Travis Discovers the Joy of Reading
March 2008
Travis, a grade 6 student attending school in the Okanagan area, has discovered the joy of reading! He uses his laptop and literacy support software to read mystery stories and write poetry. For years Travis dreamed of being able to read at bedtime like other kids. But the gap between his interests and his reading level was so enormous that it wasn’t possible. Now Travis can take his laptop to bed and read along with the Hardy Boys mysteries, just like any other eleven year old boy. Here is what he has to say about using technology to help him read and enjoy books...
"My name is Travis and I'm in sixth grade I've had the laptop for two years now. Before I got the laptop I was getting a huge amount of help from the teachers. But when I got my laptop from Set B.C. I took on a whole lot more responsibility. I need a laptop for reading and writing. The programs I use for these two things are Dragon Naturally Speaking 9.0 and Kurzweil 3000. When I got these programs I almost became fully independent. At the start my dad helped me set it up. I'm ready for the next year now.”
Travis even uses his technology to write poetry. Here is a limerick he wrote about a dog...
There once was a dog from Peru
who landed on somebody's shoe.
He went on a diet
then he started a riot
and now he landed on some glue.
Keep up the terrific work, Travis, and send us some more of your creative writing!