Tech Resources to Support Older Student & Adult Challenged Readers

Struggling to read affects more than merely the challenged reader. It can affect that reader's family, his community and certainly society as a whole. Our literacy rate here in the U.S., as determined in the findings from the U.S. Education Department's National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NALS-2003), is one of real concern. Currently, 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.

We know that literacy is a learned skill. We also know that illiteracy is something passed down from parents who can neither read nor write. However, can you imagine the even more daunting challenges of an older student who is in high school AND still learning to read? No longer is it only about the reading hurdles, but the older student's self-esteem also becomes a significant issue.

According to current statistics, 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will eventually be incarcerated or on welfare. In addition, more than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate with 70% of them unable to read above a 4th grade level. These statistics prove that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime.

What are the causes of these staggering percentages? Many educational experts believe that the country's economic situation over the past five years has played a part. Also, the current issues with immigration and the high school dropout rate are other important reasons for the poor literacy numbers. However, one significant contribution to the problems of illiteracy in the U.S. is the large number of individuals with undiagnosed learning disabilities.

There are many older and students and adults who struggle to read because of learning differences and disabilities not "caught" or noticed during their elementary school years. Even fewer may have received an appropriate diagnosis for the source of their reading or learning struggles.

With recent reports showing that low literacy directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year, we as a nation must step up to address this situation that affects so many lives. This is part of the motivation for our article this week. We wanted to provide an array of technological resources more specifically for older students and adults who daily struggle to read. We hope you will share them with a challenged older student or adult reader you know.

Tech Resources to Support Older Student & Adult Challenged Readers

iPad and iPhone Apps for Low Vision from the U-M Kellogg Eye Center
A collection of apps for persons with low or impaired vision from (but not endorsed by) the University of Michigan-Kellogg Center. Direct links to the apps' download pages are also provided. Many apps are FREE here with a few others available at various price points.
http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/lowvision/apps.html

Apps for Literacy Support (for iPad & Android) from the Spectronics Consultancy Team
A COMPREHENSIVE list of literacy apps with direct links to individual download pages. A few are FREE, but most are available at various price points.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/article/apps-for-literacy-support#Reading-Support

Reading Focus Cards Desktop App (Patent 8,360,779)
This DESKTOP app is the digital version of the low-tech, physical Reading Focus Cards tools (Patent 7,565,759), solutions for struggling readers. This app provides very practical support for children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, low vision, stroke or brain injury issues, autism and other conditions that can affect reading success. This desktop application promotes more FOCUSED online reading of almost ALL digital media (webpages, PDF files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets & more.) In addition, the app supports touch-screen technology (where applicable).
1. For Macs (desktops & notebooks):
Visit the Mac App Store and search for Reading Focus Cards or go directly to
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-and-focus/id920617853?mt=12
2. For Windows PCs (desktops & laptops):
Visit Gumroad at https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards OR visit the Microsoft Windows Store and search for the app called Reading Focus Cards. (No URLs are ever provided for apps in the Windows Store.)

Using iPads to Support Older Students Struggling with Literacy-Full day Video! by Greg O'Connor (presenter) & Spectronics
Learn about apps like Evernote (for time management, note-taking, task completion and organized retrieval of researched materials). Consider alternative note-taking formats such as those offered by ClaroPDF. Explore improvements to students’ reading comprehension and proofreading skills via text-to-speech apps such as iReadWrite. Discuss the pros and cons of speech recognition on the iPad. See writing supports like word prediction within Co:Writer and WriteOnline come to life on an iPad.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/resource/using-ipads-to-support-older-students-struggling-with-literacy-full-day-video/

Top 10 Apps for Literacy Support by Amanda Hartmann (presenter) & Spectronics
(for iPad, iPod and iPhone only)
This webinar (just over 1 hour in length) will present the TOP 10 list of apps that may provide the different types of support for students in your classroom (mainly to read and access written text). One app is FREE, but most are available at various price points.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/resource/top-10-apps-for-literacy-support/

When High School Students Struggle with Textbook Reading from edutopia.com
Practical strategies for tackling textbook reading for older students
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/students-struggle-with-textbook-reading-sheila-valencia?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-students-struggle-with-textbook-reading-link

Sources

One World Literacy Foundation. "Illiteracy Statistics." One World Literacy. Accessed July 2, 2014.

WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin to Read. Accessed July 2, 2014.

Blankenship, John. "Functional illiteracy continues to grow, but there is help." The Register-Herald. Accessed July 2, 2014.

National Center for Education Statistics. National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). Accessed July 2, 2014. http://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/

DoSomething.org. "11 Facts about Literacy in America." Accessed July 2, 2014.
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-literacy-america

For more information on customizable reading tools for dyslexia, better focus & attention, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com

All Kinds of Kids’ Vocabulary Apps

A larger and more extensive vocabulary can benefit children in so many ways. It can help them to express themselves more clearly and effectively. A good vocabulary can significantly benefit their performance on all types of achievement or academic tests. In addition, a student’s writing skills can be greatly enhanced with an excellent vocabulary---throughout all of life. So you can see that there are only advantages to improving and enriching a child’s vocabulary.

In the past, vocabulary lists of new words were studied, memorized, incorporated into daily lessons at school and other such tedium. However, today, we have apps---wonderful, enjoyable apps that encourage vocabulary building with immediate feedback for the learner. Bye-bye tedium!

This week’s blog article provides you with a group of vocabulary apps that might be just the thing to get your child(ren) or students “reacquainted” with vocabulary learning just as we approach the beginning of a new school year. Hope you like our newest apps list!

What’s the Word on Vocabulary Apps for Kids? by Melanie Ruda (for iPhone, iPod touch, & iPad for Gr. K-6)
This article contains a good list of inexpensive apps that can help kids in grades K-6 develop their oral and reading vocabularies. (Criteria included apps that are age appropriate, that focus on vocabulary development and help kids learn the meanings of new words.)
http://blog.sewardinc.com/2012/02/13/whats-the-word-on-vocabulary-apps-for-kids/

Vocab-a-splat by Seward, Inc.(for iPad for Ages 4-6)
A vocabulary-building game that teaches children the meanings of high-frequency words they encounter while reading.
App explanation link: http://www.vocabasplat.com/
App download link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vocab-a-splat/id517271626?ls=1&mt=8

List of Vocabulary Apps (For Various Age Levels) (mostly iPad & iPod apps with 1 Android app)
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/mobile-app-lists/vocab-apps

Kids Vocabulary (FREE Android app for Ages 3-7)
Give your child a head start with this interactive vocabulary learning app. Look, listen, say, read, spell---Your child will learn new vocabulary using a 4-step method based on modern teaching methodology.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=equizonline.com.kidspicturevocab&hl=en

Montessori Approach to Vocabulary (a brief review, demo video with link to app for younger children---for iPad with a price of $1.99)
In the Montessori Classroom, several activities exist to assist children to increase their vocabulary. This application will help children to identify and learn the names of the animals. (Price at time of review--$2.99)
App review link: http://a4cwsn.com/?p=1927
App download link: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/montessori-approach-to vocabulary/id400726281?mt=8

SuperKids Vocabulary Builders (Online and app options both available here---Apps for iPad/iPhone from upper elementary grades through grade 12 vocabulary levels + even PSAT & SAT prep)
Looking for an easy way to improve your students' (or your own) vocabulary? SuperKids has compiled a set of word-of-the-day lists that should help. Make this your browser's home page and get a new word every day!
http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/words/wod.shtml/

Enchanted Dictionary (for iPad---2 versions: for Gr. 4-6 & Gr. 7-12) Designed by Marg Griffin, a speech and language pathologist who works with older students, these apps help students focus on the language of definitions for core content vocabulary. Website for Golden Communications, LLC is http://goldencommunicationsllc.com/ from where one can access the apps.

For more information:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Clip art courtesy of: Lakeshore Learning Materials @ http://tiny.cc/gvd6hw