Resources: Research and Special Projects

The Learning Systems Group has done extensive field analysis and research with students who struggle with reading and writing, and with educators who specialize in learning disabilities. Our products were defined and developed based upon this information, which helped us to create effective and powerful learning tools. We will continue to post our ongoing research. Additionally, we have posted relevant web links and articles you may find of interest.

Additionally, in this section you will find information concerning special projects and partnerships. The Learning Systems Group is committed to working with selected partners and to on-going projects to provide the best products and services for our customers.

Research

The Learning Systems Group participates in research on many aspects of WYNN and TestTalker effectiveness. We are pleased to share this research with the learning community.

The white paper "Scientific Research Supporting WYNN" contains a summary of extensive research that validates the use of WYNN's features in the classroom.  Select the white paper link for more information.

Washington Research

During the 2000–2001 school year, selected teachers and students throughout Washington State participated in the Learning Disabilities and Technology project, a Technology Literacy Challenge Fund grant funded through the state’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. The grant, administered though the Special Education Technology Center at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, provided each participating classroom with a variety of computer hardware and software, including WYNN.

In spring 2001 Freedom Scientific approached RMC Research Corporation, the grant evaluator, about capturing the experiences of these known WYNN users to learn more about the use of the software, its strengths, and how it can be improved. This report outlines the findings from the telephone interviews, teacher survey, and classroom observations. The interview questions, survey instrument, and survey results are included in the appendixes.

UC Berkeley Research
Assistive Technology for College Students with Learning Disabilities UC Berkeley/Arkenstone Collaborative Studies

In an attempt to better understand the needs of college students with learning disabilities, on-going investigative studies were conducted to gather information in several areas.

• What types of assistive technologies are helpful to students with learning disabilities?
• How can school administrators most effectively incorporate these technologies into their programs?
• How can assistive technology be improved to better meet the needs of students with learning disabilities?

These studies explore the compensatory effectiveness of text-to-speech assistive technology on the reading comprehension of college students with learning disabilities, Participants were asked to use a text-to-speech reading system for four hours per week during the course of one school semester. Compensatory effectiveness was evaluated through feedback from student interviews and reading comprehension tests administered both at the beginning and the end of each phase. This report describes Phases 1-3 and their implications on the use of assistive technology for students with learning disabilities.

Web Sites with Research Information

• National Center for Learning Disabilities
• Teaching LD

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