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Struggling students turn to technology to boost skills

Saying goodbye to the blackboard helped one Sir Guy Carleton student earn 87 per cent in a for-credit Grade 10 English course, Graham Hughes reports.

By Graham Hughes
The Ottawa Citizen

Monday, February 06, 2006

Michael Goldman, 16, was in a non-credit English course last year at Sir Guy Carleton Secondary School because his reading skills were too poor for a credit course.

By the end of the year, he had the best mark in the non-credit program and this year, in his first term in Grade 10, earned an 87 in a credit-level English course.

The secret? Michael used the Academy of Reading, an interactive teaching program developed by Ottawa-based AutoSkill International Inc.

"When I heard of this program that was given on the computer, I thought it was much better than reading stuff on the blackboard," Michael said in a recent interview.

"I was slow at first, but I got faster by the year's end and it really improved my marks. When I started the program in September, I wasn't reading much, but my progress on the program got me reading more."

Laurence LeBlanc, an education assistant and co-ordinator of AutoSkill programs at the school, describes the programs as "extremely useful."

"The nice thing about the program is that if you actually just do the work, you get the benefit because of its brain-based learning and the built-in automatic responses."

"The programs use multi-media software designed to achieve results through the automation of a student's response," said Peter Eddison, president and CEO of AutoSkill International Ltd.

"They recognize a student's specific strengths and weaknesses, and use diagnostic tools to ensure that students advance according to individual skill and abilities."

The intent is to develop accuracy, processing speed, and consistency through over-learning a set of skills until it becomes automatic.

Students work individually, using headphones. Their teacher and Mr. LeBlanc monitor their progress and are on hand to help them deal with any difficulties.

Teachers are an essential part of the program, just as they are in a regular classroom, Mr. LeBlanc noted.

"I could hear what the words and letters on the screen sound like, and learn how to pronounce them," Michael said.

The reading program began in the 2000-2001 school year with four classes of up to 19 students, Mr. LeBlanc said. The school has been using Academy of Math since last year.

"Ten classes are using the reading program and seven are using the math program," Mr. LeBlanc said.

Michael is one of those using the math program.

"I'm finding it helps, because I used to do badly in math and I'm really doing better. My marks are gonna go up and I'm pretty sure I'll pass this course and get my credit," Michael said.

There were almost 80 students in non-credit English last year, Mr. LeBlanc said.

"I believe 30 of that 80 went into credit English this year. That means they have the opportunity to get that Grade 9 credit and work towards a high school diploma," Mr. LeBlanc said.

After a year -- 25 hours on the program -- students may show as much as a two or two-and-a-half grade level improvement on test scores. The most outstanding change from September to May was six levels. The average is one to one-and-a-half or two, he said.

The programs grew out of research in the mid-1980s into the causes and treatment of reading difficulties by neuro-psychologists Dr. Ronald Trites and Dr. Christina Fiedorowicz, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa and McGill.

The programs are now used in 3,000 schools in the United States and another 1,000 in Canada.

While they were developed to help those in Kindergarten to Grade 12 build reading and mathematics skills, the reading program also helps in teaching English as a second language, Mr. Eddison said.

The programs are school or board-based, but the company is considering adapting them for home use.

In the meantime, parents worried about their children's progress in reading and math should ask whether the programs are available in their school, Mr. Eddison said.

© The Ottawa Citizen 2006