For educators

Saksham is a small reading library that students can configure to their own brain — font, contrast, pace, motion, and audio — before they begin. This page is the dashboard you'd see for a class using it, plus everything you need to use it yourself.

Class dashboard

Grade 6 · Section B · 6 students using Saksham today
This is a demonstration with mock data. The real Saksham doesn't track students or upload any data. A teacher's view in practice would show what students choose to share on a shared classroom device — not surveillance. The columns below illustrate the kinds of differentiation Saksham reveals.
Student Their settings Passages Notes for you
Aarav
 OpenDyslexic Pace 0.7× Audio on 6 / 8 Reads slower, uses audio sync. Doing well at his own pace.
Priya
 Atkinson · XL High contrast 4 / 8 Visual sensitivity. Switched to high contrast on her own — leave it.
Dhruv
 Lexend Motion: Reduced 2 / 8 ADHD. Reduced motion helps with overstimulation. Two passages in one sitting is a win.
Meera
 Atkinson Dark theme Audio on 8 / 8 Finished the library. Ask if she'd like to suggest the next passages.
Kabir
 OpenDyslexic · L Voice cues on 1 / 8 Emerging reader. Voice cues are helping him navigate the interface.
Sara
 Atkinson · M Pace 1.2× 5 / 8 No diagnosed need. Just likes the calm interface. Reads above grade level.

The fastest possible start

  1. Open the library on any device with a modern browser.
  2. Hand it to the student.
  3. Tell them: "Change the font and the colors until reading feels okay. Then pick a passage."

That's it. No accounts, no install, no signup, no data collection. Their settings save on the device they use.

What's actually in the library

Eight short passages — about three to four minutes each — organized into three categories: Stories, Science, and Sky & stars. Reading level is "Easy" or "Medium." All eight are appropriate for roughly 10–16 year olds. Several are set in Indian contexts (Mumbai, banyan trees, taal music, nakshatras) — chosen because the original research interviews were with Indian educators and families.

A 30-minute classroom routine

  1. Minutes 0–5. Let students set up their preferences. Tell them they can change anything later, and that the settings save automatically. Resist the urge to choose for them — this is the lesson.
  2. Minutes 5–20. Each student picks one passage and reads it. Audio is optional. They can change settings mid-passage. Your job is to be available for questions, not to monitor pace.
  3. Minutes 20–30. If you want a writing or discussion follow-up, ask one prompt per passage. For example: "What's one thing you remember from the banyan tree?" or "What did the lamp lighter teach his granddaughter without saying it?"

How to differentiate without building scaffolds

Each setting in Saksham covers a kind of differentiation you would otherwise be doing manually:

  • Students with dyslexia can switch to OpenDyslexic font and turn on read-aloud. The current word will be highlighted as it's spoken.
  • Students with ADHD can turn motion to "Reduced" or "None" to remove transitions, and switch to high-contrast theme to reduce visual noise.
  • Students with autism who shut down at bright screens can switch to warm cream or dark theme.
  • Students with low vision can use the Atkinson Hyperlegible font at Large or Extra Large size.
  • Students who are still emerging readers can read alongside audio at a slower pace (0.5–0.7×) and see each word highlight in real time.

You don't need to know which student needs which. They figure it out. That's the design.

Privacy

No data leaves the device. Saksham does not have a backend, an account system, or any analytics. All settings and progress are stored in the student's browser using localStorage. You can verify this yourself by opening the browser's network tab — nothing is uploaded.

This matters in school contexts. You can hand Saksham to a minor without parental consent forms because there is no data to consent to share.

What Saksham is not

  • It is not a curriculum. It is a calm reading surface.
  • It is not a measurement tool. There are no scores, no time-on-task, no comparison to other students. By design.
  • It is not a replacement for an accessibility specialist. It just removes one small piece of improvisation from your day.

The conversation behind the app

I have 40 students and no tools designed for differentiated instruction. I'm constantly improvising. — Meera, inclusive classroom teacher, from the original Saksham research interviews

If you are Meera or know someone like her, this is built for you. The published research that this app implements is in the Cal Poly TAGA 2026 Journal.

Suggestions, problems, ideas

If you actually use this with students, I'd really like to hear how it went. Email sayedjasmine@gmail.com — especially if there's a passage you wish were there, or a setting that didn't work the way you needed.

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