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<p><!-- Make sure you modify the 4Cast title in this section -->
<span style="font-size: 20px; font-weight: bold;
color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial;
line-height: 110%;">OPLIN 4cast #353: The way we
read</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal;
color: rgb(102, 102, 102); font-style: italic;
font-family: arial;">September 25th, 2013</span></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><img
alt="dyslexia brain"
src="cid:part4.00090403.05090503@oplin.org"
height="92" width="110" align="left">Several
articles appeared last week about a study
suggesting that e-readers are better for people
with dyslexia than paper-printed texts. Actually,
this study was just the latest research
publication by Matthew Schneps, Director of the
Laboratory for Visual Learning at the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory, and a team of
researchers studying the mechanics of reading. The
word "e-reader" in the title of the latest
publication grabbed the attention of the mass
media, but e-readers really just happen to be one
of several tools these researchers and others have
used to discover some interesting things about the
way people read. For some people with dyslexia,
using an e-reader to shorten line lengths has
proven to improve the way they read.
</p>
<div> </div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/09/e-readers-prove-easy-on-the-eye-for-some-dyslexics/">E-readers
prove easy on the eye for some dyslexics</a>
(Ars Technica/Julia Carroll) "Reading involves a
series of short eye 'jumps' or saccades,
followed by a brief period of stillness while
the brain processes the letters in front of the
eyes. The 'visual span' is the number of letters
that can be processed during the period of
stillness, before moving one's eyes again.
Problems in the text, such as typos or unknown
words, prompt an almost immediate response, with
eyes tracking backwards and forwards to check
the surrounding context to help resolve the
issue."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071161">Shorter
lines facilitate reading in those who struggle</a>
(PLOS ONE/Matthew H. Schneps, Jenny M. Thomson,
Gerhard Sonnert, Marc Pomplun, Chen Chen, and
Amanda Heffner-Wong) "Given that readers often
regress to correct for lapses in understanding,
and thus clarify meaning, we would expect
comprehension to suffer if a text manipulation
caused regression rates to drop. The fact that
this does not occur further suggests that
shortened linewidths act to limit confusion at
the sight of the fixated word. Based on the
forgoing, we suggest that a possible
explanation, consistent with the observations in
this study, is that short lines act to improve
comprehension at the fixation site by reducing
the likelihood that a previously fixated word
can be found immediately adjacent to the
fixation site."</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/266346.php">E-readers
benefit some dyslexics</a> (Medical News
Today/Marie Ellis) "They note that many cases of
dyslexia involve an element known as a visual
attention deficit, which is an inability to
concentrate on specific letters or words within
lines of text. Another feature of dyslexia is
visual crowding, which is the inability to
recognize letters when they are scattered within
the word. By reading short lines on an e-reader,
the researchers say dyslexics are able to
resolve the issues by 'reducing visual
distractions within the text.'"</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><a
href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075634">E-readers
are more effective than paper for some with
dyslexia</a> (PLOS ONE/Matthew H. Schneps,
Jenny M. Thomson, Chen Chen, Gerhard Sonnert,
and Marc Pomplun) "Prior eye tracking studies
demonstrated that short lines facilitate reading
in dyslexia, suggesting that it is the use of
short lines (and not the device per se) that
leads to the observed benefits. We propose that
these findings may be understood as a
consequence of visual attention deficits, in
some with dyslexia, that make it difficult to
allocate attention to uncrowded text near
fixation, as the gaze advances during reading.
Short lines ameliorate this by guiding attention
to the uncrowded span."</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<p style="text-align: left; font-size: 20px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;"><small><strong><em>Historical
fact:</em></strong></small><br>
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify; font-size: 16px;
font-family: arial; line-height: 110%;">The
researchers point out that paper-printed texts
"...historically imposed constraints on reading,
whose impetus was driven largely by technological
limitations that are no longer relevant."
Electronic devices can provide the ability to
tailor the way text is formatted to suit the
individual needs of the reader.
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
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