, Alternative

Formats and Affordable Technologies for Dyslexic Readers

Dominik Lukeš

BDA International Conference 2014

What technology do you use to support your learners?

Help to improve literacy skills?

Help in their every-day access to text?

What do we know about reading difficulties? Many children are able to understand but just cannot read

This leads to learnt helplessness

Inability to access text effects behaviour and attendance

There is a need to develop independence from both the learner and the school

What is the answer?

Research has demonstrated that the use of accessible formats can support pupils with a print disability in becoming independent learners, reducing their reliance on adult support.

Key new terms to remember

Print disability: New term covering existing disabilities and reflected in copyright regulation.

Accessible documents: Can be modified to suit learners’ needs and can be converted into alternative formats.

Print disability – what is it?

What do you understand when you hear the words “print disability”?

Definition and legal provisions for print disabilities “A print-disabled person is anyone for whom

a visual, cognitive or physical disability

hinders the ability to read print. This

includes all visual impairments, dyslexia,

and any physical disabilities that prevent

the handling of a physical copy of a print

publication.” -- CLA License (CLA License, http://www.cla.co.uk/data/pdfs/print_disability/cla_guidelines_for_the_pdl_aug10.pdf)

Key provisions

Make an accessible copy of a document for a print disabled person under the CLA PD Licence

Accessible document: large print, electronic copy, audio version (MP3), Braille

Unless a commercial alternative exists

Not derogatory or changing author’s intention

Must own physical copy of the book

Question for teachers:

How many print disabled students are there in an average classroom?

Accessible documents

1. Modification of font colour, font type, font size, background colour (PDF, Word)

2. Structured documents with easy navigation (Word, PDF)

3. Changing a sense to audio

Audio books

Text-to-speech (Voices, Software)

Audio and text linked (DAISY, WordTalk)

Introducing Load2Learn

Project to create an online resource of downloadable adapted (secondary) curriculum books and images for learners with print disabilities.

Load2Learn (free for schools)

Curriculum Documents (textbooks)

Simplified images

Simplified tactile images (not just for visually impaired)

Training Materials

http://load2learn.org.uk/training/

Cue Cards for Computer Productivity and accessibility

http://Load2Learn.org.uk/training/cuecards

Solution 1: Text and document modification

Font choice

Font size

Screen zoom

Text colours

Line spacing

Alignment

E-books

eReading Devices Kindles, Tablets, Phones

Reading on e-Readers

Response from student in study carried out by Larson (2010) into the use of e-books:

"I would rather read an e-book [than a regular book] because there are so many cool tools to use and choose from. I still haven't used them all, and I'm done with the book."

Opportunities from e-Readers

‘Digital readers show promise in supporting

struggling readers through multiple tools and

features, including manipulation of font size,

text-to-speech options, expandable dictionary,

and note capabilities.’ (Larson, 2010, p.15).

Evidence for Kindles and iPods

‘reading that is done on a Kindle or listened to on an iPod is just as valid and valuable as reading printed texts’ (Moyer, 2011, p.255)

‘[teachers can] offer their adolescent students another medium to read and experience literature in their classrooms. With the availability of iPods and similar audio devices, bringing the audiobook into the classroom becomes very simple and inexpensive’ (Wolfson, 2008, p.111).

Solution 2: Structured documents

All sections have titles marked with Heading styles

Word documents, PDFs, Web Pages

Structured documents save lives

Navigate

Outline

Map

Structured documents big picture

Solution 3a: Audio – Reading with your ears

Evidence for Audio Books

Boys found audio-reading enjoyable and their self-confidence as readers improved.

‘a marked reduction in the quantity of errors … when reading independently’

The boys found audio reading was relatively effortless yet they perceived that they were reading books appropriate to their age and could read ‘hard words’ like their peers (Byrom, 1998, p.5)

Audio books and performance

The effects of a CD-ROM audio textbook on the academic performance of secondary students in history lessons: using the audio text students ‘performed significantly higher on context area assessments than students in the control condition’ (Boyle et al, 2003, p. 203).

Audio books in the classroom

Furthermore, teachers that participated in the study also reported the benefits of student’s utilising audio-books within a classroom environment:

‘Students used the technology to access additional history readings as well as other available relevant academic textual material (e.g. additional history text, other subjects such as science and citizenship). This technological support allowed the teachers to provide greater assistance to students experiencing difficulties accessing higher-level print material’ (Boyle et al, 2003, p.213).

Audio books at home

parents reported that audio-books appeared to have ‘a positive influence in reducing emotional– behavioural problems’

and that the use of audio-books within the home environment appeared to reduce their child’s sense of frustration and distractibility attributed to greater ease in studying. (Milani et al, 2003, p.93)

Audio as spectacles

‘By the same token that some children require spectacles to enable them to read a book, others may require an audio tape to enable them to read the same book in order that they might all contribute to a stimulating discussion about the content’ (Byrom, 1998, p. 6)

‘Today some of these people with dyslexia even regard the computer as their equivalent to the glasses of the weak-sighted’. (Tank & Frederikson, 2007, p.947)

Portable audio

Portable audio devices (phones, MP3 players, iPods)

Audio notetaking

Speech recognition and other ways of audio note taking (Nuance, AudioNotetaker, PulsePen)

Evidence for audio note taking

‘By using the note tool, they engaged in new

literacy practices by envisioning new ways to

access their thought processes to engage in

spontaneous, instantaneous response to the e-

books’ (Larson, 2009, p. 256)

What do you do for your learners?

Do you recommend your students

audio books?

podcasts?

What do you do for yourself?

Do you listen to

audio books?

podcasts?

Solution 3b: Text to speech

Synthetic voice (Anna, Brian, Jess, Jack, …)

Reader software (Balabolka, WordTalk)

Evidence for text to speech

Students took their SQA standard grade examinations in ‘Accessible PDF’ format.

Staff praised “independence offered by the electronic format.”

Students “all found them easier to use than a scribe.”

“mean score was 8.93 compared with 8.00 for scribes.” (Nisbet et al, 2005, p.1)

More evidence for text to speech

Text to speech can ‘relieve the burden of decoding for struggling readers, allowing them to focus on comprehension.’ (Wise, Ring, and Olson, 2000).

students ‘could double or triple the time that they could sustain reading’ (Elkind et al, 1996, p.160).

Solution 3c: Text and audio linked Structured document linking audio and text. Text is highlighted in sync with audio

Evidence for DAISY

‘Research by Allinder, Dunse, Brunken, and

Obermiller-Krolikowski (2001) and Meyer

and Felton (1999) confirms that highlighting

text as it is spoken can help learners pay

attention and remember more’ (cited in

Silver-Pacuilla and Fleischman, 2006, p. 84)

More evidence for DAISY

Lewandski and Montali (1996) studied ‘the learning of poor readers and skilled readers who were both taught through a text-to speech application with simultaneous on-screen highlighting of the spoken word’ and found that experiencing the text bimodally (visually and aurally) enabled poor readers to perform as well as skilled readers in word recognition and retention.

WordTalk Free and Easy Solution