Dyslexia: Superpower in Disguise and Super Tools to Assist

Purpose & objective

1 in 5 students have a superpower called Dyslexia! Receiving effective reading intervention comes with challenges and opportunities. Leverage some of the technology tools presented in this session to enhance face-to-face and virtual instruction. The purpose of this session is to deliver researched-based information about dyslexia and technology tools that might assist struggling students. Participants will hear from two perspectives, Dr. Darnell, a speech therapist and early childhood specialist, and, Dr. McPherson, an Educational Technology Professor and mother to a dyslexic son. Dr. McPherson was inspired to search out these tools as a result of her son's learning differences. The presenters will demonstrate digital tools both on and off screen to assist any student with reading challenges. Information from this session could benefit other student groups such as ELL students, students with AAC devices and students who just need a boost. Kami, Text-to-Speech (e.g. Immersive Reader, Snap and Read, Voice Dream Reader, and Natural Reader), Chrome plugins (e.g. read and write, speech texter, co-writer), digital books (e.g. Epic, Vooks, and Learning Ally) and many other emerging tools to assist students will be discussed. Participants will leave with information that they can use immediately in their classroom (be that virtual or in-person) either in a one-on-one setting, classroom centers, or activities they suggest for parents to try at home. The session will include on-screen demo, lesson ideas, and current research. Participants have the option of following along with the presenters on their own device or just watching the presenter's screen.

Outline

Using our Google Slides presentation, we will discuss the prevalence of children with dyslexia, internal struggles children face, and how Understood.org breaks down types of digital reading assistance into Tools for Reading, Tools for Writing, and Just Cool. (5 mins)

Then we will proceed with slides about Tools for Reading: We will talk about the tool and then do a short demo for some of the tools. (20 mins)

Next, we will talk about Tools for Writing: We will talk about the tools and then do a short demo for some of them. (20 mins)

Last, we will talk about Tools that are Just Cool: We will talk about the tools and then do a short demo for some of them. (5 mins)

Participants may ask questions at any time and we will stop or skip to digital tools that may be of more interest to the audience. (5 mins)

*We will share our Google slides presentation with all the tools (in process).

*Option for participants to work along on their own device.

*Conversational format where questions are encouraged.

Supporting research

Degirmenci, N., Baglama, B., & Yucesoy, Y. (2020). The Use of Technology in Dyslexia: An Analysis of Recent Trends. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 15(5), 30–39.

Dawson, K., Antonenko, P., Lane, H., & Zhu, J. (2019). Assistive Technologies to Support Students With Dyslexia. Teaching Exceptional Children, 51(3), 226.

Emma Lindeblad, Staffan Nilsson, Stefan Gustafson, & Idor Svensson. (2019). Self-concepts and psychological health in children and adolescents with reading difficulties and the impact of assistive technology to compensate and facilitate reading ability. Cogent Psychology, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311908.2019.1647601

Schneps, M. H., Chen, C., Pomplun, M., Wang, J., Crosby, A. D., & Kent, K. (2019). Pushing the Speed of Assistive Technologies for Reading. Mind, Brain & Education, 13(1), 14.

Srivastava, B., & Haider, M. T. U. (2020). Personalized assessment model for alphabets learning with learning objects in e-learning environment for dyslexia. Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences, 32(7), 809–817. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksuci.2017.11.005