CereProc Case Study – RAVN Webveveriet AG Norway

Ravn Webveveriet AS (Ravn) is a software development company based in Norway. Over the years Ravn has created a number of applications to assist in the various markets, where software is required for educational or training purposes. These applications have ranged from multi language social studies websites to ‘Training Management Systems’ for the education of aircraft pilots. Ravn has created an image of being the go-to for the development of educational apps and web applications in Norway.

Ravn developed Unibok on behalf of Cappelen Damm and Aschehoug – a Reader for digital books, specifically digital textbooks for use in schools and other educational establishments. This has the benefit of allowing students and educators the means of ensuring that not only the textbooks are accessible, but so are the images, audio, interactive tasks, and the display of MathML.

Ravn approached CereProc about the development of a new feature for Unibok, which could increase accessibility for students by integrating a Text to Speech System (TTS). After an initial discussion, CereVoice Cloud, CereProc’s Software As a Service (SAAS) was chosen. This was not only because the Norwegian languages of Bokmål and Nynorsk offered, but also access to the other languages and voices, plus cost effective pricing.

The CereProc’s CereVoices, accessed through the CereCloud system, also supports MathML, making it an ideal assistant to work alongside for regular students, and those who may need a little more assistance. Fredrik Halvorsen from Ravn had this to say regarding the integration of the CereVoice Cloud:

“So far our experience has been great! We had a good meeting with Paul and Willem, and implementing based on the API was straight forward. We know from our analytics that the text-to-speech functionality is something our users use and appreciate, and we can now offer more languages and voices than we previously could."

With over 20,000 visitors to the reader every day, Unibok has been a success in increasing accessibility to students with disabilities, one of CereProc’s goals as a company. As CEO Paul Welham elaborates “this was another exciting project for CereProc, following closely on from our success in releasing 16 children’s voices to NHS Wales, for a number of similar reasons."