World of Dyslexia Newsletter - December 01
This month we have news about the following items:
** Designing web pages for dyslexic readers
** www.think.com
** The Sounds the Letters Make
** The World of Dyslexia Discussion board
** Volunteers for Spanish translation?
Please note that a copy of this newsletter has
been set up at
www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/newsletter.html
with 'live' links to save you the trouble of having to copy and paste them into
your browser.
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Designing web pages for dyslexic readers
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The comparatively recent arrival of the World Wide Web on our computer monitors means that it suffers from the faults of any new medium:
- websites are often hastily put together;
- web designers are often new to the skill;
- text is often presented in unreadable formats, even on black backgrounds;
- finding your way around a website is often difficult;
- some advertisers will do anything, however irritating, to attract attention to their little box;
- many designers view web pages from the point of view of a computer expert rather than from the point of view of the ordinary people who will look at their pages;
- it is assumed that everyone viewing web pages is skilled at using a computer;
- designers are tempted to do anything to hold people within their own sites (making them 'sticky' is the expression they use), rather than to provide helpful links to information which may lie beyond their site;
- and, last but not least, web pages are put together almost exclusively by men! Perhaps there is a need for some feminine perceptions and intuitions about human behaviour!
Read the rest of the article at:
www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag35.html
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www.think.com
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In Dot's Diary this month she writes about a new concept in school websites which could prove most helpful for dyslexic children and students:
"A 14-year old pupil of mine told me today about an amazing website for teachers and their pupils. It's called www.think.com and is completely free, apparently. Schools can register with them, and then their teachers can have their own webspace which the pupils can see by using a password given to them by their school. The children can also have their own webspace, with tools to help them put material there.
The first thought that came into my mind when I heard about this was homework instructions. It's so hard for a dyslexic child to copy down homework details written hurriedly by a teacher on the board in the last minute of the lesson. Children often arrive home with only part of the homework copied accurately, and, even if they want to help, parents are stuck. The child cannot complete the work and is terrified of being in trouble in school the next day.
This new system - or similar versions - could so easily be used by teachers to put the homework for their classes on a webpage instead. Then pupils could look it up at home, and parents would know exactly what was required!"
Dot's Diary is at:
http://www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t17.html
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The Sounds the Letters Make
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This article on basic phonics is printed out and handed to parents in many schools. You may like to know that, through a miracle of technology, the sounds of the letters have now been added to the article so that you can click on them and hear the letter sounds through your computer! The sounds are not as perfect as we would wish, but give a rough idea to help parents who are not familiar with phonics.
'The Sounds the Letters Make' is at:
www.dyslexia-parent.com/mag3.html
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The World of Dyslexia Discussion board and Advice Line
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These are just some of the topics under discussion at our lively Discussion Board and Advice Line during the last few weeks:
- College and career opportunities for dyslexics (Rick)
- Mom needs help for dylexic son (Jackie)
- Finding a New School (Jane)
- Dyslexic nephew
- Reference in Massachusetts
- Mild form of dyslexia?
- Self-esteem
- How to teach a dyslexic student (Narendran)
- Should I be worried? (Concered mom)
- Trauma Dyslexia (Stella)
- Interested? Come and join the Discussion Board and Advice Line at:
www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk/t98.html
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Volunteers for Spanish translation?
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We receive regular enquiries from teachers asking if any of our magazine articles are available in Spanish. If there's anyone who would like to volunteer a translation of an article (such as 'The Sounds the Letters Make' above, or 'Hearing Your Child Read') please contact us (dyslextest@aol.com). Dyslexia Online Magazine is at
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Your contributions to our magazine, journal and websites are always welcome.
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Best wishes!
John Bradford.
And everyone at
www.worldofdyslexia.org
www.dyslexia-teacher.co.uk
www.dyslexia-adults.com
www.dyslexia-parent.com
www.dyslexia-test.com
www.dyslexia-magazine.com
www.dyslexia-journal.com