Educating the Dyslexic Child – Do We Expect Too Much?
Here we are in the 21st Century using a system of Education, a system that was originally designed in the time of the Renaissance, and we are confronted with the challenge of Dyslexia.
That being the case, what do we attempt to do? Yes, we attempt to recreate the wheel.
While I do not want to over-simplify the situation, and I must certainly bow to the knowledge of the experts, to me it appears that we are demanding that those 1 in 8 children with Dyslexia learn another language before we provide them with The Gift of Education – and that is the Language of Text.
If a family decides to move to live in another country where another language is spoken, they expect and plan to be confronted by their children having to learn another language before they can effectively attend school – but surely not in our own country!
In many ways it is ridiculous as expecting a person to learn how to catch and prepare fish before they have a right to eat it.
Visual Learning opens the doors for a child with Dyslexia, and yet we want those with the severest cases of Dyslexia to be removed from school, and placed in special schools for Dyslexic students when the reality is that many, many of these students are extremely intelligent, and simply need to be given an alternative to the textbook.
And the story gets much worse because many of the parents, when they attempt to get those children into those special schools, either find there is no spare places available, or that the costs are prohibitive.
Delivering the curriculum content that the child is required, and often wants to learn and study, by means of audio visual delivery is such a straight forward solution for many of those kids. And the technology is now available to do just that – and it’s available online.
The use of subtitled online educational video developed specifically for the K to 12 curriculum, enables those students to absorb and process the same information being studied by their peers, by watching and listening to video. And the icing on the cake for those with milder forms of dyslexia can use the video subtitles – otherwise known as closed captions – to improve their reading and literacy skills.
For the vast majority of dyslexic students this is a very real and meaningful alternative solution to the use of textbooks, but the significant benefits of using this method, lies in the fact that they can see the words, hear how they are pronounced and from there start to learn more about correct sentence structures, the appropriate context in which to use word and much more.
While many companies are now introducing the use of online educational video, this is not enough, and only one company has taken this to the level where they have added the all-important subtitles in the appropriate manner, to content specifically developed to teach a wide range of topics as required by the K-12 curriculum.
Zane Education is a company that many teachers, schools, parents and dyslexic students themselves are now turning to because they provide a service that delivers this effective Visual Learning service online.
Zane’s online learning service provides a powerful and affordable style of Visual Learning by using the world’s largest library of fully subtitled online educational video developed specifically for teaching the K-12 curriculum.
By using online video students are set free to study at their own speed and thereby achieve their greatest potential, but what is even more valuable is that each child has the option to learn by watching, listening to, or reading each presentation.
Video is a powerful teaching resource not only because it is a compelling medium that attracts children’s interest, but also it introduces and element of enjoyment that maintains the child’s attention for longer periods of time. It is the ideal solution for educating the student with Dyslexia.
However video offered on a standalone basis, has a limited value. It must be accompanied by the range of support services that Zane Education has been realistic enough to provide. Interactive video study tools that enable the student to investigate each topic thoroughly, online testing with multiple-choice quizzes designed to continue the learning process, and downloadable Lesson Plans are just some of the features that make Zane Education’s online subscription service so attractive to the education community.
Zane’s approach to affordability is also unique. They have deliberately offered their service to the education market at a price that enables Teachers, Parents of students at school, Homeschoolers and Special Needs children at a price of under $200 per year – regardless of the number of children in the family.
Zane Education takes the situation of Dyslexia so seriously that they provide a User Guide for Dyslexic Students which is freely download for their website along with a free Getting Started Guide. You can download those free publications here at their Catalogues and Download page.
FOOTNOTE: For those readers that are aware of the educational benefits of Visual Learning, and the use of subtitled online educational video, please see the results of this recent comparison of online educational video services and the features they offer.
Another great post as always. I hadn’t thought to compare dyslexia with learning another language – it certainly puts it into perspective. It’s amazing that still, in 2012, we have limited solutions for these issues. Good on Zane for taking the challenge head on!
I’m moving back to San Diego next year and I need to find a special needs school for kids who have learning disabilities. Private or charter would be ideal. We need one with it’s own speech pathologist also. I’m not looking for a school that has a special needs/education class or department. I’m actually looking for the school that is made specifically for special needs children who have learning disabilities.
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