Technology Helps Teach Students with Dyslexia

Learning disabilities can really alienate a child in the classroom. If you need to ask an expert about this you can look to me.  As somebody who suffers with dyslexia, I understand this first-hand, but that experience has inspired me to help change the lives of children who also suffer from this disability.  Educators constantly run into a wall, though, of keeping their students interested in what is being taught, and that does not vary between students with a learning disability and those without.  Luckily, younger generations tend to gravitate toward technology and when teaching those with disabilities, especially dyslexia, one can incorporate new technologies into the educating process, and often times Apps (and other opportunities on new media) actually make the learning process easier.

Dyslexia is a learning disability.

'Learning disability' is a basic term that is used to describe any one of many conditions that causes one trouble with learning.  These disabilities affect upwards of 62 million Americans, the most common of these being dyslexia, which according to a report from the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia, affects about 15% of the American population.  People who suffer from dyslexia often have trouble learning to read or interpreting words and letters.  The Scouts Information Center in the UK states that "[i]ndividuals with dyslexia are usually of average or above average intelligence, but tend to have specific learning difficulties with reading, spelling and writing."

When an average person reads a word or sentence there are three main parts of the brain that engage; "Broca's area," the temporal-parieto, and the temporal-occipito.  The temporal-parieto is the part of the brain where sounds are decoded and although engaged when the average learner reads a sentence, it remains nearly dormant when a dyslexic is reading.  This is how scientists account for the lack of sound and letter recognition in dyslexics.

Dyslexic's learn using a "multi-sensory" approach; different than the average learning style.

To account for the difference in brain activity between one with a learning disability and one without a learning disability during the reading process, professionals have developed a different method of educating dyslexic students.  Stephanie Pratt, founder and director of the Pratt Program (a program for the education of dyslexic students in Allegany County, Maryland), explains that dyslexic students learn in a multi-sensory way.

As Pratt says, it has been proven that individuals with dyslexia must say, touch, and see a sound in order to learn and remember what those sounds are, but simply teaching these sounds isn't enough -- they need to be taught in a specific order.  A dyslexic cannot learn their alphabet by using the letters A, B, C, D... etc. instead the lessons start with the letter 'm' and the sound 'mmmm.'  A further difference in the learning styles between unaffected learners and those with dyslexia is that a unaffected learner  breaks down a long word into parts (newsroom= 'news' + 'room'), but a dyslexic learner has to build up to the word (n+e+w+s = news, r+oo+m = room, news + room = newsroom).

Tablet computers are a dyslexic's best friend.

"Prizmo" App scanning a document and reading the image.

Technology just makes sense to dylesxics.  As dyslexics and others with learning disabilities are "right-brained learners," they take naturally to the digital world, and Smart Phones and Tablets are no exception to that rule.  There are now Apps out on the market for dyslexics of every age to help with learning, school, work, and overall productivity.  Pratt endorsed several Apps ranging from letter formation apps such as "Do As Me" for the iPhone to "Grafio", a software for older students that helps mind-map ideas and uses speech-to-text technologies.  One of the truly amazing Apps though is called Prizmo, available for both iPods/iPhones and iPads.

Prizmo is an OCR program, or Optical Character Recognition program, which means that it takes a picture of text, be it a page from a book, a photo of a chalk board in class, or a business card, and converts this image into text.  At that point one can go in select a series of voices to read that text aloud.  This text can then be sent, saved, or distributed as necessary as a .doc file as opposed to a .jpg.  This app clearly has many uses outside the classroom, however it is really a lifesaver for dyslexic students.  With this app, a student can have their word problems read to them, their paper topic voiced, and all of their assignment sheets saved to their computer for later use.  Prizmo allows for a dyslexic student to focus on  performing the task they were assigned rather than spending their time reading the assignment sheet.

Learning disabilities are difficult obstacles to face, but, for dyslexia at least, there are clearly defined methods used to cope with the attributed problems.  Now, when these proven approaches to educating dyslexics can be used in conjunction with new technologies, there is really nothing that a dyslexic cannot do to the same degree that a regular learner can.

Would You Share Your Bank PIN?

As of late, many employers have been requesting secure information and passwords related to the social networking accounts of their employees. Some states, like Maryland, have combatted this invasion of privacy by instituting policies of their own to make this behavior illegal -- but that is not enough.

Facebook Execs. Advise Against Asking for Passwords

Bank Account PINs, Social Security Numbers, and your house keys -- all things that you wouldn't just hand over to your boss. According to Orrin Kerr in an interview with Forbes Magazine, an employer demanding a Facebook password from an employee is as egregious as asking for his house keys would be -- but in more than 40 states, this is allowed, and Facebook is not happy about it. Facebook executives issued a statement saying "[t]his practice undermines the privacy expectations and the security of both the user and the user's friends... [asking for private login information] also potentially exposes the employer who seeks this access to unanticipated legal liability."

Being Asked For Personal Information Puts Employees In Tough Spots

Ask any person if, in this economy, they could afford to lose their job and most would look at you like you were crazy. With this in mind, it is easy to see how employers threatening job termination or denial of a position on the grounds of an employee not sharing personal information could lead to a confusing situation for the job applicant. In many cases, including one here in Maryland, this is exactly the scenario that plays out. Robert Collins, an officer in the Maryland Department of Corrections, was undergoing his recertification interview when his employer demanded his Facebook password, although reluctant to provide the information he "really needed [his] job and [the employer] implied that this was a condition of my recertification."

43 States Do Not Have Laws Protecting Employees' Personal Information

If Robert's case had happened in nearly any other state than MD he would not have fared nearly as well, as most other states do not have laws to protect employees' personal information. Even in nearby Virginia it is required that "Anyone seeking to become a Virginia state trooper must make available the contents of his or her social media accounts -- including private profiles -- as part of the department's extensive background-screening process." Although the argument can be made that this is to ensure safety and solidarity amongst the ranks of Virginia's state troopers, the fact of the matter is these applicants are people and their private property should remain just that, private. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that private property shall not be taken for public use and this practice of requiring private passwords denies just that right.

Although not every state thinks it's wrong for an employer to demand access to private information, Facebook and other social networking sites view this as a serious security hazard and have put their own measures into effect to keep this password 'sharing' in check. As a Facebook user you must agree to their Privacy Policy and in that policy you are not allowed to share your password with any other person -- for better or for worse, at least Facebook is on your side.

NBC Tackles Nation for A Loss of Views

With the NFL Season underway NBC yet again dominates Sunday night television, leaving other national powerhouses in the dust.

Premiers Fall Short to Giants v. Eagles

NBC captured 1st place in this Sunday's ratings with 6.4% of adults ages 18-49, a network share of 16%, and with an overall viewership totaling more than 16.5 million viewers.  This upset all of Sunday's season premiers -- but namely CBS's "The Amazing Race" which had its lowest ever season premier ratings this past weekend at a meager 2.5%.  As it is easy enough to assume that the NFL season effects viewer ratings for shows that normally take place on Sundays and Monday Nights, why would shows ever chose to have a spot on television for a Sunday or Monday Night?

NBC, CBS, FOX watched by more than 10% of Americans on Sundays

Together, NBC, CBS, and FOX, all stations which broadcast NFL games on Sundays, rack up views from more than 38 million Americans each Sunday during the football regular season.  This viewership allows for advertisements to reach about 12% of the American public -- these ads can profit not only revenue for sponsoring companies, but also can boost popularity for network programming such as "Survivor", "The Mentalist", "NCIS", or "The Amazing Race". Of course the allegiance to playing NFL games can negatively adjust not only ratings but also the more volatile measure of Share, but there is also hope that, after the games, people will elect to continue watching regularly scheduled prime time tv like "60 Minutes" and "The Simpsons"

Digital Rights Management: What it is and Why it Matters

What Is Digital Rights Management

Per Dictionary.com, Digital Rights Management of DRM, is "any technology used to limit the use of software, music, movies or other digital data." 

"But what does this mean?" you're asking. Well, essentially, DRM is what keeps you from reproducing or redistributing the data from that new CD/MP3/e-book/DVD you bought - it keeps pirates at bay, if you will.

As you can imagine, many musicians, producers, and record labels see DRM as an effective way of protecting their intellectual property - it helps make sure that all of the right players are given their due credit, and all royalties are paid out as they should be. What might catch you by surprise, though, is that not all writers or musicians agree. Some see it as a way for publishing companies to limit who can sell their works and how they can be sold.

DRM is incredibly expensive (in fact, DRM can cost as much as $10,000 upfront), and these costs fall upon the 'seller' of the product rather than on the producer or publisher. For instance, if an e-book is sold on Amazon, the publisher of this book can require Amazon to use DRM technologies to limit the likelihood of piracy of this text. In order for Amazon to obey this request, it must first pay for the server, software, and fees associated with DRM encryption. Once these services are payed for upfront there are then continuous fees for the software and rights to the text themselves that must be covered monthly. While this cost is a drop-in-the-bucket for Amazon, small-scale or independent book sellers may find $10k more difficult to afford.   

But How Does It Work?

As we know by now, DRM encryption is a very intricate and costly process, but what does that process look like?  First, a company has to pay for software that can encrypt files. Once the software has been acquired, the files are run through the program, which scrambles the content up and allows for it only to be copied or viewed as many times as legally agreed upon. 

Now, if you have ever been on an overseas trip and tried to watch your favorite DVD only to be met with an error message saying something to the effect of "Content Not Allowed in Viewing Area", you can thank DRM for that too.  Another form of DRM is the "Country Code" on a DVD - these files are encrypted in much the same was as e-book files or MP3s, but in the scrambling process the file is modified to only be playable in the agreed upon countries.

DRM & Personal Media Collections

Understandably, some forms of DRM cause some consumer frustration since they limit access to legally obtained media.  Let's go back to that example of you trying to watch your DVD in Italy instead of listening to your 4 y/o brother's music - you bought that movie perfectly legally, you paid for it with real money and maybe even went to a real store to buy it, but you can't watch it because you're on vacation and the DVD has been encrypted! Of course you're frustrated, who wants to listen to The Wiggles over and over again?? Another reason for frustration, though, is that DRM also controls the number of times you can copy a DVD for your own use.  If a family isn't a "traditional" family unit, and wants to copy a DVD to have it at both mom's and dad's house, and then perhaps a copy for grandma's, in many cases you can't. DRM would force the family to buy Despicable Me twice, since intellectual property laws dictate that a DVD can only be copied once.

How to Succeed in Music...

... Without Really Trying! 

For a musician trying to make a living in this day and age, offering your music for free might seem totally counter-intuitive, but if I were this struggling musician that's precisely what I would do.

Every musician who wants to make a career out of their talents needs people to listen to their music. In order to build a fan base at all, the general public needs to be familiar with the artist's music and sound -- and what better way to do that than make it free and available for easy download on either their website or a similar music sharing service such as Bandcamp, ReverbNation, or SoundCloud. The accessibility of music is critical to developing a fan base, the money portion falls into place later; after all, you have no chance of selling music to people who don't know who you are.

Being a musician can still be a profitable career, even if your tracks are being offered for free. Take for example, The Super Mash Bros., a growing music group out of the Los Angeles area.  Although all three of the albums they have produced have been available for free download on their both their Facebook page and proper website, they also sell merchandise for a nominal fee at both of these locations. The Super Mash Bros. have one other money-making trick up their sleeves: Touring. Over this spring and summer the group performed at several major festivals and they kicked off the start of 2012 by touring with Matt and Kim, coming up later this month they are participating in the Counter Point Festival, in Atlanta, Ga. which boasts Skrillex as the headlining act. 

Taking to heart the example of the Counter Point Festival, touring can be an incredibly profitable market. Tickets to this concert series would cost anywhere between $169.00 and $440.00, now granted all of that money does not make its way back directly to the artists, but there is a clear margin of profit even when looking at the costs touring has. An important note on touring, though, is that your popularity clearly increases when you can tour with other popular musicians, this not only allows for you to gain more exposure to a larger audience, but it also allows for a slightly higher ticket price than would be acceptable if you were, for instance, touring with your neighbor's son's garage band.  

Once people have been exposed to your music, selling your tracks may become an easier undertaking as common knowledge dictates people will spend more money on a trusted service.  Even at that rate, though,  finding a balance between free music and priced music is incredibly important as you do not want to dissuade people from discovering your work for themselves.  Hey, even super-famous people like Ke$ha and Lady Gaga post and tweet opportunities to access some of their music for free!