Today was the first day of the Assistive Technology Course: Access to Literacy. We were given the syllabus and informed of the assignments we are going to do to get familiar with the reading process and technology that can be used to help assist when this process breaks down.
Our first job was to try to come up with the task analysis of learning to read. I was surprised by how many things we take for granted when reading and can see where it breaks down for some of the students I work with. The sensory control issue is a huge one.
The biological perspective of learning language was interesting as well. Our brains are wired to learn language, we do it automatically, but we have to learn to read. We need to make those connections in our brain. Our brain needs to take the oral language and associate letters to sounds which are meaningless by themselves. We need to have many, varied oral language experiences and be able to bring these experiences with us when we engage with print. For students who have not been exposed to a lot of language, or the language we speak at school, this does not put them on a level playing field when starting school.
The Sousa article was extremely interesting. I learned a lot about how our brain functions during the process of reading. One thing that stuck out in my mind was how the visual and auditory processing parts of our brain have to work at the same speed to be able to read effectively. It explained one of the common things people use to describe dyslexia: the words and letters get all jumbled up. When you are visually scanning (visual processing) a word you should be sounding out the letter (auditory processing) you see at the same time. If your auditory processing is slower then your visual then you will be sounding out the first letter when your eyes are looking at the third letter. This will cause confusion when learning to read.
The Lindamood-Bell system helps slow down this scanning process and focuses on feeling how your mouth is during each sound you make. There is a youtube video below that is an interview with one of the founders and a student who has used this remediation system with great success.
Lindamood-Bell interview
In talking about the iPhone and its uses, I am amazed everyday how much I use it and depend on it for little conviences. I communicate daily, through messaging, with my partner Jason about everything but most importantly coordinate the kids activities and supper. Today I used the map app and found exactly which building the class was in. I accessed my home e-mail while on the go. I use the clock app every morning as an alarm to get me going. My daughter and Jason's daughter use the game apps I have downloaded to occupy themselves while we are on the road. I have control over what games are on the phone so I know what they are playing. The majority of them have some educational aspect or skill.
I did download Tiki Notes, as was suggested in class. I have been looking for something like this for a student who has extreme difficulty in communicating through writing. Having word choices there automatically without typing any letters may be very helpful. Now I just have to figure out how to use it to show him :)
For those of you who work with Autistic students, the app described in this youtube video maybe helpful.
Behaviour App for Autism
I look forward to learning even more tomorrow!
