Recent unanswered questions
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I have several 'new arrivals' from Eastern Europe in my Year 6 class and suspect two may have special needs. It's hard to tell when their English is slight, and our EAL service thinks it's just a case of waiting for language skills to catch up. I'm not so sure - are there any tests that would help?
Theresa Smith, Special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCO)
I am looking into inclusion in detail for an assignment - are there different levels or types of inclusion?
Frances Redman, Student, Wakefield
I'm interested in training as a Mobility Officer to help visually impaired young people become more independent. How can I do this, and how long would it take?
M. Webster, General public, Bristol
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Current question in topic:
Parents and carers
My son has limited vision, so I'm wondering if an e-book such as the Kindle would be useful. He's 15, so exams are not far away. Has anyone had any experience using e-books in this way?
Jill Evans, Parent, Harrogate
Developed by a subsidiary of the online book retailer Amazon, the Kindle is an electronic device for downloading, storing, and reading digital books, commonly known as 'e-books'. According to http://www.askdeb.com/technology/kindle/what/ the Kindle is a combination of a book and a word processor, allowing the user to bookmark, highlight text, look up definitions in the device's electronic dictionary or dog-ear a page while making notes on the side for research.
Such features make the Kindle a research and revision tool with potential for all students with exams in prospect. As for the device's benefits to a student with visual impairment in particular, an e-book's printed word can be enlarged by resizing the fonts or read aloud by using the inbuilt text-to-speech facility. Audible menus enabling blind users to navigate the Kindle's screens without assistance are due to be introduced later in 2010.
Another solution is the Intel Reader, which claims to 'bring printed text to spoken word for dyslexic and visually impaired people' [http://www.intel.com/corporate/healthcare/emea/eng/reader/pdf/UK_Reader_Launch_Press%20Release.pdf]. You can read a review [http://ireaderreview.com/2009/11/10/intel-reader-ereader-blind-visually-impaired/].
When adopting assistive technology, be sure to factor your son's 'learning curve' into the equation, as he strives to make the most of the device's features, menus and screens instead of completing his coursework and preparing for his exams! Consider too whether you intend this expensive hardware for home and/or school use, with their insurance implications.
David Wilson, Teacher, Newcastle upon Tyne
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