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Posts Tagged ‘dyslexia’

13th
Feb 2015

Improving Education for Dyslexia

Being an actively involved in providing educational solutions for Special Education Needs, I am often amazed at just how many people in education seem so focused on the causes and diagnosis of Dyslexia, rather than providing a meaningful solution for those 1 in every 8 children and students, that suffer from some form of Dyslexia today. Education for Dyslexia should take a precedence over that.

Often in life we can make problems significantly worse by overthinking the problem rather than seeking a simple solution, and I can’t help wondering if the education of children with Dyslexia is not a perfect example of this.

In my humble experience, over 90% of those children with Dyslexia are incredibly bright and intelligent. They simply need to be provided with the information they are being expected to learn and study with, in a format they can easily use and understand. (more…)


3rd
Nov 2012

Educating Children With Dyslexia

Are we over-complicating the teaching and education of Dyslexic Children?

We like to think of ourselves as a reasonably advanced and progressive society, but I can’t help thinking that when it comes to educating children with dyslexia maybe we are overcomplicating the problem, and making a rod for our own backs. And maybe even letting down many of those children we claim to care about.

With official reports indicating that as many as 1 in 8 children are suffering from some form of dyslexia, it’s time that we realized that there are some simple solutions available that would make the lives of teachers easier, and at the same time, help an awful lot of children.

I found myself at a dinner last night talking to a cousin – who after being in education for many years, is now responsible for purchasing many of the materials required for children and students attending a large number of schools in the area.

During the conversation I took the opportunity to ask what materials were being purchased for the students in those schools with Dyslexia. She looked at me with a mortified expression and replied “we don’t”.

When I asked why not, her first response was to explain that most teachers had not been trained to deal with dyslexia. She then proceeded to explain that it was a complex problem. It was at that stage I decided it was better not to pursue the subject for fear of causing an argument.

But this article presents the opportunity to consider a few simple home truths – and ask some difficult questions. (more…)


1st
Jun 2012

Learning Support for the Dyslexic Child

Online Teaching for Dyslexia Students & Providing Help with Learning for Dyslexic Children

Zane Education is currently one of the few online learning and education companies providing effective and affordable online learning support for Dyslexic children and students.

They offer an educational resource for Dyslexic students and children with Dyslexia provided a page entitled School for Dyslexia Online especially for parents and teachers of Dyslexic children that introduces the benefits of their Visual Learning solution that delivers curriculum-based material visually – and not simply text-based.

Using what is currently the largest online library of educational subtitled video developed specifically for the teaching of the k-12 curriculum, Zane Education provide the perfect solution for teaching dyslexic children and students, using an effective form of Visual Learning that eradicates the need to read, to learn.

In this day an age it is rather ridiculous that a child should virtually need to have to learn another language – that of text – as a precursor to any form of learning or education. And this is especially the case when you consider that such a high percentage of children with one form of Dyslexia or another, are often extremely bright and intelligent kids.

The use of online educational video provides the perfect online learning resource for teaching children with dyslexia.
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6th
Apr 2012

Teaching With Subtitled Educational Video

Teaching and Providing Equal Access in the Classroom

With up to 94% of teachers now using educational videos in the classroom as a valued teaching resource, it is interesting to see that many teachers use online educational video that only benefits some of their students and not all.

Video produced and originally intended for television distribution, and video of conference presentations is not video that is going to be particularly effective for teaching K-12 curriculum subjects. Content used to effective deliver curriculum should be developed specifically for that purpose. But yet many teachers are attempting to use that type of video because that is all they believe is available.

But there is much more to it that this. If teaching with educational video is to be effective, it must provide access for all students in the classroom, and not just some.

The soundtrack must be specially prepared so as to be able to provide that content to the blind student or the child with visual impairments.

The video should now by Federal Law, include the use of subtitles, otherwise known as closed captions. This of course provides for the deaf student, or those children with hearing impairments.

Those subtitles should be provided using enlarged fonts that are easy to read, again for those students that have mild visual impairment.

And then there is the need to provide for different Learning styles. By providing video with both specially prepared sound tracks and subtitles positioned in a dedicated position at the bottom of the video, we provide each child with the choice of watching, listening to, or reading each presentation, and in doing so we are provide for the widest range of Learning Styles.
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29th
Mar 2012

Education for Dyslexia

 

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.
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25th
Jan 2011

Curriculum for Dyslexia

Visual Learning for Dyslexia Students

This article outlines how subtitled educational videos provide the ideal learning and curriculum teaching environment for children with Dyslexia, and dyslexic students generally.

Visual Learning is defined as “a teaching and learning style in which ideas, concepts, data and other information are associated with images and techniques. It is one of the three basic types of learning styles that also includes kinesthetic learning and auditory learning.”

So while subtitled educational video provides the ideal solution for dyslexia and many special needs and learning difficulties, it is very important to understand that the educational video that is the tool, and it is the way you use the tool, or the technique, that defines how that tool can be use appropriately to cater for specific educational needs. This is less the case when we are talk about providing an education solution for children with Dyslexia simply because the video itself provides the all important option to the textbook, however when we look at improving the reading of the Dyslexic child, it is very important.

It is important to note that we are specifically talking about the use of educational videos that are subtitled, and not just any old educational videos. This is ultimately important because with subtitled educational video each child or student is provided with the choice to watch, to listen to, and/ or to read each presentation. Not only does this mean that each child is able to absorb and process the information that best suites their situation, and their individual abilities. It also means that in each situation, the subtitles can, and should be used to help improve each student’s reading skills.

So in providing curriculum for students with dyslexia, it means that the educational video is used to cater for the needs of the dyslexic child, but it should also be used to help improve their reading abilities.

One reasonably accurate description of Dyslexia is “an impairment in the brain’s processing of information that results in difficulty reading, spelling, writing, and related language skills.”

Therefore in providing a learning solution for the dyslexic student, it is obvious that an alternative way of delivering the necessary curriculum content or learning material, should be one where reading is not required. And video provides that ideal alternative.

For all children the use of video in education and learning is a compelling, interesting and much more fun way of learning. With the introduction of fun and interest, learning becomes much more of an enjoyable experience and therefore much more effective. As a result it motivates and incentivises the child to become more involved with, and engage in, the learning process.

This is exactly the same for the Dyslexic student, but at the same time it provides the child with dyslexia, a lifeline to their education and academic development. It’s fun and interesting, but at the same time it eradicates the need for the textbook by providing the all-important way in which the curriculum content can be delivered to them, irrespective of whatever reading disabilities they may have.
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19th
Jan 2011

Educational Video and Social Media

One of the most frustrating things that we have come across in the last 9 months has been launching a website providing what is literally the world’s first subscription based service providing subtitled educational video on-demand for the education market.

While we are the first to appreciate that a lot of video is appearing on the internet over the last 12 months, being able to provide educational videos developed specifically for the K12 curriculum is important. What is significantly more important is that without exception, this is the first educational video that is subtitled.

So what is so important about subtitled video for education? Well research carried out by the Availll Institute has in recent years demonstrated the link between the use of subtitled video and significant improvement in children’s reading and literacy levels. So while the average child will benefit greatly,  Zane Education also provides the ideal solution for students with Dyslexia and other Reading Difficulties in that it not only allows them to absorb and process the information without being held back by having to use textbooks, it also provides the means to overcome and improve their reading abilities. And other Special Needs students and children with austism and other learning disabilites benefit greatly too.

So what has this to do with Social Media. Well it’s all about getting the word out there so people can find what you have on offer and getting traffic to your website. Until the last year or so we have all had to rely on Google and Yahoo. And now there is Bing as well. But that so much relies on being able to get yourself onto the front pages of their search listings – which incidentally now is more unreliable as it has ever been. (more…)


13th
Sep 2010

Learning Using Online Video …or A Spoonful of Sugar..

A spoonful or sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down…and so on. Who remembers that song?

If you do, you don’t need to own up to it …….. because of course it comes from the very popular Mary Poppins movie from years ago, and if you do remember, the chances are that you are nearly as much an antique as me.

Anyway the reason I’m asking is because I meet so many people that have not even considered for one minute using online educational video to help teach their children, and they virtually all have similar questions like “so what’s it like?” or “How effective is it?”.

And I generally start my reply by using that line “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” …… and here’s why! (more…)


31st
Aug 2010

Only One Front Page ……and 12 different education stories.

I have to apologize for a quiet time on the blog for the last 10 days but we have a dilemma to overcome.

Since we launched this website, an increasing number of people have contacted us and explained just how many different types of students can benefit through using our online educational videos.

Zane Education (Zane Publishing Inc. in it’s former life) has had a well-established name in the school and home education markets since the mid 1990’s. And when we decided to convert our 250 educational CD-ROM’s into online video we always expected that it was the teachers, students and homeschooling families that would be our main customers.

However now that we are using the online video format – and most importantly that all of our videos are subtitled – we are seeing that many other types of students are benefiting from what we have produced. Those children include special needs students, gifted students, the disabled, children with dyslexia and reading difficulties, students with visual impairments, ESL students and especially children whose parents and teachers want to help develop their reading skills.
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