Chapter+3+Reflections

Reflectins of Chapter 3

Assistive Technology to support Reading

The ability to read is set as a milestone that children without any disabilitis attain upon completion of third grade. Depending upon their disability, some disabled children may not develop their reading skills i=until much later in their lives. Even with the help of special education and Assistive Technology.

A National Reading Panel (NRP) was convened at the request of the U. S. Congress to develop strategies to help all students learn to read. The panel came up with five strategiesto help students becdome proficient readers, The first strategy is phonemic awareness, phonemes are the smallest units of sound in h spoken language. This technique uses the sounds of words not the spelling. Second strategy is phonics teraches the relationship of sounds with th letters that make that sound. Fluency is the third strategy is being asble to read orally with speel, accuracy and pro[per expression. Comprehension is number four, understanding what is being read is just as important as being able to read. Finally building an large vocabulary is another tool for understandsing a text. Children with disasbilities have problems with all five of these strategies.

Technology can help with all of these strategies. Computers with the right software and programs loaded in it,n becomes a powerful tool. Phonemic awareness and phonics programs have the visual display and well as the sounds associated with particular patterns to engage the student. Fluency can be modeled by the computer with reading aloud after listening to the computer read a text then having the student read the same text.

For vocabulary improvement the NRP suggested multiple exposures to vocabulary for multiple subject. This would expand the students word knowledge in different areas so the students exposure fear of not knowjng would be reduced. The inreased vocabulary would instill more onfidence in the students when learning new things.

For the development of reading comprehension, again the computer is the tool used. With the computer's ability to manipulate text, rad text aloud, a range of supports as well as record keeping to track the progress of the student.

Interesting reading materials on the internet are great tools for beginning readers New readers don't have to read 'Fun with Dick and Jane,' like I did. They can read about whatever interests them. If they are interested in what they are reading, they will work harder at reading well and becoming more proficient at reading. Students usually complain about having to read something they are not interested in, This exposure should remember reading as fun, so that when they have to read, Math, Science, History or Language Arts subjects it will not be so painful.

The computer can be a tool that allows som compensation to reading subjects to attain academic success.

Students are also taught to utilize low-tech tools to assist them, such as different color highlighter pens or post-its to find things that they d to remember.like information one color, vocublary another color, questions about understanding a passage another color and so on, or magnifying glasses or lenses to help visual impairments, book holders for those with physical disabilities, Braille books for the blind students,

There are internet sites where e-texts are listed.