Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman and her research team in the Center for Electronic Studying at the University of Oregon are conducting a series of studies designed to research the effective use of illustrative resources to support reading in electronic environments by secondary students with learning disabilities. Two studies are currently in progress, both working with secondary students reading high school biology texts. The first study investigates the use of static versus dynamic graphics to improve reading comprehension and conceptual understanding of key concepts. The second study investigates the differential impact on reading comprehension of “descriptive captions” versus “instructive captions” for illustrations and graphics in the biology texts.
Month: April 2007
About NCSeT Research at Michigan State University
At Michican State we are investigating the impact of various forms of electronically supported text with students with learning disabilities. We are working with 5th and 6th grade students in social studies and language arts classes. Texts in social studies and language arts often have similar text structures (e.g., narrative) but rely on different types of information (e.g., social studies text typically make more extensive use of pictures and other artifacts to support the narrative). Thus, we will be able to contrast how different aspects of text structure and textual information affect students’ use of supported text. In each of our studies, we use multielement designs to investigate differences in students’ text comprehension and engagement when they read text aloud versus when the text is read to them by a text-to-speech software program with different types of highlighting, vocabulary, and word recognition features. Continue reading “About NCSeT Research at Michigan State University”
Kurzweil
Kurzweil Education Systems makes several programs to help all students overcome learning challenges.
This article is currently under construction.
Read Write Gold
Read&Write Gold is an easy-to-use customizable toolbar that "floats" on the screen or docks to a locked position. Assistance can then easily be called upon as the user works.
This article is currently under construction.
WYNN
WYNN Literacy Software is from The Freedom Scientific Learning Systems Group. Their website describes WYNN as:
WYNN is the innovative literacy software tool designed to enhance success for individuals with reading challenges and writing difficulties. WYNN was developed with the help of special educators and individuals with learning difficulties such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and aphasia.
By using a bi-modal approach – simultaneous highlighting of the text as it is spoken – WYNN transforms printed text into understandable information that benefits readers of all ages including English Language Learners (ELL), struggling readers and children with ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder).
This article is currently under construction.
Visual Thesaurus
The Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus is an online thesaurus and dictionary of over 145000 words that you explore using an interactive map. It's a tool for people who think visually.
This article is currently under construction.
Live Ink Reading Help
Live Ink Reading Help helps individual students of any reading proficiency increase comprehension through the use of a patented text-formatting process.
This article is currently under construction.
Introduction to Research Methodology
In the Research Methodology section, we have attempted to provide some information about how to create a design for a research study. We offer a basic overview of the research methods portion of a research proposal and then some data analysis templates for different types of designs. Continue reading “Introduction to Research Methodology”
NCSeT Project Staff
NCSeT is administered through the Center for Advanced Technology in Education (CATE) in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. Listed on the following page are key personnel responsible for providing vision to NCSeT’s research agenda as well as managing the Center’s day to day operation.
eText and Students with Disabilitiies
To gain meaningful access to the general education curriculum, students with disabilities must overcome the substantial barriers to learning imposed the by the printed materials they are asked to read. Textbooks, workbooks, instruction manuals, novels, short stories, essays, reference books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, and worksheets, all present difficulties to readers challenged by text and these differences can impede or prevent students with disabilities from learning. Technology can assist with such difficulties by enabling a shift from printed text to electronic text. Continue reading “eText and Students with Disabilitiies”