VISION EDUCATION

IF A CHILD CAN´T LEARN THE WAY WE TEACH,

MAYBE WE SHOULD TEACH THE WAY THEY LEARN

Ignacio Estrada

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LEARNING DISABILITY

A learning disability is a neurological disorder that affects one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using spoken or written language. The most common learning disabilities and related disorders are dyslexia (LBLD), nonverbal learning disabilities (NLD), attention deficit disorders (ADD/HD) and executive function disorder (EFD). Common learning disabilities among students include •  Dyslexia – a language-based disability which impedes the person’s ability to comprehend written words. It

may also be referred to as reading disability or reading disorder. •  Dyscalculia – a mathematics disability in which a person has difficulties in solving arithmetic problems

and grasping mathematical concepts. It is commonly called “maths dyslexia”. •  Dysgraphia – a writing disability in which the person finds it hard to form letters or write within a defined

space. •  Auditory and Visual Processing Disorders – sensory disabilities that affect the ability to understand

language despite normal hearing and vision. •  Nonverbal Learning Disabilities – a neurological disorder which originates in the right hemisphere of the

brain, causing problems with visual-spatial, intuitive, organizational, evaluative and holistic processing functions.

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… are not the result of •  low intelligence •  emotional disturbances •  seeing or hearing impairments •  poor instruction •  lack of motivation

Children with LD are smart, talented, and resourceful – they just learn differently.

LEARNING DISABILITIES ...

Being one of the most important great minds of his century, Albert Einstein could not read until he was nine years old. He also failed math.

Leonardo DaVinci was a great painter, designer, scientist, futurist and thinker. He conceived ideas vastly ahead of his own time. For instance, he conceptualized a helicopter, a tank, a calculator, concentrated solar power, and the double hull, and also outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics. Additionally, he had the gift of dyslexia. Most of the time, he wrote his notes backwards.

Walt Disney had difficulty reading all his live, Steve Jobs had been classified as "unteachable„ as a child.

Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Cher and many other public figures have had successful careers despite their learning disabilities.

HALL OF FAME: NOT ALL GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE

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“A teacher sent the following note home with a six-year-old boy: “He is too stupid to learn.” That boy was Thomas A. Edison”. - Thomas Edison

ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

In the digital age, technology is at the core of virtually every aspect of our daily lives and work. Technology can open doors and break down barriers. Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, software or product system that helps people bypass, work around or compensate for learning difficulties.1)

- 7- 1) Source: http://gatfl.org/assistive.php

Assistive technology helps people work around problems by focusing on their strengths, rather than their weaknesses.

DIFFICULTIES IN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OR LEARNING DISABILITIES In the digital age, technology is at the core of virtually every aspect of our daily lives and work. Technology can open doors and break down barriers. Assistive technology (AT) is any item, piece of equipment, software or product system that helps people bypass, work around or compensate for learning difficulties.1)

- 8- 1) Source: http://ldatschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Some-Potential-Difficulties-Related-to-Language-Learning-or-to-Special-Education-Needs.pdf

phase6 PRODUCTS

Smartphones and tablets are devices that many desire as a “shiny new toy”. However, people with disabilities can benefit from their functionality, too. Students with learning disabilities can enhance and develop their communication skills, learn how to adapt to situations, and develop social skills. Check out this collection of iPad apps that can make a difference in the life of a learning-disabled child. phase6 vocabulary apps are developed to match what people need to know, how they learn and where and when they learn. The apps bring modern-day technology into learning and thus enable, motivate, and inspire all students, regardless of their background, language knowledge, or disabilities. phase6 effectively uses the power of technology to provide personalized learning experiences and to enable continuous and lifelong learning.

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Deutschlands führender

Vokabeltrainer Mehr als eine Million Benutzer. Von Lehrern

an mehr als 4000 Schulen empfohlen. Mit passenden Lerninhalten zu den Schulbüchern aller großen Verlage!

Deutschlands führender Vokabeltrainer Mehr als eine Million Benutzer. Von Lehrern an mehr als 4000

Schulen empfohlen. Mit passenden Lerninhalten zu den Schulbüchern aller großen

Verlage!

phase6 classic: TRACKING & RECORDING VIA “CLASSROOM FEATURE“

Phase6 classic enables teachers to track and record the learning process of their students. Tracking •  Serves as a tool for monitoring individual

student’s learning progress •  Provides an ongoing record to assist with

continuity in the learning schedule

Recording •  Provides a record for the student´s file •  Serves as the basis for reporting the student´s

progress on goals and objectives

The versatile vocabulary trainer promotes the sustainable learning of various languages. It includes more than 600 learning modules, which are largely audio recorded. They are proven in quality and follow the content of the leading publishers of school textbooks.

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phase6 hallo - FIRST AID LANGUAGE LEARNING

The vocabulary app for people without German language knowledge. It aims at building a core vocabulary of the German language in an easy and sustainable way. This app contains assistive features which help children and adults with learning difficulties to acquire German language knowledge.

Listening instead of reading: Vocabulary and sample sentences are audio-recorded

Choosing pictures instead of reading: Learning with pictures (instead of written words)

Voice record function helps to improve pronunciation

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phase6 coach – SMART FEEDBACK

With phase6 coach we aim at effectively employing technology in order to provide engaging and powerful learning experiences. Students´ achievements are shown in a more comprehensive and meaningful way: phase6 coach is the world’s first language learning app for English which features intelligent feedback on grammar, spelling, style and word meaning.

Tolerance for error: - Different hints for different learning levels - Allows multiple tries

Feedback Butterfly: Feedback as motivation – you don’t need to be perfect. Making mistakes is just natural and an important part in the learning process.

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ENGLISH LANGUTAGE LEARNING WITH LEARNING DISABILITY

1) Source: “Effective Instruction for LD or At-Risk English-Language Learners”, http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/ld-education-teachers/effective-instruction-for-ld-risk-english-language-learners /

The National Center of Learning Disabilities (NCLD) recommends/identifies the following effective and research-based strategies1): •  Using visuals to reinforce concepts and vocabulary; •  Utilizing cooperative learning and peer tutoring; •  Use of students' native language strategically when students are floundering; •  Providing opportunities for students to practice speaking English in both formal and informal contexts

throughout the day; and •  Focusing on rich and evocative vocabulary words during lessons so students remain engaged and

challenged. The words can serve as vehicles for teaching literary concepts.

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phase6 coach FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS WITH A LEARNING DISABILITY

Different hints are given, including pictures and audio.

Multilingual dictionary: A monolingual English dictionary with translations into multiple languages. This is invaluable for English Language Learners (ELL) with a multilingual background.

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STATE-OF THE-ART-TECHNOLOGY

Corrective Feedback

Through the use of AI and Natural Language Processing, Alphary provides automatic corrective feedback, allowing students to learn from their mistakes.

Oxford Dictionaries

A first and only of its kind: Alphary includes a semi-trilingual dictionary from Oxford University Press with more than 15 languages to choose from.

Blended Learning

Blends seamlessly with course material. Allows activation and learning of vocabulary unit by unit, course by course, item by item, all in sync with the class.

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FORMATIVE ASSESMENTS & DATA ANALYSIS

In order to address a variety of student needs, teachers must have access to resources and know what's going on in the classroom. Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it determines whether or not goals are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, curriculum, and, in some cases, funding. Research comparing the behavior of effective teachers (i.e., those whose students achieve highly or higher than would be expected given background variable) with that of less effective teachers has clearly revealed the importance of monitoring the class. Such monitoring involves teachers being aware of how well or poorly students are progressing with their assignments.

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The unique benefits that Alphary can offer are founded in the qualitative nature of the data that is generated with the same sensors that power our intelligent, task-level feedback. This is a system of "continuous assessment".

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Benefit to teachers •  Reduced work-load in lexical

learning •  Insights into the learning

difficulties of specific students or of the class as a whole

•  Facilitate a flipped-classroom approach and differentiated instruction for a more personalized learning experience

DATA ANALYSIS = TEACHER´S REPORT

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Benefit to publishers •  Continuously improve their

materials based on real usage-data

•  Offering the private/parent market an intelligent recommendation engine for supplemental / remedial material based on real user’s needs

•  Better understanding and catering to customer’s needs

DATA ANALYSIS = PUBLISHER´S REPORT

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Benefit to students •  Personalized targeted difficulties •  Positive feedback and

reinforcement based on a non-punitive system

•  Self-assessment and mobile practice

DATA ANALYSIS = STUDENT´S GAIN

TRUE INSIGHTS

Alphary

Publishers

Profit Direct feedback

On-target progress monitoring

Decreased workload

Task-level feedback

Personalized learning

Mobile practise

New markets

Material improvement

Technology

Intelligent feedback

Product development.

Ideas

Student

Systematic analysis

Teachers

Visualized

Enables intuitive grasp of complex amounts of data

Aggregated

Helps to keep a high-level overview while allowing drill-down for details

Actionable

Reports are structured to guide actions and decisions of stakeholders thus, minimizing deviations

phase6 coach VIDEO

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OUTLOOK – LINK 2 OPEN COMMUNITY

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Community

Community

Asking an open community for advice. Continuously growing wordlist/phrases (in different languages)

OUTLOOK – CONTRIBUTING & SHARING

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Upload Picutre

The wordlists could be also enriched with pictures, which are contributed by the students and then shared among the community.

Upload your own picture

Continuously growing picture data base

OUTLOOK – SPECIAL APPS FOR DIFFERENT INTERESTS/NEEDS

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Existing apps can be adapted to new target groups (e.g. boys, girls) or special needs (e.g. vocational training)

Soccer App (Boys)

Vocational Training App

Grimm´s Fairy Tales App (Girls)

25 ß

Vocational Training App

Start

nurse

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LET’S SHARE OUR IDEAS FOR A BETTER WORLD, WHERE CHILDREN, YOUNG PEOPLE, AND ADULTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITY GET THE BEST AVAILABLE SUPPORT TO LIVE A SUCCESSFUL LIFE.

“LEARNING DISABILITIES ARE NOT A PRESCRIPTION FOR FAILURE. WITH THE RIGHT

KINDS OF INSTRUCTION, GUIDANCE AND SUPPORT,

THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO WHAT INDIVIDUALS

WITH LD CAN ACHIEVE.”

Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D., Director of LD Resources National Center

for Learning Disabilities

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Manfred Kastner Founder

VISION EDUCATION

manfred.kastner@visioneducation.net

www.visioneducation.net

- 28 - Copyright Industriellenvereinigung / © Kurt Prinz - www.kurtprinz.at

Thank you very much for your attention!

Copyright: This presentation was made by VISION EDUCATION. It is as a whole and in parts protected by copyright legislation. VISION EDUCATION is the owner of the exploitation rights of this presentation and parts thereof unless other components‘ (e.g. images‘) rightholders are duly acknowledged. Acts of utilisation relevant for copyrights are only valid in consent with the respective owner of rights. Wien, 05.02.2016