[IAEP] Dyslexia discussion

[marilyn at ourdyslexicchildren.org]

Marten,

That is a good list.  

Both of my children (ages 8 & 10) are dyslexic, plus I have about 15 dyslexic
high school students in my classes.  Last March we bought an EeePC/Linux for
Hannah and started using it this year.  You might have read this in an earlier
message, but Firefox is really working well for her.  We added OMusix, an mp3
player addon, and FoxVox, a text-to-speech addon.  Using the html version and
matching audio books from the Gutenberg Project she read/listened to "Alice in
Wonderland" last week and is almost finished with "Black Beauty" this week.
She arrows down through the book, following along as she listens.  It is
amazing because she is doing most of it on her own.  There is also a daisy
player addon available, but not for Linux yet (they say soon).  With a Daisy
Reader we could use books from http://rfbd.org (Recordings for the Blind and
Dyslexic).

Here is my list:

  - Firefox with OMusic mp3 player, FoxVox text-to-speech (adding the better
      sounding voices), Dorina DAISY Reader
  - Ktouch (I like Ktouch, but maybe tipptrainer is equally good.)
  - Tux Paint with additional stamps for small "sight words" as a writing tool
      for little kids
  - Easy voice recording & webcam for recording lectures and demonstrations
  - Skype
  - I would have it preloaded with some of the html/audio books from Gutenberg
  - Needs a simple system to open mp3 audio instructions from teachers,
    web-based and from flash drive
  - Good wireless and ethernet LAN detection

The goal is to give dyslexic students great tools, but also to give them
independence.  My high school dyslexic kids are definitely too embarrassed to
ask me to read to them.  With a netbook that can do these things, they can get
the information they need on their own.

Thank you!

Marilyn


Quoting Marten Vijn <info at martenvijn.nl>:

> Hi Marilyn,
>
> What would your feature list be on a small (linux driven) laptop
> in addition to mine?
>
> - audiofeedback (hear what you type (per word basis))
> - adapted lessons (multilanguage) for tipptrainer
> http://freshmeat.net/projects/pingos_tipptrainer/
> - may something thats enlarges the cursor area
>
> and obviously:
> - spelling checker (fix/highlight while typing)
> - large font buttons
>
> thanks,
> Marten
>
>