly, and with expression to aid comprehension.
- Vocabulary: Expanding students’ word knowledge, which is crucial for understanding texts.
- Comprehension: Developing students' ability to understand, process, and interpret what they read.
Amira’s real-time feedback and individualized interventions are designed to improve these core areas, aligning closely with the Science of Reading. This ensures that students not only improve their reading fluency but also build skills for comprehension, allowing them to engage deeply with texts.
How does Amira address issues identified in Ontario’s Right to Read report?
The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Right to Read report highlights key areas in which Ontario’s educational system needs improvement to support literacy for all students. The report stresses the need for:
- Early and Universal Screening: Identifying students at risk of reading difficulties as early as possible.
- Structured Literacy Instruction: Providing structured, systematic, evidence-based reading instruction.
- Data-Driven, Evidence-Based Interventions: Implementing reading interventions that are research-backed and data-driven to provide equitable support.
Here’s how Amira addresses these needs:
- Early Screening: Amira includes a dyslexia screener that allows educators to identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulties, enabling early intervention. The screener is designed to be efficient, making it accessible for regular classroom use, and helps meet the Right to Read recommendation for universal screening.
- Structured Literacy Support: Amira’s instructional framework is grounded in structured literacy principles, covering essential skills like phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and comprehension. This aligns with the report’s recommendation for evidence-based, systematic literacy instruction.
- Targeted, Real-Time Interventions: Amira uses AI-driven micro-interventions that target specific skills, providing customized, immediate feedback as students read. These interventions support skill development in real-time, meeting the report’s call for data-driven, responsive support for students struggling with reading.
- Progress Monitoring: Amira provides continuous progress monitoring, allowing teachers to track student growth over time. This feature aligns with the Right to Read report’s recommendation for consistent monitoring and data-informed instruction.
By meeting these key needs, Amira supports equitable access to high-quality literacy instruction and early intervention for students who may otherwise struggle with reading.
Does Amira support students with dyslexia?
Yes, Amira includes a dyslexia screener and offers targeted interventions specifically designed to support students with dyslexia. The platform’s structured literacy approach, which emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension, provides students with dyslexia the foundational support they need. Amira’s real-time feedback and adaptive interventions help these students progress more effectively by addressing specific challenges in decoding and reading fluency.
Research, Data, and Privacy
Is there evidence that Amira improves reading outcomes?
Yes, research has shown that Amira significantly enhances reading outcomes. In studies, students using Amira have demonstrated reading growth twice as fast in comparison to students who are not using Amira. Randomized controlled trials have validated Amira’s efficacy in improving key reading skills, such as fluency and accuracy, particularly when students engage with the platform regularly. Amira’s evidence-based approach and real-time feedback are instrumental in driving these impressive results. View various research studies here.
What kind of data can Amira provide?
Amira generates data with every student interaction, providing teachers, administrators, and parents with insights for reading support.
Recorded reading sessions allow teachers to view detailed phoneme-level data to identify skill gaps, supporting small group and whole class instruction. Teachers and administrators receive comprehensive reports at the student, class, school, and district levels, helping to personalize instruction.
Amira offers batch printing for reports, including customizable options for parents/families. Formative assessment reports, updated after each session, include:
- Skills Diagnostic Report: Pinpoints specific skill strengths and weaknesses.
- Skills Status Report: Tracks skill progress.
- Instructional Recommendations Report: Suggests targeted resources based on skill needs.
Teachers can access tailored lesson plans and activities via report links, helping to supplement classroom instruction with targeted support.
How does Amira support progress monitoring?
Amira generates detailed reports on students' reading progress, tracking critical metrics such as fluency rates, error patterns, reading comprehension, and growth over time. These reports enable teachers to:
- View individual and class-wide progress in real-time.
- Identify specific skill gaps or areas where students need further practice.
- Adjust instruction based on data to meet each student’s needs more effectively.
Progress monitoring is a key component of Amira, providing ongoing insights that help teachers make data-informed decisions to optimize reading instruction for every student.
How does Amira ensure student data privacy in Canada?
Amira implements industry-standard protocols for data privacy and security. The platform undergoes annual audits for SOC 2 compliance, ensuring the highest level of data protection and operational integrity. Amira and Pearson can be compliant with pilot implementation requirements. By back-to-school 2025, Amira will be fully compliant with all Canadian privacy laws and safe harbor provisions, including the Personal Information Protection, Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and storage and access of student information.
For more information, please see Amira's privacy policy and terms and conditions.
User Experience
How can students and teachers be rostered in Amira?
For Back to School 2025, Amira offers flexible rostering options to streamline setup and minimize administrative tasks. All of these methods provide for periodic syncs of student and teacher data, ensuring that roster updates are automatic and accurate, freeing up valuable time for educators.
- Self-Rostering via Spreadsheets: Administrators can easily set up and roster students using spreadsheets, providing a quick and straightforward setup option.
- Standards Based Rostering with OneRoster: Amira supports OneRoster, a widely adopted standard for securely exchanging student information, class rosters, and grades between platforms.
- Integration with Clever: Amira can integrate with Clever for seamless rostering with various School Information Systems (SIS)
How can Amira be used in the classroom?
Amira Learning is designed to fit seamlessly into a variety of classroom settings and instructional models, providing flexibility for teachers to integrate it in a way that complements their existing literacy program. Here are several recommended approaches for using Amira effectively in the classroom:
- Small Group Rotations: Amira can be integrated into literacy centers or small group rotations. While the teacher works directly with one group of students, another group can use Amira independently to practice their reading skills. This model allows the teacher to provide targeted support while other students receive individualized, AI-driven tutoring from Amira.
- One-on-One Practice: Amira is ideal for one-on-one practice sessions, especially with students who need additional reading support. This individualized use enables Amira to provide personalized, real-time feedback, helping students address specific skill gaps and improve fluency, decoding, and comprehension.
- Whole Class Practice (Blended Approach): For classrooms with enough devices, Amira can be used in a whole-class setting where each student logs into Amira for a brief independent reading session. Afterward, the teacher can review class-wide data to identify patterns and adjust instruction. This approach works well in a blended classroom, where digital and teacher-led instruction are combined.
- Daily or Weekly Practice Goals: For maximum effectiveness, it is recommended that students use Amira for approximately 10 minutes a day or 2-3 times a week. During these sessions, students can read one or two stories, giving them frequent opportunities to practice and reinforcing reading skills. Teachers can track weekly progress through Amira’s dashboard and adjust the frequency of practice as needed based on each student’s progress.
- Tiered Support: Amira is an excellent tool for tiered intervention models, where students receive different levels of support based on their needs. Students who require intensive reading intervention can use Amira more frequently, while students at or above grade level can use it less often as supplemental practice. This flexibility allows teachers to differentiate instruction effectively.
- Homework and Remote Learning: Amira’s flexibility extends beyond the classroom. Students can access Amira from home, making it suitable for homework assignments or remote learning days. This additional practice can reinforce classroom instruction and provide continuity of learning outside of school hours.
Assessment and Screeners
How often should students be assessed with Amira?
After 3-6 practice sessions, teachers are advised to conduct a benchmark assessment using Amira. This benchmark assessment helps gauge each student’s reading level, identify progress, and ensure that instructional adjustments are timely and data-driven. Regular assessments also allow teachers to track growth over time and intervene quickly if a student’s progress appears to stall.
How does Amira assess comprehension?
Amira Learning’s comprehension assessments are designed to engage students deeply with the text, using neuroscience-backed techniques to enhance comprehension skills, especially for students with reading comprehension difficulties (RCD). Here’s how Amira assesses and supports comprehension:
- “Show They Know” Prompts: Amira’s comprehension dialogs prompt students to “Show They Know” by explaining and demonstrating their understanding of the material. When a student struggles, Amira provides coaching to guide them in reading closely and identifying key information, helping develop strategies for active comprehension and deeper engagement with the text.
- Probing for Text Structure, Rhetorical Style, and Writing Choices: Amira assesses students’ understanding of text structure, rhetorical style, and writing choices, probing to see how well they grasp how these elements convey meaning. For students who find it challenging to understand the nuances of craft and style, Amira uses concrete examples from the text to build appreciation and understanding of an author’s stylistic choices, such as theme, tone, and purpose.
- Cognitive Flexibility Micro-Interventions with GSF: Amira introduces cognitive flexibility interventions such as GSF (graphophonological-semantic cognitive flexibility), a neuroscience-powered technique developed by Dr. Nell Duke from the University of Michigan and Dr. Kelly Cartwright. Research shows that students with reading comprehension difficulties (RCD) often struggle to switch flexibly between decoding (letter-sound focus) and meaning-making, leading to stagnant comprehension growth with traditional instruction. Through GSF, Amira’s micro-interventions help students develop cognitive flexibility, allowing them to transition smoothly between letter-sound recognition and extracting meaning. These interventions have shown significant improvements in comprehension for students with RCD, supporting them in ways traditional reading methods cannot.
- Compare and Contrast Dialogs: Amira uses contrast/compare dialogs to encourage students to analyze characters, plot points, themes, or other narrative elements, fostering a deeper integration of understanding across texts. These prompts help students develop higher-order thinking skills by making connections within and across passages.
- Generative AI-Powered Socratic Dialogs: Leveraging Generative AI, Amira creates custom rubrics that guide these comprehension interactions, enabling a dynamic, Socratic dialog that helps students synthesize their understanding. This approach personalizes questions and feedback based on each student’s responses, enhancing comprehension skills through targeted coaching.
Through these interactive and science-backed dialogs, Amira’s comprehension assessments provide students with a unique blend of cognitive support and skill development. Amira’s incorporation of neuroscience-powered interventions like GSF allows students with RCD to achieve significant growth in comprehension, transforming their ability to engage with text meaningfully. This sophisticated approach equips students with the critical skills they need for advanced reading and interpretation, making Amira an invaluable asset for comprehensive literacy development.
How does Amira work with existing universal screeners?
For schools or boards that have already implemented universal screeners, Amira serves as a powerful complementary tool by providing:
- Skill Gap Analysis: After universal screeners identify students at risk, Amira can conduct a detailed skill gap analysis to pinpoint the specific areas where each student needs additional support.
- Targeted Tutoring: Amira’s AI-driven interventions provide focused practice on the areas identified by the screener. Amira’s real-time feedback helps students address specific weaknesses, allowing for a seamless connection between initial screening results and targeted remediation.
Many educators find that using Amira in tandem with universal screeners provides a more comprehensive approach to supporting students’ literacy development, as it builds upon screening data to offer the next steps in skill-building and remediation.
Teacher Support
What kind of support does Amira offer to teachers?
Amira provides comprehensive support to teachers, including:
- Technical Support: Access to a technical support team for troubleshooting and assistance with platform setup.
- Instructional Resources: Lesson plans, slide decks, and other materials to help integrate Amira seamlessly into the classroom.
- Onboarding and Training: Online tutorials, onboarding sessions, and a 45-minute introductory course to help teachers get started with Amira and maximize its benefits for students.
These resources are designed to ensure that teachers feel confident and supported as they implement Amira in their classrooms.
Does Amira offer professional development?
Yes, Amira includes professional development resources to empower teachers with the knowledge and skills to effectively use the platform. These resources include:
- Training Modules: Step-by-step modules covering key aspects of Amira, from rostering to reading assessment.
- Webinars and Live Sessions: Regular webinars and live training sessions to keep teachers up-to-date on new features and best practices.
- Detailed Guides and Manuals: Comprehensive guides that teachers can refer to as they use Amira with students.
This professional development support helps teachers get the most out of Amira and ensures they are well-prepared to use it as part of their literacy instruction.
Does Amira offer Single Sign-On?
SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language)
Amira supports SAML v2, an industry-standard protocol that enables secure, seamless authentication between identity providers (such as Azure AD, Google Workspace, or Okta) and Amira. With SAML, users can log in using their existing credentials from their organization’s identity provider, eliminating the need to manage multiple passwords. This ensures a secure and streamlined login process for students, teachers, and administrators.
LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability)
Amira integrates with platforms using the LTI standard, widely used in learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas, Schoology, and Moodle. LTI allows educators and students to access Amira directly from their LMS without requiring separate logins. This integration ensures a smooth, unified experience by connecting Amira’s tools to the broader educational ecosystem while maintaining high security and data privacy standards.
Clever
Amira supports Clever SSO, a user-friendly solution tailored for K-12 schools and districts. Clever allows students, teachers, and administrators to log in using a single set of credentials, providing a simple "one-click" experience. Clever SSO is particularly beneficial for districts already using Clever for rostering, ensuring seamless integration across systems.
AI Data Security
Is Amira a private or public AI Model? Can you provide further clarification?
The AI models used by Amira are entirely internally developed, private models. They are closed systems and do not connect to outside sources or 3rd parties for processing. In addition, no student PII is incorporated into Amira’s models. Any student data is anonymized before being used to train Amira's AI models.