Compu-Read

Compu-Read
Developer(s)	Edu-Ware
Publisher(s)	Edu-Ware
Designer(s)	Sherwin Steffin
Engine	EWS3
Version	3.0
Platform(s)	Apple II, Atari 400/800, Commodore 64, IBM PC
Release date(s)	NA 1979
Genre(s)	Language arts, Speed reading
Mode(s)	Single learner
Media/distribution	5¼" disk
System requirements Apple II: Applesoft, 48K RAM

Compu-Read is an educational program originally developed by Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services in 1979 for the Apple II.

Summary

It consists of four modules training the user in rapidly increasing comprehension and retention: Character Recognition, High-speed word recognition, Synonyms; Sentence Comprehension. In each, the user the initial difficulty level, and the computer matches the display speed to the user's performance.

Steffin first wrote Compu-Read as a text-based program while serving as a research analyst at UCLA. The first version was published by Programma International but after being laid off from the university, he revised Compu-Read and used it to launch his new company, Edu-Ware. Edu-Ware upgraded the program to high resolution graphics using its EWS3 graphics engine in 1981, renamed it Compu-Read 3.0 and ported it to the Atari 400/800, Commodore 64, and IBM PC. Compu-Read was featured in Edu-Ware's catalogs until its closure in 1985.

References

• Product Catalog. Edu-Ware Services. March 1, 1980. 
• Tommervik, Allan (May 1981). "Exec Edu-Ware". Softalk: 4, 6, 19.