 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
NewsIn the NewsRead This: Math and Reading Made EasyThe Philippines STAR May 25, 2004 Vincent Walter is proposing a new kind of lesson plan that could make old school tutorial reading and mathematics obscure. The tool is simple and modern enough to excite kids and adults alike: A computer-aided education software. The promise, however, is more intriguing—it can be of tremendous help in improving your child's, or even your, reading and math proficiency. It's called Autoskill and if you take Walter's word for it, it can change your life. “It's like putting a drop of lubricating oil into your brain,” says Walter, a Canadian who has been distributing the Autoskill reading and math software in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. “Your brain can decode sights and sounds, it only needs a little help,” he adds. The help is, of course, through Autoskill, which was developed after 20 years of research by two Ottawa neuropsychologists specializing in learning. The concept is based on automaticity in decoding sights and sounds that stimulate the brain, resulting in improved comprehension. The Academy of Reading, for example, works by first testing students individually and making a thorough assessment of their reading abilities, diagnosing their possession of phonemic awareness and reading subskills. Based on the outcome of the testing phase, the software develops a customized course of training for each student, which instructors may either assign or apply on their own. The program's extensive and easy-to-use management system allows teachers to monitor and organize classes, perform group analyses and stay well-informed on each pupil's progress. A 10-hour session with the Autoskill averages a minimum of one grade level of improvement, says Watler, and 25 to 30 hours (equivalent to one school term) yield two to three grade-level improvements that are retained for life. Walter recently brought the system to Manila through Gemini IT Consulting and is currently making the rounds of schools and other institutions where the Autoskill system will be of much use. Through Gemini IT Consulting, the sole and exclusive Philippine distributor of Autoskill Academy of Reading and Math, Walter has already introduced the software in two seminars where he and educator Cheryl Tutton spoke. “Prices are open to flexible installment plans and other financing schemes that make it easy to afford for schools,” says Gemini IT's general manager Cielo Reyes. While the Academy of Reading is not curriculum-based, the Academy of Math is curriculum-based and conforms to the 10 mathematical concept subject matters that are taken up in school. Both programs, however, can apply from kindergarten to college level, with a variant for adult education. Autoskill, says Walter, is ideal for normal school level children, reading-delayed, even dyslexics, as well as reading-delayed adults. “And the gains achieved through the software program through consistent use are kept for life.” The Academy of Reading software has turned out very favorable results in select schools in the United States when it was adapted into the school's curriculum. Betty Jane Birden, a Reading Lab coordinator in McReynolds Middle School in Houston, Texas says, “We have put 101 students through the Academy of Reading and every single one of them has shown improvement.” In her 33 years of teaching, Birden ponders, she's “never seen a program like this.” There is, indeed, a life-changing facet to the Autoskill experience. Walter himself recalls the day he had his. It was 1986 when he saw a 70-year-old man sitting in a town in California.“ He was reading a newspaper, and he had never read a newspaper in his life. The (educational) system has failed him, until he went through an Autoskill session.It has changed his life, and that moment changed mine.” For more information, interested parties can call Gemini IT Consulting at 533-9316 and 531-2547. © The Philippines STAR 2004 |
|
