{"id":2165,"date":"2023-10-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2023\/10\/09\/celebrating-dyslexic-thinkers-during-dyslexia-awareness-month\/"},"modified":"2024-05-29T18:19:51","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T01:19:51","slug":"celebrating-dyslexic-thinkers-during-dyslexia-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/en-us\/education\/blog\/2023\/10\/celebrating-dyslexic-thinkers-during-dyslexia-awareness-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating dyslexic thinkers during Dyslexia Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
In education, each student’s distinct perspective and talents are celebrated, including the remarkable group of dyslexic thinkers. Dyslexic thinking encompasses both exceptional cognitive abilities and learning differences that affect reading, writing, spelling, and memory. Dyslexic thinkers often excel in pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, lateral thinking, and interpersonal communication\u2014critical skills highly prized in the 21st-century workplace. Dyslexic thinking is recognized as a unique gift, holding potential for innovation, creativity, and leadership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
October marks Dyslexia Awareness Month, dedicated to honoring these exceptional individuals, representing approximately one in five students<\/a>. Their unique abilities encompass extraordinary creativity, problem-solving skills, and a talent for thinking holistically\u2014an indispensable asset in today’s ever-changing world. Educators play a vital role in identifying, supporting, and empowering every dyslexic learner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019re excited to share that Microsoft Education has launched a new training on dyslexic thinking on Microsoft Learn, created in partnership with the global charity Made by Dyslexia<\/a>. This training module aims to help you understand dyslexic thinking, a set of skills highly valued by employers and recognized on LinkedIn profiles. It will provide you with the knowledge and strategies needed to create a truly inclusive classroom where both you and your students can thrive. Explore how Microsoft Education can support you in unlocking the power of dyslexic thinkers<\/a> in your classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The new course covers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft Education offers a wide range of tools designed to support students with dyslexia, empowering educators to provide flexible learning supports and assessment options. Let\u2019s explore some of the learning tools<\/a> and Learning Accelerators<\/a> that can assist dyslexic learners in succeeding in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Text-decoding options<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dyslexic thinkers often face challenges in translating their creative ideas into written form due to difficulties with spelling, punctuation, and grammar rules. This struggle can be evident in both the initial writing and editing stages, as they grapple with memory-based learning and applying rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immersive Reader<\/a>, available across Microsoft tools, supports students\u2019 developing spelling and grammar skills by offering features like word splitting, one-line focus, highlighting parts of speech, and dictation in over 100 languages<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change how text appears with Text Preferences in Immersive Reader.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n LinkedIn has recently incorporated Immersive Reader<\/a> as a new way to digest content. This new accessibility feature in LinkedIn is particularly useful among members with dyslexia, making it much easier for them to read and enjoy long form articles and content. With just one click, individuals can unlock a series of tools such as the ability to read content aloud, translate content in real-time, and change reading and text preferences on any article or Newsletter published on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Learning<\/a> will also share a free course on Dyslexic Thinking later this month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Multi-sensory reading practice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading fluency can pose challenges for dyslexic thinkers, as they often struggle with recognizing and working with sounds, letters, and individual words. In some reading programs, fluency is considered a prerequisite for comprehension and is given top priority for mastery. To help dyslexic thinkers, however, it’s essential to place equal emphasis on both comprehension and fluency. One way to do this is to leverage Reading Progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Reading Progress<\/a> supports students’ reading fluency with independent practice, self-assessment, personalized feedback. Educators can use Reading Coach<\/a> to identify challenging words and provide targeted practice. Both Learning Accelerators are integrated in Microsoft Teams for Education. Using Reading Progress and Reading Coach<\/a> alongside Immersive Reader allows educators to individualize reading instruction for all learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDyslexic thinking a valuable skill<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Supporting dyslexic thinkers in the classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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