Optimum Resources's objective is the development of microcomputer software for the teaching of reading disabled students. This software will allow school systems to provide effective help to the large population of children who have not learned to read during the normal course of instruction. Building on the knowledge gained from the successful development and testing of a prototypic software nodule using the letter-cluster method in Phase I, the research in Phase II will consist of further development and evaluation of the entire system during a full academic year. The complete seven-module system will include color graphics, animation, voice recognition, and high quality speech output, making it the first truly voice-interactive microcomputer instructional system. The use of microcomputers, ideally suited to the dyslexic student's need for repetition and reinforcement, will ease the workload on special education teachers, save schools millions of dollars, and enhance the education of the students involved. This will be theory system available that uses voice recognition to evaluate oral responses, teach pronounceable, multiletter decoding units, and train children for speed in retrieving phonemic responses to letter clusters. Using the latest in modern technology and innovative teaching techniques, our goal is to produce a self-contained, teacher- independent system of remedial reading instruction.
