Perhaps
the hardest part of being a learner has been overcoming the role that my dyslexia
and having Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) has played through out. These two
hurdles have become even more apparent and prominent in my journey towards my
current degree. This stress has manifested itself mainly when I am attempting
to keep up with so much reading. The dyslexia forces me to have to tax my concentration
to make sense of the material. This is, of course, around the time my ADD
decides to rear its ugly face. To say the least, reading has been my greatest
pitfall when it comes to my education. This got me thinking if there anything
that would ease this burden. This is where I think mobile learning could become
my biggest lifeline.
The
first thing that would be beneficial would be an e-reader device (such as a smart
phones, iPads, iPods, tablets, kindle, ect.) that would allow me to open, read
or listen to ebooks or PDFs.
By using an e-reader device, I will be able to carry an extensive library of
books that fit in the palm of my hand. This would also benefit me because when
my ADD kicks in and forces my concentration to break and want to do something
else, I could just simply carry the reading material with me on my e-reader
device and (since most come equipped with voice) listen to the material while I
jog on the treadmill. A problem may arise, with time, when the large amount of
books may make it difficult to find the information you need. This is where
Calibre comes to our rescue.
Calibre
(http://calibre-ebook.com/) is a
cross-platform tool for managing a personal ebook library. It had the added
benefit of converting between formats, including PDF, ePUB and MOBI (Kindle). In
addition, Calibre links to online libraries to allow the download and purchase
of e-books. With the capability of supporting a wide range of e-readers,
tablets and phones for syncing, and providing a desktop e-book reader, I won’t
have to worry about whether the platform of my devices are compatible. This
would allow me to choose my device base on what my desires are rather than
whether the devices is compatible with my existing technology. No longer will I
need to be going from one book, or article, to the next trying to figure out
which reading material has the data I am looking for, because Calibre can
easily search and find it for me. With these two technologies at my disposal, I
may finally be able to supersede the hurdles that dyslexia and ADD place before
me when it comes to reading.
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