Till now we had heard of application of RFID in retail stores, logistics, shipping industry but it would never have struck our minds that RFID could be used for teaching English. You must be wondering whether you read the words correctly. Yes, this is true. Two students from Purdue University, Amicia Elliott and Alexei Czeskis have used this technology for teaching English to non- English speaking students. The software called Merlin's Magic Castle software makes use of RFID tags technology which the students embedded in toys.

The software runs on a computer and uses RFID technology that the students embedded in toys. When a toy runs over the computer's scanner, the program registers that RFID and as Merlin says the toy's name, it also appears on the screen. The multi levels of stimulation influence better comprehension and information retention.

When a child holds a toy fire truck with an embedded tag, MMC computer screen displays "fire ruck" and asks the child to tell the missing letter. This software is compatible with a number of games such as Scavenger, Trivia Game etc. The two students are planning to sell their software to companies like Walt Disney or Mattel and Hasbro.

These students are not only doing a good work of spreading the English language but are also setting an example for the student fraternity to come up with something like this or even better.

My best wishes are with them.

Thanx Roland