This project focuses on tools for learners who are visual learners.
Of children identified with a learning disability, a large percentage will drop out of high school. Learners with disabilities often have low self-esteem and low self-confidence because they have frequently have difficulty learning with traditional teaching methods. As a result, they often give up without realizing their inherent strengths and abilities to learn in different ways. On the other hand, society benefits greatly when people with dyslexia, autism, and ADD are taught well and persist. This project's technology, "Visual Learning Studies" (VLS), increases the opportunities for learners with learning differences; bringing more of them to complete their education and become productive contributors to society and to advancing our nation's economy.
Visual Learning Studios (VLS) is an online interactive and differentiated educational platform targeting the learning needs and differences of children with autism, ADD and dyslexia. These learners typically have strengths in visual processing, while at the same time, their language processing is weak. As a result of the language processing challenges, they have difficulty learning through what are considered "traditional" means of reading and listening. Written for the general population, traditional textbooks and online textbooks are language dense. In contrast, the VLS communicates content through rich visual imagery using videos and images as well as through "lean" language that is easier for learners with these impairments to process and understand. During the I-Corps program, this I-Corps team conducts market research to validate its go-to-market strategy with potential customers. The team plans to meet with school system administrators, general education teachers, special education teachers, speech and language pathologists, social workers, occupational therapists and instructional materials designers to explore the viability of the VLS technology.
Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC)
Autism Research Database (AFD)
