PITTSBURGH, Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Collaboration
between the University of Kentucky and
Carnegie Learning is providing students with disabilities in
Kentucky's Shelby County Public Schools with access to a
digital math textbook that speaks words and equations aloud while
highlighting elements on a computer screen. Focused on identifying
ways to deliver math content that is more effective than printed
books or common forms of digital textbooks, the KY Math Etext
Project is one strand of the multi-year Mathematics E-Text
Research Center (MeTRC) project at the University of Oregon funded by the U.S. Department
of Education's Office of Special Education.
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Launched in the 2010-11 academic year, the KY Math Etext
Project integrates Carnegie Learning's math curricula with
assistive technologies for students with learning disabilities. The
project began with a cohort of 6th graders at Shelby West Middle
School last year, and will continue in 2011-12 with the same cohort
in the 7th grade. Student eligibility for participation in
the KY Math Etext Project is based on local documentation in
each student's Individualized Education Program (IEP) of the need
for oral accommodations to access print-based materials.
Although assistive technologies that read literary materials
have been used for many years, this project is compelling because
it makes math symbols and equations equally readable with synthetic
speech. The math content is represented in an accessible format
called Mathematical Markup Language (MathML), which enables the
synthetic speech to be customized based upon student needs and
teacher input, an important and unique aspect of the KY Math
Etext Project research project.
"This is a significant project because it recognizes that
certain students need different supports to be able to read math
independently, depending upon both a student's disability and grade
level," said Preston Lewis, director
of the MeTRC Kentucky research strand. "Making curriculum truly
effective for students with special needs is not as
straight-forward as creating accessible versions of textbooks and
supplementary materials, but is more nuanced in nature; for
example, a blind student needs to know more information about the
visual nature of some math elements, such as when a letter is upper
case or colored red, but those details become distracting to
sighted students with reading disabilities."
One outgrowth of the project's collaboration has been a number
of accessibility advances that allow Carnegie Learning's new
MATHia® middle school software to be used with existing assistive
technologies to speak words and equations aloud while highlighting
elements on a computer screen. The KY Math Etext Project is
also converting a PDF version of the Carnegie Learning textbook
into an accessible format for use on a computer by students with
special needs.
"The opportunity to participate in this ground-breaking project
will assist the faculty of Shelby County West Middle School in
reducing barriers to student learning in math," said Lorri Stivers, principal of Shelby County West
Middle School. "I believe the KY Math Etext
Project will make math more accessible to students of all
ability levels and we are anxious to see the impact on student
achievement."
Results from the research will inform the University of Oregon's MeTRC group about how
increasing electronic capabilities in the form, function, and
content of curricula might increase access to mathematics and
improve student learning and achievement.
"The KY Math Etext Project is a tremendous opportunity
for us to work with experts in mathematics accessibility," said Dr.
Steve Ritter, chief scientist and
co-founder of Carnegie Learning, Inc. "We appreciate the
opportunity to understand ways in which we can better adapt our
materials to help students with special needs."
About Carnegie Learning, Inc.
(www.carnegielearning.com)
Carnegie Learning, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Apollo
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL), is a leading publisher of innovative,
research-based math curricula for middle school, high school, and
post-secondary students. Providing differentiated instruction in
schools across the United States,
Carnegie Learning is helping students to succeed in math as a
gateway to graduation and the 21st century. Founded by
cognitive and computer scientists in conjunction with veteran
mathematics teachers, Carnegie Learning is helping to re-invent
mathematics instruction, empowering students to produce
significantly improved math scores in a diverse spectrum of school
districts. Carnegie Learning, Inc. is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
SOURCE Carnegie Learning, Inc.