As
Reviewed in G/C/T
BYTES FOR
BRIGHTS
by John R. Tkach
Building Language Skills
Articles:
1) Book
of Apple 84
6) Softalk 83
7) Softalk 84
Super
Speed Reading. Magnum Software, 21115 Devonshire St., Suite 337, Chatsworth.
CA 91311. $99.00.
Overall rating: A ....... Educational value: A
Ease of Use: A ........... Documentation: A
Visual appeal: A+ .......... Error handling: A
Reliability: A ............ Value for money: A
Super Speed Reading uses three techniques: 1) exercises that encourage students to read wider groups of words (starting from a third of a line and progressing to half and then whole lines); 2) exercises that break subvocalization; and 3) pacers.
A pacer is a strip of paper. As the student reads, he moves the pacer down the page to go faster. The pacer is initially divided into thirds. When reading the line in thirds is mastered, the student uses a pacer that divides the pages in halves. Finally, whole lines are read with a pacer that looks like a finger flicking the side of the page. Super Speed Reading provides on screen pacers.
The graphics in Super Speed Reading's introduction are nice. A close up of blue eyes moving back and forth over the page helps explain pacing and reading by groups of words. Super Speed Reading is executed in a delightfully sophisticated manner. Every presentation is well polished.
The program is easy to use and, perhaps more important non threatening. Super Speed Reading has an excellent 129 page instruction manual with a complete set of printed texts and quizzes for some reading selections. The program is so
easy to use the student
can get instruction from the screens and may not need the manual.
Super Speed Reading does not require typing skills which makes it more accessible
to a wider range of students. The price paid for this is less building of
reading comprehension than offered by other programs. There are no on screen
comprehension quizzes or scores; the manual has some comprehension quizzes.
The student can select reading speeds and character sizes (regular, medium. bold print). I favor the bold print because the text was always clear and I had no problem reading it on my color television.
There are two disks, one blue and one green. The blue disk contains the main program and cannot be copied. The green disk cannot be used without the blue disk. The blue disk starts with a long introduction that explains how to use the course. The introduction is in six parts which can be accessed in sequence or randomly. A new student starts by reading a brief introduction and taking a short reading test to determine his reading speed. This score is then recorded on the green disk. The student may compare later reading speeds to this baseline.
The last part of the, introduction explains methods of reading school books, business memos, and articles.
The green disk has five programs and 120 pages of practice text. Especially useful is the flasher practice. Words and phrases are flashed in a space between two horizontal lines. By pressing the arrows, the student can increase or decrease reading speed
(display time). One
of the little tricks used by Super Speed Reading is to display a well known
phrase with blank spaces in place of vowels. To my amazement, this device
worked well. Reading speed is displayed and students can easily read up to
1900 words a minute in this exercise - a psychologically reassuring achievement.
The student is also guided toward books. One section helps figure reading
speed and records it using books for practice. A timer and metronome are built
in for optional use. Other sections allow users to view the progress of all
students on the green disk and to see their progress in graph form.
The green disk will hold records on students. A backup copy of the green disk can be made using the Copya program. Thus. Super Speed Reading can be used for an unlimited number of students.
The manual recommends 30 minutes of practice time twice a day for about two months. The time needed to complete the course then, is about 60 hours.
Super Speed Reading promises
to increase reading speed two, to tenfold. Over a period of a year, I tried
out Super Speed Reading on two physicians, a sixth grader, a teacher, two
eighth graders, and a ninth grader. All tripled their reading speeds but none
increased reading speed by ten times. Super Speed Reading does a lot and does
it well. It is a good buy.
Disk-Apple II, 11+, lIe, lIe 48K
G/C/T -September/October, 1985-21
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