Article: Reading Remediation Assistive Technologies Compensatory Strategies for Reading and Acces to Print- Edyburn

Learning From Text- Edyburn

From my perspective, the article has several dimensions. Initially the article has several parallels between the messages conveyed in the TED Talk- The Myth of Average and the perspective offered in this article. Essentially, the Edyburn re-confirms that designing for the average, or prescribing to the one-size-fits all notion of education has damaging consequences.
Early in the article the question is asked, are students learning to read, or reading to learn? Clearly one cannot happen without the other and validates the importance of teachers, across the curriculum taking the time to teach reading, or at the very least be aware of the strategies that can be used for remediation of compensation.

Assistivie technology used for remediation and compensation have tremendous potential- determining when AT should be employed as remedial or compensatory is something that unfortunately receives far to much debate from my perspective. If AT can enhance academic performance, understanding and confidence, then why debate the designation?

Another important discussion item presented by Edyburn relates to the timing of AT implementation. If a student's current reading competency is below grade level and remediation strategies have not provided sufficient results, use an AT strategy- it seems simple, but unfortunately there is still apprehension. This apprehension is generally indicative of limited access to AT, inadequate teacher AT training and in many cases time. However, as suggested by Edyburn, AT applications are generally easy to employee and install quickly- the same experience has been demonstrated in class during the past week. Another variable associated with compensatory AT is the absence of policy/decision making process to determine is AT is required and if it should be deemed as remediation of compensation. Bottom line, if a student is failing to achieve results after countless remedial attempts, then compensate, move on and allow the student to experience success.

The second dimension of the reading provides a breakdown of various ATs and an explanation explaining the function of each AT. Table 2; A taxonomy of text modification strategies listed in the reading gives a great breakdown of AT considerations/function of difficulty/suggestions for reading problems. This table provides useful reference that I plan to use moving forward.

Several of the AT websites recommended to support reading & bypass reading appear practical according to the brief description provided. Wynn, Word Q, Text Help, & Text Aloud are programs I have used with students, but look forward to reviewing the others listed.