Shells of Assistive Technology for Struggling Readers

Breaking Out of Reading Shells Shells of Assistive Technology Shells of Failure As A Tool Shells of Generalization Shells of Independence Shells of My Students' Favorite Books Shells of Teacher Responses Shells of a Blog Shells of Help for Online Learners Shells of Reading and Learning Quotes Shells of a Guestbook Shells of Graphic Organizers Shells of Books I Read Shells of Article Reflections Shells of Reading Strategies Shells of What Students Like or Don't Like About Reading Shells of Helpful Reading Websites Shells of Reading, Teaching and Learning Poetry Shells of Writing Shells of Student Comments on Twilight and Other Books Shells of My Life As A Reader Shells of More Reading Quotes Shells of Dyslexia Shells of Thoughts on Reading Shells of Turtle Poems Shells of Turtle Games and Activities Shells of What Makes a Good Reader Shells of Teaching Shells of Turtle Stories and Lessons Shells of Reading Help Shells of Social Issues Shells of Counseling Shells of Remediation Shells of Twilight Shells of Educational Turtle Games Shells of Vocabulary Shells of Memory/Test Taking Strategies Shells of Spelling Shells of Turtle Stories Shells of More Turtle Poems Shells of How Twilight is the New Harry Potter Shells of Twilight Lesson Plans and Ideas Shells of My Reading/Teaching Improvement Plan Shells of Vampires Shells of Shells

Much help is available for struggling readers. There are a lot of assistive technology tools that teachers can get for their students that will help. The tools help to present text as speech. They can assist with reading fluency, decoding and comprehension. Books on tape are readily available and will help students with their reading difficulties. There are also recordings available for the blind and the dyslexic.

Every state library acts as a distribution point for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, which has a large collection of books in audio format. Visit http://www.loc.gov/nls/ to search the catalog. Certification of disability is required.

A growing number of local and unversity libraries are providing downloadable audio books through a service called NetLibrary. You have to have a compatible PC or MP3 player (Windows Media Player ready) in order to listen to them. Ask your library if they offer this service.

Optical character recognition is also available.

This technology allows a user to scan printed material into a computer or handheld unit. The scanned text is then read aloud via a speech synthesis/screen reading system. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is available as stand-alone units, computer software, and as portable, pocket-sized devices.

Paper-based computer pens also work well for students struggling with their reading.

This technology records and links audio to what a person writes using the pen and special paper. It enables the user to take notes while simultaneously recording someone( e.g., a teacher) speaking. The user can later listen to any section of his notes by touching the pen to his corresponding handwriting or diagrams.

Speech Synthesizers and Screen Readers

These systems can display and read aloud text on a computer screen, including text that has been typed by the user, scanned in from printed pages (e.g., books, letters), or text appearing on the Internet.

Variable Speed Tape Recorders

Tape recorders/players allow a user to listen to pre-recorded text or to capture spoken information (e.g., a classroom lecture) and play it back later. Variable speed control (VSC) tape recorders speed up or slow down the playback rate without distorting the "speaker's" voice.

Technology can open doors and break down barriers for students who have disabilities. Such products included in assistive technology consist of records and software. They can increase, maintain or improve student abilities. Any type of technology that everyone makes use of can be particularly helpful to those who have disabilities. For example, spell check works really well for those who have a learning disability.

Technology can give students tools that allow them more freedom in their lives. Such technology fosters student independence.

INFORMATION AND ADVOCACY OUTREACH GROUP

Tools for Life invites you to join our Information and Advocacy Outreach Group email effort. Participants will receive current events news on disability and assistive technology. This information will include support, resources, and advocacy on helpful solution-based programs and strategies for children, adults, individuals, and families. Here is the website to sign up for monthly emails: http://www.gatfl.org/WebForms/AdvocacyMailingList.aspx

I found this website and it is a great resource in the area of assistive technology in order to help students with their reading comprehension.

http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/AS/208.HTM

On this site it says that at least twenty minutes should be spent a day reading for pleasure. This will not only improve your life, but also your reading. In order to study well you must read well. Students are told to read anything that interests them, to be flexible, and to remember to keep reading daily. I think that this is great advice.

Flexibility in what you read is extremely important. Being flexible means reading different types of materials. Reading novels, newspapers, magazines, periodicals, or poetry will enable you to adopt different approaches to the different materials. Words may be words, but you read the daily newspaper differently than you read a novel and much differently than you read your textbook. An effective approach to reading is in the development of a successful strategy.

SQ4R is a successful strategy for textbook reading. Here are the words that SQ4R stands for:

Survey

Question

Read

Record

Recite

Reflect

Survey/Preview

To become familiar with the material before you read, and to activate any prior knowledge you have of the subject.

Make the book your friend; look at the cover; review the Table of Contents, Introduction, and Index, and back cover to become familiar with the format and the material.

Survey the assigned chapter. Look at the chapter title and topic headings. See how the chapter is organized and how many pages are in the chapter.

Quickly read the chapter introduction, the first sentence of each paragraph and the chapter summary to see what material will be discussed in the chapter and how it is presented.

Read

The information is necessary in order to master the course material.

Read one section at a time to understand the material and answer your questions. Do not read to memorize the information. On paper write down chapter headings and titles to use as outline notes later in this process.

Keep focused on your reading. Helpful hints include:

write down problems on paper to be handled later;
schedule reading breaks every hour or half-hour if it is a difficult subject;
make associations or visualize the information to make it more meaningful;
do not take notes while reading;
read aggressively, with the intent of getting answers, noting supporting details, and remembering major points;
As you read, use a pencil to put check marks in the margin by important ideas. Be sure all your questions have been answered.
Reread sections as needed. Be an active reader.

Record

By incorporating the motor activity of writing information down, you will have review notes and you will better establish the information into your long-term memory.
After reading each section and page, reflect and summarize the information in your notes. Put ideas into your own words to reinforce your understanding of what you have read. Taking notes at this point in time will almost ensure that you are noting the important parts of the section. Go back over the paragraph and highlight or underline only the main ideas and supporting details with no more than 10-15% of the page highlighted. Use marginal notations as a way to separate main ideas from examples and each of those from new terminology.
Write brief study notes under your chapter headings and titles, which will help encode the information in your long-term memory for easier retrieval and recall.
Recite
Activating long-term memory storage is aided tremendously by hearing and verbalizing the material. If you can explain the concepts to another, you have mastered the material.
Recite out loud the information you have read. Tell yourself the major concepts of the section using your own words. Ask yourself questions on your reading and answer those questions out loud.
Study with a friend or in a group to discuss and reinforce the material. Studies show that students who recite forget only 20% of learned material within a two-week period. Those who do not recite or discuss the material forget 80% of the information in the same time period.
Reflect/Review
This is a metacognitive activity to make you a more self-aware learner. It also enhances long-term memory storage for successful retrieval at a later date.
Reflection weaves new ideas into old, by comparing the new ideas with ones you already know. By asking yourself, "Upon what evidence are these new ideas and information based?" and "How can I use this new material?" you should increase your creativity, your knowledge, and critical thinking skills.
Review the material within 24 hours. This moves the information from short-term to long-term memory. Review often. Revise study notes as needed. The more you review, the more information you will learn and retain. This avoids last minute "cramming" for a test.
Practice the SQ4R technique with one subject over a two-week period to become familiar with the process and to begin realizing the benefits.
There are many textbook reading strategies available, SQ4R being just one, which can aid you in mastering the volumes of content found in college texts. The importance of adopting a strategy, which is comfortable for you, cannot be underscored enough. Use a strategy to tackle those textbooks before they tackle you!