Jennifer Cuhna is a lawyer with a bachelor’s degree in psychology; she also served as a research assistant at the University of Florida in a behavioral neuroscience laboratory and spent many years teaching inner-city kids how to read. Those experiences gave her both the inquisitiveness and the expertise to work on a rather unconventional study … Continue reading “Parrots Can Speak, but Can They Read?”
New Tactile Font can Help People Who Lose their Sight Later in Life
Ever since 1824, when Louis Braille invented his tactile braille system, low-vision and blind individuals have had a proven method to read printed material. The system relies on a cell composed of six raised dots, the specific combinations corresponding to individual letters and numbers, and it has been optimized over the years so that dot … Continue reading “New Tactile Font can Help People Who Lose their Sight Later in Life”
Critical Thinking and the Future of Reading
Over the years on this blog, we have addressed the critical need for critical thinking at all ages and levels of education, as well as the fact that while humans are hard-wired for speech, we are not hard-wired for reading and writing, which must be taught and learned. This past Saturday, the U.S. edition of … Continue reading “Critical Thinking and the Future of Reading”
Max Lang – Comic Book Sorting Specialist, Parent, and Avid Reader
[Editor’s note: This interview was conducted by Miriam Ruff, and it is the fourth installment in what will be a series of interviews about the different approaches people take to discover and learn new topics. It was lightly edited for clarity.] MR: Welcome to AceReader; we’re glad to have you here. ML: Thanks! MR: Let’s … Continue reading “Max Lang – Comic Book Sorting Specialist, Parent, and Avid Reader”
Reading/Teaching Science Fiction Helps Inspire Students in the Age of Technology
Science fiction may be a relatively young genre in the vast span of human literature, but it holds a unique place in our modern technological world, and thereby in our educational system. Science fiction has the ability to inspire imagination and innovation. It also helps draw young people to the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and … Continue reading “Reading/Teaching Science Fiction Helps Inspire Students in the Age of Technology”
Why Libraries are Irreplaceable
On July 21, 2018, Forbes.com published an op-ed piece by LIU Post economist Panos Mourdoukoutas under the headline “Amazon Should Replace Local Libraries to Save Taxpayers Money.” Don’t try to find the article – Forbes pulled it down shortly after posting it due to the enormous backlash from librarians, educators, and the public as a … Continue reading “Why Libraries are Irreplaceable”
Guest Blog, Elizabeth Smith – Ace Reader: A Solution to a Multi-Faceted Problem
According to the 2015 NAEP Report (the last year that twelfth graders were included), slightly over 1/3 of public school fourth, eighth, and twelfth graders read at a proficient level or above.[1] The overwhelming majority of that 37% is at the proficient level. As most teachers know, “proficient” isn’t equivalent with grade level. The statistics … Continue reading “Guest Blog, Elizabeth Smith – Ace Reader: A Solution to a Multi-Faceted Problem”
Stop the Summer Reading Slide
Today’s post is a re-post of a blog we ran last year. As this year the summer slide seems even more entrenched than ever, we thought it would be a good idea to revisit the topic. As the last of the school bells ring, kids head off to a summer that (they hope) will be … Continue reading “Stop the Summer Reading Slide”
Does Spacing after a Period Affect Reading Speed and Comprehension?
Ever since there has been typesetting and printed text, there has been a debate about spacing, particularly about the spacing after a period – should there be one space or two? The first printers used two space sizes. A regular space was used for separating words, and a slightly larger space (called the emspace) was … Continue reading “Does Spacing after a Period Affect Reading Speed and Comprehension?”
Listening in on the Relationship between Audiobooks and Reading Comprehension
In this day and age of technological everything, the debate about whether people should read on a screen or from a printed page rages on. A less obvious, but equally important, debate centers on whether students should be encouraged to “read” using audiobooks instead of traditional media, especially when they’re doing it outside of a … Continue reading “Listening in on the Relationship between Audiobooks and Reading Comprehension”