Computers and Assistive TechnologyDevelopments in computers and assistive technology have been of great benefit to all students, and in particular provide essential and significant help to students with dyslexia. Computer programmes can be used to assist the learning process. While there is no substitute for individual tuition from a trained teacher, computer programmes provide valuable reinforcement, variety and can increase motivation. There are hundreds of programmes available which can be used to practice reading, word attack skills, spelling and maths; there are also many assistive programmes which enable learners to access material, while others support writing and learning. Access to even a basic word processor with spell check can be helpful for many people with dyslexia. It removes the anxiety of writing with pen and paper, and it is much easier to make changes or reorganise the sequence of the written work. A spell check facility is also very helpful; it is easier and quicker than checking a dictionary and can be done independently rather than having to ask for help with a spelling. Good keyboard skills are essential, so it is important to learn proper touch-typing. Scanners, which allow text to be put directly onto a computer, and screen reading software which reads this material aloud, are extremely helpful to people who find reading tiring or difficult. Voice operated software allows the user to dictate directly onto the computer without having to worry about spelling which makes producing written work much easier and speedier. With so many programmes and products available, it is easy to become confused with the choice. Computer software can be expensive and comes packaged, so it can be difficult to find out prior to purchase if a product is suitable. Ways of obtaining practical experience of the software include advice from other teachers, demonstrations of software at conferences or exhibitions; it can sometimes be possible to get free 30-day demo or trial disks from suppliers or download them from the internet. Ideally the teacher, parent and most importantly the intended user should be involved in the process. Currently, for primary or second level students with significant dyslexia, whose literacy skills are at the 2nd percentile or lower, the school can apply to the SENO for a computer/laptop and any specialist software needed by the individual student. If a computer and/or software is bought by parents or an individual for home/personal use, the VAT can be claimed back, using Form VAT 61A, from the VAT Repayments Section Tel. 047 81425. The form can be downloaded online from www.revenue.ie. Some Simple Low-Cost Benefits of Technology.
Developing Keyboard Skills.Computer literacy is a skill for life, and to be able to use a word processor effectively all students should learn to touch type properly. It does take time and effort but it is well worth it, and best to start early, before any bad habits develop. Regular practice is the key, and there is a wide range of typing tutor programmes available for all ages, e.g. Type to Learn, Englishtype Junior and Senior, Touch Type Read Spell, the IDL System and Mavis Beacon. If the use of a word processor helps students to achieve, they should be able to produce homework, projects and house exams in this way. The reasonable accommodations allowed in state and college examinations include the use of a word processor for some students. If the school is to assess whether a student would benefit from using a word processor in examinations, the student needs to be proficient in its use. This means, in the case of a Junior Certificate student, that good keyboarding skills should be in place by the end of second year. Developing Reading, Spelling and Numeracy Skills.There are hundreds of excellent programmes available which support the development of basic skills in reading, phonics, spelling, and maths. However, it must be remembered that no computer programme is a substitute for individualised specialist teaching. Many programmes will also come in a range of different levels; it is important to choose the right level for each individual. Catalogues of educational software can be obtained from many of the specialist suppliers listed at the end of this section. The programmes mentioned below are examples of the types commonly used. There are many literacy programmes available which provide a useful learning aid to practise and develop reading, phonics, spelling, etc. Especially for younger readers, there is a wide selection of talking books available, e.g. the Wellington Square and Oxford Reading Tree schemes. Wordshark, based on the 'Alpha to Omega' programme, combines the excitement of computer games with learning to spell and read. It offers 41 games that use sound, graphics and text to teach and reinforce word recognition and spelling. New words and vocabularies can also be added. The Lexia reading series helps students to strengthen skills through interactive exercises working on areas such as phonemic awareness, decoding skills and comprehension. Starspell helps develop spelling skills from younger children to adults. It uses the Look-Cover-Write-Check strategy. Every word is spoken and many have pictures. It is also possible to create personal word lists and subject specific vocabularies. The Gamz Player CD is based on the popular swap card games, and contains many additional features to support reading, phonics and spelling. Nessy is designed to reinforce spelling, reading and listening skills in a multi-sensory way. It includes printable card games, activity sheets, mnemonics and computer games with good graphics. My Reading Coach offers a comprehensive reading programme aimed at phonetic awareness, pronunciation, word building skills, grammar and reading comprehension. After an initial test, it sets out an individual programme for a child, focussing on the areas that needs development. Builds in lots of repetition and reinforcement, and monitors progress. The Fast ForWord series of programme from Neuron Learning aims to improve reading and learning skills, while also working to improve underlying cognitive difficulties in areas such as sequencing and auditory memory. The IDL System teaches touch typing and and also helps to develop reading and spelling skills. It is a multi-sensory, tutor-led, computer programme. There are many other programmes which target specific areas, such as reading comprehension and cloze procedures, auditory discrimination and phonics, the magic 'e' rule, etc. These can be useful motivational tools to reinforce learning. Some children with dyslexia have problems with numeracy. Maths software programmes provide opportunity to practise arithmetic skills and reinforce maths concepts. Numbershark, Mathmania, the BBC Maths Workshop Series, IntelliMathics and the Maths Circus Series are all useful programmes. Learning how to use a calculator and also simple spreadsheets can also aid the performance of calculations. Reading Support and Accessing Text.For students with reading difficulties, accessing curriculum textbooks can be very difficult and time consuming. For those students whose reading is reasonably competent, but where they come across occasional words that they cannot identify, a reading pen is a good solution, e.g. Quicktionary Reading Pen. These are hand held pens containing OCR software which enables them to scan and read words and phrases; they also include a dictionary to explain what a word means. Students who have more significant reading difficulty may need to go for a complete text-to-speech option, using screen reading software. Screen reading software will read any text on the computer screen, whether it is text which the student has just typed, an email or webpage, or pages of a textbook which have been scanned into the computer. When used together a scanner and screen reading package can make even very slow readers self-sufficient. The reading voice and reading speed can be adjusted; words can be read word-by-word, in sentences or continuous passages. Text scanned in can be converted to an audio file format and downloaded onto an MP3 player to be listened to later. Examples of this type of screen reading programme are ClaroRead, Kurzweil and TextHelp. ClaroRead and TextHELP have additional features supporting the production of written work, e.g. talking spell checker, homophone checkers and predictive typing. ClaroRead works closely alongside Dragon Dictate (see below) resulting in seamless dictation and proof reading of text. Mobile versions of this type of software are now becoming available (the programme comes on a USB drive); this means that the student can carry the software with them and use it on any compatible computer. Writing Support.Access to even a basic word processing programme can be helpful, and a student with dyslexia will produce better work on a computer than if they were handwriting. The computer will always produce clear legible writing, whereas handwriting may be difficult to read. Spelling can be checked using the spellchecker. Editing and rearranging text is easy, so students do not have to rewrite laboriously to produce a final draft. This facility also helps students who have sequencing difficulties as it is easy to edit the text so as to rearrange the sequence. Forgotten information can simply be added in later, or a paragraph moved to improve the flow of the passage. Screen readers are also a very useful tool for supporting writing. They allow the student to hear any errors, e.g. a mis-typed word, or an incomplete sentence. ClaroRead and TextHELP also have a homophone checker; possible homonyms are identified in the text and the student is then given guidance to help identify whether they have the correct word. Both programmes also have word prediction. Software such as Textease, Co:Writer and Penfriend support writing with features such as talking spellcheckers, which makes the choosing of the correct spelling easier, and word prediction, which can increase the speed of written production and in so doing increase the student's confidence in their writing ability. Clicker is another useful programme where you can write with whole words and even pictures. Voice recognition software, which was originally designed so that astronauts could use computers while tucked up in their space suits, is ideally suited for older students and adults who have to produce extended pieces of written work such as long essays. All instructions can be given verbally; the computer will type as you speak. Dragon Naturally Speaking is the most commonly used programme of this type. While this type of software has improved greatly over the last decade, it will rarely be 100% accurate. There is an initial training period where the programme learns about the user's voice, and the accuracy does improve with usage, as each time the programme is used it learns more about the user's voice, speech patterns and the vocabulary commonly use. A compatible digital voice recorder can be used with Dragon; this means that documents can be created by voice anywhere, and when the digital recorder is synched with the PC, Dragon can then transcribe the document. To get the best from both screening reading and voice recognition software a powerful, modern computer, with a good soundcard is essential; these programmes either may not work at all or else work poorly on older machines. A good quality microphone is also important, ideally one that limits external noise which can distract or confuse the software. Organisational and Study Skills.A very common feature of dyslexia is poor organisation skills, which affects many areas, e.g. time-keeping, planning study timetables, and especially the organisation of information, whether it is making good revision notes or the organisation of longer written passages. Mind-mapping software programmes are very useful tools for students who have good visual-spatial ability. Information can be converted into a visual mind-map containing key information, pictures and showing connections. Students can use mind-mapping software to create visual revision aids, but it can also be used for brainstorming, concept mapping and planning essays. Kidspiration (for younger students) and Inspiration are some of the most commonly used programmes of this type. Wordswork is a multi-sensory programme on study skills. While it was designed primarily for undergraduate students with dyslexia, it is relevant for students at second level, and also for adults, particularly those who want to improve their skills before going back to formal education. It uses graphics, voice-overs, colour and humour to develop a variety of skills which students with dyslexia (and others) need to address. Topics covered include essay writing, memory strategies, exam revision and time management. It also includes sections on reading, spelling, grammar and other areas. There are some programmes on the market which may help to improve memory using various interactive activities and games, e.g. Mastering Memory. They present sequences of pictures, words and symbols to be remembered, and gradually increase the difficulty level and speed. Some older students and adults find using a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or electronic organiser helpful to keep track of coursework requirements, when an essay or project is due, making to-do lists and study timetables. PLEASE NOTE - The following are included for information only, and their inclusion does not constitute a recommendation by the association. There is a wide range of free online learning resources including free programmes available online. For a listing of some free online resources click here. Useful websites with information on the use of technology in education:www.ncte.ie - National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) www.becta.org.uk - British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) www.bdadyslexia.org.uk - British Dyslexia Association (BDA) www.dyslexic.com - iAnsyst Ltd. http://technodys.blogspot.com/ - Techno Dys is a technology blog for those with an interest in dyslexia. Major Special Needs Software Publishers.Most of their software can be bought from the suppliers listed below. Crick Software www.cricksoft.com. Don Johnston www.donjohnston.com. Inclusive Technology Ltd. www.inclusive.co.uk. Inspiration Software www.inspiration.com. Riverdeep Learning www.riverdeep-learning.co.uk. Semerc www.semerc.com. Sherston www.sherston.com. Topologika www.topologika.com Specialist SuppliersA wide variety of software and hardware catalogues are available from the suppliers listed below. Award Systems, 38 Pine Valley Park, Grange Road, Dublin 16.
Business Electronic Equipment Ltd., 12a Parkmore Industrial Estate, Longmile Road, Dublin 12.
Carroll Education Ltd., 34A Lavery Avenue Park West, Dublin 12.
Computer Speak Ltd., Guinness Enterprise Centre, Taylor's Lane, Dublin 8.
Diskovery, Unit 2, Waveney, Howth Harbour, Co. Dublin.
EasyPC, Unit M7, Smithtown Industrial Estate, Shannon, Co. Clare.
Edtech Software Ltd., Murrisk, Westport, Co. Mayo.
Edware, Mount Dreoilin, Prosperous, Co. Kildare.
Gamz, 25 Albert Park Road, Malvern, Worcestershire WR14 1HW, England.
iansyst Ltd., Fen House, Fen Road, Cambridge, CB4 1UN, England.
(Suppliers of the Quictionary Pen and other technology with support and training for dyslexic children and adults)
IDL System, Centres in Bantry, Cashel, Clonakilty, Cork, Currow, Dingle, Donoughmore, Fermoy, Mallow and Waterford.
iMindMap by Tony Buzan.
Jackson Technology, 24 Kiltipper Avenue, Aylesbury, Dublin 24.
Learning Horizons, 44 Laurel Park, Clondalkin, Dublin 22.
Learning Software Ireland Ltd., 17 Dromsally Woods, Cappamore, Limerick.
Magnetic Time, Lonsdale House, Lonsdale Road, National Technology Park, Limerick.
Mind Corporation Ltd. (My Reading Coach)
Neuron Learning (Fast ForWord programmes)
Scanning Pens Limited, PO Box 1259, London, SW1V 4BR, United Kingdom.
Texthelp Systems Ltd., Enkalon Business Centre, 25 Randalstown Road, Antrim, Training ProvidersTouch Type Read Spell
Searsol Ltd.
Voice Activation Promotions Ltd.
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