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teaching speed reading
Speed reading has become an essential business and academic success tool in the knowledge economy. With the onset of PCs, and the internet, live classes have diminished as a result of “instant access.” One of the seemingly easiest choices someone might take to learn the skills is to buy a software program. But does software training work?
Although I can’t state that I have reviewed all software programs, I have reviewed the most popular ones on the market. The benefit of learning speed reading with software in general, is that the software does allow for interesting eye pattern simulation training. By that I mean, software addresses one of the components of speed reading somewhat well – the mechanics, or getting the eyes to move more efficiently.
When you read, the eyes must first “see” the words. The eyes stop for a very brief moment to “fixate” on the words. Untrained readers see only a single or a few words per fixation. This is inefficient. You can picture this by imagining a photograph taken with a zoom lens focused in. If you zoom out with the lens, you see more of the foreground and background of the picture. Your camera takes in “more.”
Similarly speed reading software trains the eyes to see more for each fixation, or stopping (snapshot) of the eyes. Software can help with this. But it is only one piece of the speed reading puzzle, and some software training programs teach you to expand this visual focal area wider than what the eyes can naturally see during these fixations. This can cause terrible eye muscle strain.
With software training you can learn to “see” thousands and tens of thousands of words per minute. For that aspect of speed reading training, software can be beneficial as well as harmful. Different software programs teach different approaches to the fixation issue. But what good is it to merely see thousands of words per minute if you don’t understand the material?
Understanding the meaning, or comprehension, is other component of the speed reading puzzle that none of the programs I have seen do not cover, or barely touch. Without addressing the cognitive aspect, or comprehension, the training is ineffective. Both aspects of learning to speed read must be covered.
Another problem I have observed with some of the speed reading software programs is with the technical aspects of what is called “fixations.” In reading a fixation happens when the eyes stop to focus on a word or group of words. Neuro-science theorizes that during the stop phase of the eyes moving over the print, the brain is interpreting the visual data. Inefficient readers tend to only take in one or two words at time. Speed reading software trains the eyes to see more for each fixation. This can be a benefit to the beginning speed reader.
Some speed reading software programs however, tend to focus on developing a more efficient eye fixation pattern using an outmoded tachistoscopic approach leading the reader to stretch the natural visual focal area beyond its natural limitations of about one to three inches in diameter. For example, the software may train to see an entire line or even a paragraph with one fixation. This can be damaging and strenuous to the eye muscles.
To demonstrate this, open a book to a page with lots of text where the width of the print is 5-7 inches. Focus somewhere in the middle of a paragraph. Now, without trying to read or understand the material lock your eyes without focusing on a particular word. Just notice the clear focal area. How much can you see within that area? Use a pencil and draw a boundary around what you can clearly see. If you measure the dimensions, it is probably somewhere between 1-3 inches in diameter. If speed reading software is used, many times this natural focal area is wider and deeper. It is an unnatural strenuous stretching that will cause fatigue.
In conclusion, speed reading software programs may be helpful for increasing speed of the eyes and enlarging the area of fixations, but they may in fact be damaging. Additionally, if the program does not directly train how to get your mind responding (dealing in-depth with comprehension) to these greater inputs of visual data, then the training is useless.
About the Author:
Ed Caldwell is the creator and publisher of the “Masters Online Program: Dynamic Reading, Memory, and Recall” and other live and web-based learning programs. As former National Director of Instruction and Certification for the world famous Evelyn Wood Reading Dynamics program, Ed has 30 years experience teaching and testing new strategies to help people from all walks of life learn more efficiently. Trainer, speaker, and writer, he can be contacted at inquiry@productivelearn.com. He is the creator and president of Productive Learning Systems, Inc, and ProductivElearn.com, Inc. You can learn more at www.speedreadingtactics.com and download the free eBook, “The 10 Top Mistakes When Learning Speed Reading.”
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Speed Reading Tactics: Does Speed Reading Software Training Work?
Education: Teaching & Writing : How to Improve Reading Speed
