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Reading Online - Articles: Jumping off the Page

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Saved by 2 people (-1 private), first by anonymouse user on 2009-01-13


Public Comment

on 2009-01-13 by bastiani

Making text more accessible - 1) "considerate text" and 2) assignments that require engagement and critical thinking on the part of students

Public Sticky notes

Students with identified learning disabilities fare especially poorly. These students’ deficits in basic skills compromise their ability to extract meaning from text (see, e.g., Ben-Dror, Bentin, & Frost, 1995; Cook Moats & Lyon, 1993; Deshler & Ellis, 1996; Deshler, Ellis, & Lenz, 1996; Lyon & Krasnegor, 1996; Scruggs & Wong, 1990; Shaywitz, 1992, 1996; Vaughn & Schumm, 1995; Wolf, Pfeil, Lotz, & Biddle, 1994). Because instruction in the content areas typically relies heavily on text, most of these students fail to achieve proficiency. This is a highly significant problem: there are approximately 5.5 million students with learning disabilities in American schools, accounting for 12 percent of the total public school population and 46 percent of those receiving special education services (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000).

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two factors

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Textbook designers contribute to the problem by designing “inconsiderate texts”

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the provision of remedial support outside of the general education classroom in many cases results in students falling further behind

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adaptation of instructional materials

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tremendous burden on teachers

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  • Make TTS available to support reading
  • Provide sequential on-screen text highlighting, to be used alone or synchronized with TTS
  • Make available a launch page for each chapter, with options for presentation of text, images, and other content elements
  • Make available the option to display digital text in a single column
  • Provide an option to view the text, images, charts, sidebars, and other elements simultaneously, as they would appear in a printed textbook (as an example, scroll through this view of the Farm Life and the Dustbowl section)
  • Provide the option to select a simplified presentation of textbook material, in which images, charts, sidebars, and other elements are represented by relatively simple icons (scroll through this view)
  • Include both text and graphics in each icon, and keep the location of these links consistent (example)
  • Make available an outline of each chapter that readers can use either as an organizer before reading or as a succinct statement of key points for studying
  • Embed relevant video clips directly in the chapter, reachable via a linked icon or embedded image of the video itself (Note: If your browser is Internet Explorer version 5.5 or higher, you will require the QuickTime plug-in to view the video clips in the linked example)
  • Make digital and printed content consistent in appearance, to facilitate students’ use of both the textbook’s and the computer’s presentation (example)

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    The students did not find concept mapping as helpful or engaging as the other three assignments

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    it is likely that the response would have been more positive had training been more adequate.

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  • Flexible presentation of content, including the capacity to have the computer read the text aloud, makes it possible for individuals to structure learning activities to suit their particular needs.
  • The ease with which one can locate specific information such as dates or terms within large sections of text greatly facilitates fact finding.
  • The portability offered by a compact disc or Internet version of the content frees students from the need to carry a bulky textbook.

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    technical glitches

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    disadvantage

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    students who do not have computers in their homes

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    Limitations

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    One-on-one training was provided at the onset and at intervals during the project, but did not result in the teacher acquiring the skills and confidence necessary to use the technology effectively with students.

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    computers

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    generally unusable because they were shared

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    underestimated the amount of training and practice required

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