Will Font Help Dyslexics?

Do Dyslexics Need A Specially Designed Font

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/03/8617458-do-dyslexics-need-a-specially-designed-font

Dyslexia is both a visual and an auditory issue.  Let me explain, we learn to read by being read to.  We follow along while someone reads and we match up the sounds we hear with the letters and letter combinations we see.  So, there is both a visual (eyes) and an auditory (ears) channel from which we acquire information. The problem with dyslexics is that there is a processing delay in the auditory channel.  This is common knowledge in the education field and can be reference through any search of a peer reviewed database.  

Now the font because of its complexity may require the eyes to linger long enough for the auditory channel to catch up and therefore properly match the sounds with the letters.  Having a disorder doesn't make you an expert on it.  That requires actual knowledge and research and not imagined knowledge and research.  

Facts, Evidence and Details

That which can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence - Euclid

Facts, evidence and details are the blood of writing.  Without them, writing is empty and vague.  Without them, you have a witch hunt and not a trial.  Without them, you have a delusion.  And yet, I find people making assertions all the time, and when I ask them the details or facts upon which the assertion is made, they simply repeat the assertion again and again.  Repetition doesn't prove anything.

What's wrong with closed captioning?

What's wrong with closed captioning?

Closed Captioning is a requirement for all educational videos used where I work at Blackhawk Technical College.  The belief is that Closed Captioning is the equivalent of watching and listening.  However, it is not.  It is watching and reading.  The first is a visual and audio channel, but the second is only a visual channel loaded up twice.  Closed Captioning requires the individual who is hearing impaired to split their attention between the graphics and the text; thereby making understanding more difficult and not less.  A better approach would be to utilize text annotations right on the screen.  These would be located on the screen where the action is taking place or the person is speaking.  That way the individual trying to learn from the video would not be have to divide their attention between the bottom of the screen where the Closed Captioning is taking place and the middle of the screen where the action is taking place.  The only thing you can be assured of with Closed Captioning is that the student will miss something.

What the Research on Google's Effects on Memory Means for Educators

If you haven't heard by now, Google has had an effect on memory, in that people don't remember information if they can look it up whenever they want.  What does this mean for learning and teaching?  It means that doing more for your students is actually doing less.  What do I mean by this?  It means that when you provide notes and other resources for your students, they don't do it themselves, which means they never learn how.  So, do more by doing less.  Students won't learn how to take notes if you do it for them.

Why Ron Paul is Wrong

The Misconceptions About the "Free" Markets.

As of late, "free" markets have gotten a lot of press.  Mostly, from the libertarians who pronounce its glorious sacredness at every turn.  Yet, I have to hear one actually explain how it will work.  In fact, if you watch Ron Paul, his answer seems to be that everyone else is ignorant and not him.  Well, Mr Paul, as an educator, I find it necessary to correct your misconceptions about the "free" market.  You can begin by reading Adam Smith's, The Wealth of Nations.  In this well written book, Smith discusses such concepts as self-interest, competition, laziness, and the "Invisible Hand."  The Invisible Hand guides the markets to improve productivity and lower prices.  However, in order for the Invisible Hand to work properly, two criteria need to be meet.  Sellers have to be honest and transparent about their practices and products.  Now, Paul thinks honesty and transparency just happen by magic and don't require government intervention.  The problem is that we have a cliche based on this lack of honesty and transparency: the snake oil salesman.  

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Ron Paul Pt. 1
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog The Daily Show on Facebook

Twist Our Words

While browsing through one of my favorite programming websites, I found this little gem called Twist Our Words at http://twist.channel4.com/. This site allows you to select words that BBC personalities have said that can be formed into a speech.

Downloads - Gapminder.org

Downloads - Gapminder.org

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Ask the Cognitive Scientist

AFT - A Union of Professionals - Ask the Cognitive Scientist

Jeopardy Style Game in Flex

So, one of my favorite YouTube channels is by mikenku, Mike Lively from Northern Kentucky University, because he knows Flex, Flashbuilder and Actionscript (Adobe Flash) and can explain it like few people can. Well, I was looking at some videos the other days and stumbled across this gem at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd5ZFMpqVBg or you can watch the video below. You can also find the program and code at http://code.google.com/p/flexjeopardy/downloads/detail?name=jeopardy.zip&can=2&q=

The Trivium - Classical Education

The Trivium or the classical education involving grammar, logic and rhetoric has begun to stage a comeback especially with the religious. The only problem with this education is that it is really a false proxy. (Proxies allow people to take shortcuts so they don't have to actually go through the work of determining competence.) Logic is great but science is better because science requires evidence, logic does not. The courts also prefer evidence to logic as well. It is important to remember that the Trivium didn't stop slavery, the Inquisition or the Holocaust.

When it comes to learning, everyone is an expert.

When it comes to learning, it seems, everyone is an expert without any knowledge. Learning styles represent an excellent example of this problem. People learn from experiences that are meaningful and not based on the mode of learning.

Here is an excellent YouTube video from Dan Willingham a cognitive psychologist from the University of Virgina.

The Seven Limitations of Expertise

Experts don't make good teachers for the following scientifically based reasons.

1. Domain Limited - Experts are limited to their domain and that expertise does not extend to other domains.
2. Overly Confident - Experts over estimate their abilities when it comes to their field of expertise.
3. Glossing Over - Experts gloss over information that they believe is irrelevant; therefore, missing details that may be necessary to solve a problem.
   
4. Context Dependent - Without contextual clues, experts are not that accurate.
5. Inaccurate Prediction, Judgement and Advice - Experts fail to predict how quickly novices will learn something.
6. Bias - Experts are biased toward their domain
7. Inflexible - Experts can adapt but often prove inflexible when changes are deeply rooted.

Source: Cambridge Handbook of Expertise and Expert Performance (PDF of Chapter)