Triangle Company Offers Internet Tutoring For Adults, Children

Learning Machinesis designed to help children and adults learn to read better with the use of computers and the Internet.

"We're specifically targeting that age group in middle school who have recently been diagnosed as having some problems with basic skills," says co-founder Jim McLean.

The Bright Bulb Tutor is in early development, but it will result in hundreds of lessons for online use in schools and homes. McLean says the problem can be customized for age groups.

"We present a concept or a new skill, and we immediately test it by asking them to answer a question," he says. "We take them step by step using one-on-one direct instruction with a multimedia kind of software program through a specific curriculum of all the skills they have to master."

Learning Machines hopes to have the program available online to schools by next year.

Both presidential candidates are pushing for more basic skills training from kindergarten through 12th-grade. Learning Machines spokesmen say this move could boost their company's future.