Learning Environments for Specific Learning Difficulties

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Learning EnvironmentsforSpecific Learning
Difficulties

Daithi Reynolds
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Computer Education ?

• Could the computer
• complement support teachers more?
• become more integrated into the class room?
• be tailored more to a childs individual needs?
• be more teacher friendly?

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Aims
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Aims of Project

• 1 Dynamic Static System
• A paradox ?
• cutting the system up
• 2 Teacher Input
• Increase it
• High level Programmable system
• 3 Use a real up to date Pedagogy
• Literacy games
• 4 Finish it !
• 6 weeks to implement
• Project has been down sized considerable

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Perspective

• Perspective
• Programming
• Java
• Databases
• Networking
• Special needs
• Reading Recovery
• Star Spell
• Linguistics
• Teachers
• Bernadette Dwyer

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Needs
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Needs

• How do teachers see it ?
• A question of Computer Literacy or Phobia ?
  -friendliness
• Too wide a range of teaching material to choose
  from - standard
• Time to invest into new methods ?-standard
• Constantly updated curricula- involvement
• Software utility V Budgets -involvement
• Level of involvement of teachers
• Choosing SW
• Using SW
• need to increase involvement

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Needs

• Software view of system
• Integrated in two ways
• presentational
• visual
• audio
• content
• pedagogues
• Flexible
• Macro (pedagogues)and Micro (individual child)
• Robust
• Keep shape (every one will learn the same thing)
• Maintainable
• who ?

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Summary of Background influences
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Background

• Reading Recovery
• preventative model (not remedial)
• early intervention
• 5 years 9 months
• Individual
• Intensive
• consistent
• Star-Spell
• Drill Practice (Look, Cover, Write Check)
• Onset Rime

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Background

• Dyslexia
• Acquired /Inherited ?
• Cognitive View
• Which lobe ?
• Preference ?
• eye
• hear
• hand
• Laziness ?
• Click go
• integrated media
• interactive media
• uses of video and sound streaming

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Literacy Games

• SENSS Special Educational Needs Support Service
• Card Games
• Function
• to provide repetition over-learning in reading
  spelling
• to develop
• phonological awareness
• onset and rime
• short vowels
• vowel digraphs
• initial final blends
• simple suffixing
• syllable division
• Motivational fun

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The System
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Abstract System

• Environment
• Meaningful to child/ Subjective nature
• Context
• Dynamic
• Teachers role to create
• Pedagogy/Generic
• What child does/ Objective
• Static
• Generic testing
• Software package provides framework

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System Responsibilities

• Software
• Separate teacher child access
• log on
• Templates
• overall lesson templates
• individual exercises in lesson
• Record
• Child progress
• Teacher
• Fill templates with a content
• images
• words
• sounds

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System Components

• Content ( ingredients for a meal)
• video clip
• internet
• digital camera
• images
• sound files
• Tools ( ingredient preparation)
• image extraction/manipulation ( click and go)
• sound extraction
• Lesson Template (sequence of cooking ingredients)
• exercise 1 followed by 2
• Exercise templates (Time ingredient is cooked
  for)
• view part of video clip
• play literacy game
• play rest of video clip

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Practical Example

• Using Exercise Templates
• building blocks
• teachers responsibility to create
• Literacy games
• How ?
• 4th year project on how
• End result
• data base
• pupils details and progress
• images
• sound files
• Lesson Template
• Exercise Template

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Example
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Exercise template

• Simple Example
• Visual
• Teacher responsible for contents
• Teacher responsible for game pedagogy

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Finally!!!
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Summary

• Synthesis
• intensive one to one
• computer aided learning
• Increase Teacher Involvement
• Using Computer as a support to compliment
  teaching
• Computer Role
• represents data in different ways
• facilitates repetition over-learning
• Thank you for your attention!!!