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PUPILS BECOME DICTATORS!

Students at Poole’s Dyslexia unit, based at Carter Community School, are among the first in the country to experiment with new voice operated software.

Wearing a headset, pupils dictate to a computer which automatically prints what they have said.

Nick Pinniger, teacher at the unit, said: "Some students have a real difficulty with dyslexia which can make learning really time consuming and frustrating. Whilst it can take some time to learn, the new software helps them to get their thoughts down on paper much more quickly, without spelling getting in the way. It is helping them to become much more confident and we are really pleased with the results so far."

A ‘before and after’ study by the Borough of Poole’s Educational Psychology Service, showed that all the students’ writing improved not only in spelling but in general content, with every pupil using the programme wanting to continue.

Dave Pratten, headteacher at Carter Community School, said "We are delighted to be a partner in the dyslexia unit. The progress shown both by our pupils and those from other schools has been remarkable and is a tribute to the efforts of both the students and the staff involved."

As a result of the success of the work so far, Poole’s Pupil and Parent Support Service will provide an additional computer and updated software to enable more pupils with dyslexia to dictate as well as write. Baden-Powell School’s Dyslexia Unit pupils (8-12 years old) – who are younger than those at Carter Community School – will be the next to benefit from this technology.

Nick Beard