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Profile: Xavier Educational Software Ltd.

by Sali Earls

Xavier Educational Software Ltd. is based in the School of Psychology at the University of Wales Bangor. The company formed in the late 1980s to produce a range of software titles that would complement the teaching scheme of the university Dyslexia Unit.

Since then, the company has adapted the software to suit new technologies, and also provides custom programming services for the Macromedia Director and Shockwave environments. More recently, Xavier has begun development of programmes to interact with webcams.

Sali Earls spoke to Dave Lane to find out more.

What's the history of your company?
Xavier was created in 1987 in response to an initiative by the Dyslexia Unit of the University of Wales Bangor. They had developed a book-based teaching system designed to help teachers working with dyslexic schoolchildren, and wanted to develop programs to complement this.

At the time, the dominant computer in UK schools was the 8 bit BBC Micro, and over the following 3 years, some 17 different programs were created. Under the collective name of 'HiSpell', these programs were highly successful within UK schools.

In 1990, the makers of the BBC Micro (Acorn) released a new machine which saw a huge jump in technology. These 32 bit RISC machines had powerful multimedia capabilities, and Xavier was the first company to release educational software that made extensive use of digitised speech, with later programs making use of the simple sound samplers used for recording speech for speech therapy purposes.

Some years later, we were saddened to have to abandon development of RISC software, as by then, the PC had swept into UK schools, and we changed to producing software using the Macromedia Director authoring system.

We've recently developed the means to create webcam switched software, by which the user may trigger events by waving at on-screen 'hot-spots'. With this technology, we can quickly create novel display or kiosk environments.

What unique products/services does your company provide?
Whilst our main business has been the development of software to assist literacy skills, we also offer custom program development, in particular Shockwave programs that may be run from within web pages. These are of particular importance within e-learning applications, where there may be a range of target platforms.

We also offer small-scale CD printing and replication services.

What's been the key to your success?
Persistence! The sudden disappearance of the Acorn platform was a blow, but hard work saw the complete reappearance of those programs for the PC. Also, a willingness to explore new technologies, to bring about novel programs to fit the needs of teachers. We've recently released such a program that uses a webcam to provide 'wave & play' functions - pupils can trigger musical instruments by waving a hand over the images shown in mid air.

What one piece of outside technology has benefited your company most?
It's difficult to mention just one thing, but the multimedia capabilities of the modern PC has been invaluable for instilling literacy skills, as the multi-sensory aspect has always been important, and the introduction of digitised sound replay has been of immense importance. Also, as a small company, the facility to carry out our own CD replication has enabled us to update programs frequently, rather than having to commit to mastering large numbers of copies.

What one piece of advice would you give to start-up companies in your field?
Think carefully about the competition - what do you have to offer that's different or better?

Where do you see your company going in the future?
With the investments in networking in schools, we see the development of e-learning solutions as highly relevant.

We are also particularly interested in the use of the webcam and interactive whiteboard, using these in novel ways to enliven school lessons.

We would also welcome enquiries about developing the webcam 'wave & play' system for use in interactive exhibition displays.

Find out more about Xavier Educational Software Ltd. at xavier.bangor.ac.uk.

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