| Subject: Inventing Marni: A Reading Tutor for Personal Computers |
Author:
Ron Cole (Hopeful)
[Edit]
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Date Posted: 18:44:20 07/30/07 Mon
Hello. My name is Ron Cole. For the past seven years I worked at the University of Colorado with a talented team of reading researchers to develop a computer program to teach children to read, especially those with reading challenges. My son Jordan, now 15, is dyslexic. While learning to sound out words, it was heartbreaking to listen to him slowly sound out a word and then do it all over again for the same word in the very next sentence. The Boulder Valley school district placed Jordan in special education and he received tutoring in small groups several days a week, but it was not nearly enough. My wife Pam and I estimate that we spent over $6,000 for one on one tutoring over a period of about four years. Jordan reads now, and is doing well in school. By fifth grade he was reading at grade level, although he was given more time to take the statewide reading tests. Most of Jordan’s teachers today do not know he is dyslexic. We believe that the personal tutoring he received from expert tutors was responsible for Jordan’s success. The reading tutors used a program developed by Dr. Barbara Wise called Linguistic Remedies.
For the past seven years, I have been working with Dr. Wise and a team of reading researchers, computer scientists, teachers and students to develop Foundations to Literacy. The research was funded by over $6 million in grants from the National Science Foundation and NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Development (NICHD). The program uses a lifelike computer character, Marni, who is programmed to behave like a sensitive and effective reading tutor. Marni produces accurate visual speech, head movements and emotions synchronized with a recorded human voice. Marni instructs, encourages and challenges children in learning games and interactive books to learn the names and sounds of letters, to build and recognize words, to learn vocabulary, and to read and comprehend text. Marni’s behaviors and the selection and pacing of the learning activities are based on a sophisticated study plan that adapts to each child’s behavior to optimize their learning. The design of the entire program is based on scientific research on what works in reading. Foundations to Literacy has been tested by over 1000 children in over 50 K-2 classrooms in Colorado schools, including inner city schools in the Archdiocese of Denver, with positive learning outcomes and rave reviews by students, teachers and school principals.
In order to make the program available to everyone, I recently left the university to work at Mentor Interactive, a small company that has received a grant from the NIH to turn the reading program into a commercial product. The NIH project has two phases. The goal of the first phase of the study, which lasts six months and ends this September, is to demonstrate that the program can be installed in homes over a high speed connection, and that children and parents have a good experience using it. The goal of the second phase of the study, which lasts two years, is to improve the program, assess its effectiveness and make it available to parents and teachers. The home trial will begin in mid-August and last for several weeks.
The program used in the home trial is designed for beginning and struggling readers—children who are having difficulty learning to recognize letters and words and comprehending stories. The program is designed to move these children to the level of a first grader about three months into the school year. If your child is just beginning to read, or seems to be having difficulty learning to read, and if you have a PC (sorry, the program does not run on Apple computers yet) and a high speed internet connection, you may be able to participate in our free home trial. Up to two children can use the program in your home. At the end of the trial, which requires about 2 hours of your child working with Marni at their own pace, we will ask you to fill out a questionnaire about your experiences and impressions and suggestions for how to improve it.
As a token of our appreciation, you will be able to keep the program, and receive free upgrades and product releases in the future. If you are interested in learning more, please email me at hometrial@mentorinteractiveinc.com. I will send you more information about the program, and a short questionnaire to determine if you are eligible to participate.
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Strephosymbolia / Daltonism
Help for Dyslexic in Tampa Bay Area
Just graduated university!!!
Finally!
Where can a good mechanic w/ dsylexia find employment?
feel less alone? i need to a local class or a suport group.
Work issues
first time on here
ROFL