Dyslexia...and technology training?

I have actually known many people with some form of dyslexia, even teachers. Many have either just accepted it, or found ways to adapt in order to still succeed in their everyday lives-school or careers. this article says that 5-17% of "the population" (whatever that means) is dyslexic, that is a considerable amount. Although that causes have been argued, MRI's show that people with dyslexia have"neural disruption in phonological processing." This is shown in the image above.

I read the article 11: "Changes in Brain Function in Children with Dyslexia after Training," by Elise Temple. pp. 47-49

The study examine by Temple was the first to use a fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is a type of specialized MRI scan. It measures the haemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. www.wikipedia.com) in order to understand the disorder, which was administered in 2003.

It used Fast ForWord Language for training, that "focuses on auditory processing and oral language through an intensive and adaptive computer program." The study compared 20 dyslexic children aged 8-12, who had been confirmed dyslexic by the fMRI, and then 12 "normal" 8-12 year old children. They were both required to participate in the training program on the website mention previously.

The study found notable improvement in reading skills for the dyslexic youth. They improved in both language and reading ability. the study also took a post-training fMRI which also showed "normalizing" and "compensating" changes in brain function.


Okay, so could it really have been so easy all along? has it always been as simple as training focus on auditory processing and oral language? Then, part of me thinks, wow, what a great advertisement. I'm convinced.

On a mre optimistic side, I think this study is interesting, using technology to improve neurological disorders makes perfect sense. Something important, the website also mentions using this program for ELL students as well. This is key, because it seems to be common knowledge in the education realm that repitition is key, and what better tool can be used that a computer? Which takes out the human element to an extent. The computer does not worry about class time, or run out of patience. I see this website/educational program as a possible usefull resource. However, this article did fail to mention the study itself. How long did they do this? What were the time periods. Did they do it for 30 minutes a day? a week? I believe this aspect would be important to the effectiveness of the training.

Overall, I hope we have found a way to help dyslexic people to overcome. The first step, however, is identifying those with dyslexia. I am hopefull that this method of using technology in order to help those with dyslexia.

"History, the History of Computers, and the History of Computers in Education"

As a history major, my first instinct is to look up the history of computers, and how they have grown in American Society. For myself, I can first remember the apartment in Auburn with my mom and my sister. My mom had a computer, and she would go to picnics with the people she met on the internet. Things have definitely changed since 1992, but to look up the major milestones in technological history would provide an insight.

It is very interesting to see the basic time line of technology in the classroom. It becomes plain that the use of technology is just a baby when compared to other age-old education methods. The first computer was created in 1946 (the vacuum-tube based), that is just 63 years ago. Two generations, and after that everything moved so quickly.

This site says that schools didn't even get computers until 1975, which were for merely educational purposes. It wasn't until 1986 when schools began to purchase computers with the intent of using them for instructional assistance and career assistance. And it has only been within the last 10-15 years that computers are seen as a necessity in each classroom.

One thing that comes to mind is can we trust an instructional method that is so new and innovative? Can just simply training youth on how to use them be sufficient?


Source:

Murdock, Everett, "History, the History of Computers, and the History of Computers in Education," California State University Long Beach, 2004, http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html, (accessed Jan. 14, 2009).

image: Mishra, Santosh, "The First Computer," The Maya Solution, 2007 http://www.mayasolution.org/ (accessed Jan. 14th, 2009).