Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question about Relay Reader™ that is not answered below, please feel free to contact us via email at relayreader@ets.org.

General

  1. How do I indicate that I am done reading my turn?

    Tap on the black square button at the bottom of the page. Pressing the black button stops the recording and tells the app that you are done with your turn. Bonus Tip: On mobile devices, you can hide this button by tapping at the little flat downward-pointing arrow just above the progress bar. This will let you see more of the text.

  2. Can I use the web app in any browser?

    No, the app works best in Google Chrome®. You may experience issues if you use any other browser.

  3. Once I have started reading, can I go back to a previous location and read it again?

    Click on the “Completed turns” tab under “My Reading” to listen again to your completed turns. Here you can re-record any of your turns and listen again to any of the narrator turns. To continue reading where you left off, click “Resume” on the top right.

  4. If I have already read the first few chapters of a book outside of the app, can I skip ahead?

    This functionality is not supported.

  5. How long should the turns be for the narrator and the user?

    We have found that what works for many users is to set the narrator turn length to about 200 words and the user turn length to about 150 words. These are the default settings used by the Relay Reader™ app.

  6. I’d like to read less and listen more. Can I do it?

    Yes, you can change the length of yours and the narrator’s turns in Reading Settings.

  7. Can I download/share my recordings made with the app?

    Although you can listen to your recordings under “Completed turns” in the “My Reading” section of the app as often as you want, you cannot currently download your recordings.

  8. I want to change the font size. Should I do so via the settings on my device or from inside the app?

    We recommend that you first try to adjust the font to the desired size from inside the app.

  9. I love this app! How can I contribute?

    Thank you! We welcome your contributions and your feedback at relayreader@ets.org!

Mobile Apps [Please note that the mobile apps are currently not in App/Play Stores. Let us know if you’d like an apk.]

  1. What version of iOS do I need for the iOS app?

    We recommend that your iOS device should be running at least iOS 12. Devices with older versions of iOS may work but the app may not run as smoothly.

  2. What if the app does not work on my Android device?

    If the app does not work well on your device, please share your feedback with us so that we can improve the app in the future. In the meantime, you can use the Chrome browser on your Android device to access the web app.

  3. Why does the iOS App have an age rating of 9+? Can’t younger children use it?

    Some of the stories, including fairytales, contain mild “fantasy violence” which, according to the rules defined by Apple, results in a 9+ age rating.

    In addition, since our app records the user’s oral reading, our terms of use require consent from an adult user or from an adult guardian of a child user.

  4. I recorded some turns on the Web app. Why can’t I hear them when I log into the app on my iPhone/iPad?

    Unfortunately, due to technical limitations, recordings made in the Web app cannot currently be played back in the iOS app.

Online/Offline Usage

  1. Do I need an internet connection to read with this app or can I read offline?

    You need an internet connection to register and to download the book(s). Once you have started reading and stay logged into your account, you can read offline; the app will store your recordings on your device temporarily. In order to sync those recordings back to the cloud so that they are available in the My Reading section, you must connect to Wi-Fi.

  2. What about the My Reading section? Does that work offline?

    No, the My Reading section requires a Wi-Fi connection to work correctly.

    You need to be on Wi-Fi to play back your previously recorded turns.

    In addition, if you have been reading for an extended period without connecting to Wi-Fi, you will not be able to play back those recordings in My Reading until you (a) connect to Wi-Fi and (b) leave the app open for about 30 minutes so that all those recordings can sync to the cloud; You can continue reading in the meantime.

    You also need to be on Wi-Fi if you need to re-record any of your turns while in My Reading and then listen to the new recording.

  3. Can I just keep reading without ever connecting to Wi-Fi?

    If you keep reading for a long time without connecting to Wi-Fi periodically, your device will run out of storage space eventually. If this happens, you will get a warning and will not be able to use the app until you go online to sync your locally-stored recordings to the cloud (see previous question).

  4. Can I use my cellular data plan with the app?

    The app only syncs with the cloud when you are on Wi-Fi to prevent you from going over any data plan limits. You can certainly read while on a cellular network but this is treated the same as being offline — the recordings are still stored locally on your device until you connect to Wi-Fi. You also need to be on Wi-Fi to use My Reading.

  5. I would like to read on my phone while I am out and on my computer when I am at home. Is there anything I need to know when using multiple devices?

    The app works great across devices. When opening the app on a different device from the one you last used, wait for a few minutes (longer on slow networks) before you press “OK” to start your reading or listening turn. This gives the app time to figure out where you left off on the previous device so that you can resume reading at the right place.

Your library

  1. What are the available library codes?

    Fairytales : This library includes a selection of classic fairytales: The Adventures of Pinocchio and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz are two of the longer ones; Snow Queen, My Father’s Dragon, and The Velveteen Rabbit are of medium length (up to one hour); Hansel and Grettel and The Emperor’s New Clothes are short reads (<20 minutes). There are 12 stories in this library.

    Gr2to5 : This library includes stories that are likely to be of interest to 2nd through 5th grade readers (kids aged 7-10). In addition to the FairyTales library described above, it includes The Adventure of the Speckled Band and The Hound of the Baskervilles (two Conan Doyle mysteries) and The Gorgon’s Head (a Greek myth). There are 15 stories in this library.

    Gr6to8 : This library includes stories that are likely to be of interest to 6th through 8th grade readers (kids aged 11-13): The Story of Napoleon (biography), two Sherlock Holmes mysteries, a Greek and a Viking myths, The Big Trip Up Yonder (science fiction), Taming the Bicycle (humor), The Tell-tale Heart (horror), and short pieces of realistic fiction, such as O. Henry’s After Twenty Years and Maupassant’s The Necklace. We also added in The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – these are great reads for those who haven’t had a chance to read them before. There are 20 stories in this library.

    Gr2to12 : This library includes all stories that are appropriate for kids and adolescents. In addition to those listed above, it includes Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Leo Tolstoy’s short story God Sees the Truth But Waits. There are 25 stories in this library.

    Please check current books for book descriptions.

  2. Can I have a custom library?

    If you’d like to craft a custom library out of the available books, please contact us at relayreader@ets.org and let us know which stories you want in your library.

Books

  1. What books does the app currently have?

    All narrations are from LibriVox and all texts are from Project Gutenberg; see the notes about adaptation and about our customized libraries. Currently, the app offers the following books in the default library that has all books (the links are to the original narrations on Librivox, not the adapted ones in Relay Reader):

    1. Hansel and Grettel (retold by A. Lang): A fairytale about a brother and sister who are lost in the woods and need to find their way home.
    2. The King and the Bees (by J. Baldwin): The Queen of Sheba tests the wisdom of King Solomon.
    3. My Father’s Dragon (by Ruth Stiles Gannett): A story about a kind-hearted and resourceful boy who sets off on an adventure to rescue a dragon.
    4. The Snow Queen (by Hans Christian Andersen): A story of the adventures of young Gerda on a quest to save her friend Kay from an evil enchantment.
    5. The Velveteen Rabbit (by Margery Williams): A classic celebration of all the beloved toys.
    6. The Building of the Wall (by Padraic Colum): A Viking legend featuring Odin, Loki, and the other would-be dwellers of Asgard.
    7. The Adventures of Pinocchio (by C. Collodi): Adventures of a mischievous wooden puppet who learns to deal with friends and foes on a quest to become a real boy.
    8. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (by F. Baum): Dorothy and her dog Toto are magically transported from Kansas to the Land of Oz and meet many strange and wonderful creatures on their long way home, in what the Library of Congress called “America’s greatest and best-loved homegrown fairytale”.
    9. The Emperor’s New Clothes (by H. C. Andersen): A story about an emperor who wanted a new suit made of the finest cloth.
    10. The Reluctant Dragon (by Kenneth Grahame): A young boy befriends a dragon, but the dragon is soon discovereed, and a knight comes to fight against him.
    11. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (by Lewis Carroll): Alice’s logic-bending adventures in Wonderland are a delicious mix of nonsense, humor, and fantasy.
    12. The Gorgon’s Head (by N. Hawthorne): A Greek myth about a daring hero Perseus on a quest to kill the “golden-winged, iron-scaled, long-tusked, brazen-clawed, snaky-haired” monster Medusa.
    13. The Bee-man of Orn (by F. Stockton): The Bee-man lives a quiet and contented life until a Junior Sorcerer reveals that he has been transformed from someone, or something, else, and the Bee-man sets out on a quest.
    14. Robin Hood (by J. Walker McSpadden): The adventures of the best archer and the most famous outlaw in England and his band.
    15. The Gift of the Magi (by O.Henry): Della and Jim, a young married couple, exchange Christmas gifts, but things do not turn out as intended.
    16. The Open Window (by H. H. Munro (Saki)): A casual chat with a “self-possessed young lady of fifteen” turns into a nerve-wrecking experience, with a twist.
    17. The Adventure of the Speckled Band (by A. Conan Doyle): A Sherlock Holmes thriller that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle considered to be one of his best stories.
    18. The Necklace (by G. de Maupassant): A short tale of reality versus appearance, with an ironic twist.
    19. The Story of Napoleon (by E. Marshall): A biography of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the most famous military commanders in history.
    20. After 20 Years (by O.Henry): Two childhood friends meet twenty years later, with unexpected consequences.
    21. The Hound of the Baskervilles (by A. Conan Doyle): Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are solving a case of an ancient curse haunting the House of the Baskervilles.
    22. Taming the Bicycle (by M. Twain): A story of glorious failures on the way to success from the greatest American humorist of his age.
    23. The Tell-tale Heart (by E. A. Poe): One of the most iconic horror stories by Edgar Allan Poe, a master of the genre.
    24. The Big Trip Up Yonder (by K. Vonnegut): A short story imagining a future where people live forever.
    25. God Sees the Truth, But Waits (by L. Tolstoy): A short story about a man sent to prison for a crime he did not commit.
    26. Pride and Prejudice (by J. Austen): This is Jane Austen at her very best – a classic tale of hasty judgments and romantic suspense.
    27. Martin Guerre (by A. Dumas): A fictionalized account of the true story of a man tried for identity theft in 16th century France. [approved by ETS Fairness for adults only]

  2. Are the books in the public domain?

    The texts of all the books and the LibriVox audio recordings used in the app are in the Public Domain in the USA. If you are not located in the USA, please verify the copyright status of these works in your own country before downloading the book, otherwise you may be violating your country’s copyright laws.

  3. Is there any information available on the difficulty/readability/complexity of the books?

    The Lexile® measure of The Adventures of Pinocchio is 780 and for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz it is 990. However, that single number may not paint a complete picture:

    • Reading/Difficulty levels are not as reliable as one might think.

    • The user is assisted by the narrator (who will read aloud many of the words that later re-appear in the user’s turns) and by the turn-taking (so that the user gets a break from reading to rebuild stamina). In addition, the user’s turn can also be reduced to as little as 70 words at a time (on average). In short, it might be worth trying even if the book seems a little challenging.

    • Our customized libraries can help you select the books that are likely to be of interest to yourself, your child, or your student. We arranged the books in grade-based bands based on grades provided in teacher created materials for the relevant story on Teachers Pay Teachers or Lesson Planet.

    For the app, we selected books that have been read and enjoyed by generations of readers. Treat yourself to some good stories!

  4. Are the stories adapted/abridged?

    We made some light edits to the books to better adapt them to Relay Reader. One such adaptation is combining chapters to allow for a better turn-taking experience (for example, in Pinocchio). Other adaptations include removal of some material to comply with IRB guidelines; to make the narrative somewhat faster-paced (for example, we removed the two contemplative introductory paragraphs from Dumas’ Martin Guerre and started with the actual event narrative) and more readable (for example, we removed some obscure allusions). The removals were very minor, with utmost care taken to not impede the flow of the narrative, and no substitutions of text were performed in any of the books.

  5. Will you be adding more books in the future?

    Yes! If there is a particular public domain book you’d like to see in the library, let us know.

Your Data

  1. Is it possible for me to delete my recordings from the app?

    Yes, you can delete individual recordings for each turn from the “Completed turns” tab in the “My Reading” section. If you want to delete all of your data from the app, please send us an email at relayreader@ets.org.

  2. Are the terms of use for the app available online?

    Yes, they are available here.

  3. Is the privacy policy for the app available online?

    The app is governed by the ETS privacy policy.