Learning Tools App Service for Edge Browser

In 2017, the Microsoft Edge browser team approach the Learning Tools team to investigate if they could bring the reading and literacy benefits of the Immersive Reader to the Edge browser Reading View in Windows RS4. The challenge was that the Edge team needed to provide this functionality regardless of whether the user had internet access or was working offline. Unfortunately at that time, the Immersive Reader was a web-based solution that would only work in the online scenario.

In order to meet the needs of the Edge team, I created a new Windows Store (UWP) application and began to refactor the web-based functionality into components that could run offline and could be exposed as a Windows App Service that the Edge team could consume.

This project was important because it was also the first step toward enabling the Immersive Reader to work offline for other applications as well. Offline support would be important for students who depend on the capabilities of the Immersive Reader and need it to be available in scenarios where internet connectivity might not be available.

Employer

Microsoft Corporation

Role

Principal Software Engineer

Focus Area

Education

Technology

Universal Windows Platform, Windows Runtime, C# 7.0/.NET Standard 1.0, Visual Studio 2017