By Minamur Chowdhury, University of British Columbia, UBC ETEC500 Assignment, May 2009
Dyslexia is one of the very common learning disorders around the world. It is a frequent disorder among any given population but more noticeable among school age children. The impact of dyslexia in societies across the globe is a serious issue with higher incidences of dyslexia within the prison and probation populations, higher incidences of school drop out, higher incidences of long term unemployment. Other consequences of dyslexia include increased risk of psychiatric disorders like emotional and affective disorders, and conduct disorders (NeuroDys, 2008).
School age children with dyslexia face numerous challenges in their lives including learning, socializing, and even playing or doing group activities. However, there is a glimpse of hope. Recent researches involving dyslexia conclude with predictions that newly developed technologies would play a greater role in improving dyslexic students’ livelihood, especially those who grow up using computers, or those known to us as digital natives who used or familiar with internet and mobile phones since their childhood. This brings expectations to those who have dyslexia with opportunities and make way for normal integration into the society, which is otherwise extremely difficult due to their disabilities.
As the dependency of the society on ICT increases, now is the chance for young learners with dyslexia succeed with dyslexic proof tools that will transform the dyslexic population into a productive force. The local and country-wide educational authorities need to embrace an innovative strategy to address these challenges by encouraging development of such tools. The main purpose of this study is to create the much needed awareness for this requirement by providing a clear research outcome which will prove that future ICT solutions can encounter dyslexic disability challenges successfully. A positive outcome of this research proposal will also initiate a commercial based competition for dyslexic friendly software and hardware market. These new innovations also should be implemented or integrated in educational systems and work places accessible to all users, whether dyslexic or not. If this happens, the world will definitely see the word dyslexia disappear from its memory. ... read more .... post blogs
With the advances of new technologies in educational settings, many educators are hopeful of lowering the barriers students face today, especially for those who face steep barriers caused by Dyslexia. “Dyslexia” is a syndrome where a child with normal intelligence exhibits difficulty in learning to read and write (Center for the study of Learning, n.d.). There are other notable symptoms of dyslexia such as difficulties in following instructions, concentration, perception, verbal skills, abstract reasoning, hand-eye coordination, and social adjustment. Although most dyslexic children have an average or above average IQ, they may also have a poor visual memory for language symbols as well as poor working memories. They may also have problems with word reversals, and difficulties in finding the right word, fluency, meaning, or sequence. All these symptoms point to an abnormality in the language centers of the brain (Science Daily, 2007).
Fortunately, most research articles involving dyslexia conclude with predictions that newly developed technologies will play a greater role in improving dyslexic students’ academic achievement. Scientists believe that this problem is neurobiological and brain dysfunction in nature. There is expectation that a treatment program using newer technology would be tremendously beneficial if early intervention takes place for dyslexic children. This gives hope to those who are dyslexic and suffer from impaired educational environments which are not currently equipped to handle dyslexic students. ... read more .... post blogs
By Minamur Chowdhury, University of British Columbia, UBC ETEC540 Assignment, December 2005
Currently, the dividing lines between the rich and the poor, between the North and the South, are the digital texts and technology networks. If "digital divide" is maybe an over-used phrase, it does represent a reality that cannot be ignored. Fifteen per cent of the world's population controls around 80 per cent of the world's telephones and about 90 per cent of access points to the Internet, and they are 13 times more likely to own personal computers than the rest. And the rest are the 85 per cent of the world's population living in low and lower-middle income countries.
Unlike the divide between rich and poor the 'Digital Divide' among nations is a growing global and social problem that never had a place meaningfully in the reality only a couple of decades ago. Therefore, it is still in the form that is manageable comparing with other stubborn global and social problems. There is good possibility to achieve greater result if more weight is given on to this particular problem rather than fighting world’s other never - ending problems. By mobilizing resources to target fighting the growing ‘digital divide’ as a priority, actually gives poorer part of the world a unique opportunity to reshape and rebuild a social structures in the process that would be based in a new 'information society' which would then automatically spark developments in all other problematic areas of the world like chain reactions. Genuine effort to close the gap between digitally divided communities in poorer countries will pave ways for not only 'digital opportunities,' for many but also will result in a 'technology breakthrough’ to overcome other problems that widens divide among nations. Poverty is one of such social divides. But, I hope and that the process to create a world wide digitally connected global society will open up new opportunities to those living in the poorest and most isolated regions of the world. It will offer a voice to those who in the past have often been unheard and forgotten. ... read more .... post blogs
Natural Language and Artificial Intelligence
By Minamur Chowdhury, University of British Columbia, UBC ETEC540 Research paper, December 2005
There will be a revolution. As the history of mankind witnesses the developments of handwritten text to technique of hyper text - writing that interacts with needs and desires of the readers, we are to see more to come in our time that changes the world in every decades a step forward with surprises. Indeed, technology is more magical than any magic we have seen so far.
"There is a good etymological reason to be broadening our definition of technology to include skills as well as machines. The Greek root of "technology" is techne, and the Greeks techne could be an art or craft, " a set of rules, system of method of making or doing, whether of the useful arts, or of the fine arts" (Liddelll and Scott, 1973, p.1785). Jay David Bolter wrote, "In the ancient world physical technology was simpler, and the ancient world physical technology skill of the craftsman-the potter, the stone-mason, or the carpenter" (Bolter, 1991, p.35).
With those words above, today I feel confident enough to say that we have come a long way and time has come up with yet another technological surprise. The news is that the natural languages are well in position and within our reach to be applied for communications of ideas that artificial languages can translate with great precision, in their function as a mode of transmission of logical data. ... read more .... post blogs
By Minamur Chowdhury, University of British Columbia, UBC ETEC520 Assignment, May 2008
Bangladesh is facing significant challenges in its effort to catch up with the rest of the world in term of improvement of the living conditions of its general population. The only way the country can do so is by transforming the population into a productive force. The Government of Bangladesh need to embrace an innovative strategy to address these challenges; central to this strategy is a requirement to improve the education and skill of the people, at all levels. E-learning has the potential to help address these challenges.
In Bangladesh, barriers to technological development remained tied to the barriers to any economic developments. In order to carry out a successful e-Learning strategy, the country desperately needs to get rid of these barriers and implement progressive laws that encourage free markets. Bangladesh should start implementing e-Learning solutions through the Ministry of Education. This can be done by creating market-based competition for the e-Learning industry, a sensible set of regulations, ensuring respect for private local, foreign investments and the rule of law that would promote confidence in entrepreneurs seeking to employ new ventures relating e-Learning technology. Government must create benefits for private companies investing towards e-Learning with encouragements such as tax breaks, R&D grants.
For Public sector, government must have policies concerning the characteristics of the emerging knowledge intensive economy and social environment that fits into the knowledge-intensive activities. Bangladesh Ministry of Education should encourage a list of attainable aims for accomplishments by public institutions. The ministry should also allocate funds for well-targeted, sustainable e-Learning projects for major public institutions of their own or encourage establishing collaboration with similar institutions in neighboring countries. ... read more .... post blogs