Saturday’s (October 1st) class spent some time looking at compensatory online reading supports. Many great URLs were highlighted and discussed: some sites were free; others were free for a trial period. Some sites allowed access for home use and other sites were geared towards institutional use. This class was so beneficial as it made me aware of the many educational software offerings that are available for struggling readers. Our homework assignment for this class was to go online and identify three of our favourite URLs that address compensatory reading supports. Following this, we were instructed to list and discuss each site while referencing who it is appropriate for and how it supports the process of learning to read. One URL that was one of my favourites was Tumblereadables. http://www.tumblebooks.com/tumblereadable/home.asp The website description of TumbleReadables states that it is an online collection of read-along titles for elementary, middle school, and high school students which features adjustable online text and complete audio narration. To access this online product one needs to sign up for the 30 day trial period which indicates ‘this product is for schools and libraries only and not for individual subscribers’. Upon signing in I clicked on several books and really enjoyed the interactive reading experience. The book narration was clear and of high quality – it did not sound like a ‘digital voice’ but like person reading. Sentences were highlighted as they were being read and there was a manual or auto read feature. I especially liked this URL because of the variety of books available that would appeal to a range of interests for all students and to emerging readers at varying levels of reading ability. As I teach in secondary schools, I can see grades 7 to 9 using this online URL as it has many high interest books. It would be a great program for a school to purchase for classroom use for all readers but it also would be suitable for reluctant and emerging readers as the audio narration addresses visual and auditory processing skills. The ability to see the words being spoken addresses many reading tasks such as decoding, word recognition, fluency and sound-symbol mapping to name a few of the specific processes that are involved in the process of learning to read. Additionally, a student could work on their own or have an assistant (peer, EA, teacher etc.) who asks them comprehension related questions in regard to the storyline addressing the brain’s processing of context and meaning. I liked this URL because it was free, no trial period was needed and it also offered free downloads that did not expire. This URL didn’t necessarily look as visually elaborate as other sites (that offer learning to read activities but then eventually want money to continue after the trial expires) but I thought it was certainly attractive enough to engage an emergent reader. A major focus of this URL involves activities that address phonic awareness, sound frequency discrimination and word identification - The Bridge to Reading section contained activities that focused on teaching letter recognition, letter sounds, blends, short and long vowel sounds and word recognition. This URL is suitable for preschoolers, young children and children who are experiencing cognitive challenges in auditory and visual processing. This URL is also available for home use, (unlike Tumblereaders ). I really liked this site as the URL featured famous and recognisable actors, such as Elijah Wood, (Screen actors guild -SAG members) reading books on camera while the book is shown as it is being read - the text is shown in a sentence by sentence format (as opposed to a word at a time or groups of words). Additionally, everything the actor says is transcribed to text as he or she speaks. The story can be stopped at any time and repeated with the sliding bar on the bottom, similar to any streaming video. It recreates the experience of a one-to-one reading experience with the addition of all sounds put into readable text. This URL is not only good for all students who like a book read to them but it great for those students who are experiencing cognitive challenges in auditory and visual processing. The ability to see the words being spoken addresses many reading tasks such as decoding, word recognition, fluency and sound-symbol mapping to name a few of the specific processes that are involved in the process of learning to read. I think that this Story Line site personalizes the accommodation of print to voice in that the listener can visualize a person they may know reading to them through the sound of their voice; as opposed to a nameless and faceless digital reader or voice. Conversely, a hearing impaired child could still get the experience of the story visually as all the sound is converted to text. A fun site to visit and experience. |
Friday 7 October 2011
Favourite online compensatory reading supports
