Awesome Technique for Reading

I did say that I would do a blog about dyslexia so as promised, I wanted to discuss a new technique I have found for reading. During my last set of exams for University, I found a really amazing way on how to improve my reading. It's so simple, I can't believe I didn't think of it before.

Before I explain what it is, I'm just going to provide you all with some really important background information about me and my course. I am dyslexic but I only got told at the start of my University course. Since then, even though I had a feeling all this time, I've really had to up my game and develop coping strategies on how to read. I am doing a psychology course which involves a LOT of reading. I tried recommendations such as text-to-speech software which worked on my Mac Mini at home but in terms of Windows 7, the software continuously crashed on me. Apple get +10 points for having text-to-speech software built in to their OSX systems and +5 points for it working effectively. Microsoft should have -10 points for not having it built in and another - 10 points for the "solutions" for Windows computers being completely rubbish as well. The other issue is that I use a Windows laptop for University and I have no way of affording a MacBook Pro yet. So, I'm stuck with it. I needed a better solution. And for 2.5 years, I didn't have one. But with my psychology course, most of the work was research papers which I had to print out. Very little books which helps me so much!

Until the last set of exams. The pressure was on and I had a lot of lecture reading materials. So my solution is simple and involves pretty colours!! My solution is high-lighter pens. Not a new idea but it get better. Make rainbows with them! Yes, I know - I sense the feeling of "I've gone nuts" But seriously, with every paragraph or major point in the research article, change the highlighter colour and make a rainbow on the paper. It focuses your eyes to the major points that you need to remember whilst looking pretty at the same time.

So how did it help? Well, it split up long paragraphs into short managable chucks and these small chucks would have the main points of the actual paragraph. The technique is stupidly simple which makes me wonder why I never thought of it before. But interestingly, when I showed this idea to Mr Husband (who is not dyslexic) and he said that he wouldn't be able to read from the page. For him, there was too much on the page for him to focus on reading. Whilst for me, the white paper was a distraction within itself.

But of course, the real test is if it improved my marks between the semesters. Well, on Saturday morning, my exam marks were in and my overall mark had improved. I won't know for a while if it improved individual exams. But I'm still really glad it pulled my mark up at least. But for now, I don't need to worry about it because these exams were the final exams of my Undergraduate degree. I now have my 2:2 degree and I'm super happy about it. But at least I know about this technique now and I can apply it to other areas of my life.

But for this post of my blog, there's one thing you should learn. As a dyslexic, you are always looking and finding new ways to improve your reading. For me, it is important to be pro-active in finding something that works. It might not work for everyone or I might find something else that's even better but at least I've tried a technique and given it my best shot. And I'll keep looking. For one main reason - I don't want to give up on reading.

My WWDC 2012 Keynote Response

Its only been a few days, but I've decided to do an additional blog to discuss Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2012, and in particular, their keynote speech which was delivered by Tim Cook and other Apple staff. I followed the developments on twitter using MacRumours live feed. And I really want to give my response on what has been announced.

The first part of the keynote was showing how Apple products have an impact to make a difference in their user's lives. This is completely I can relate to because of my dyslexia, Apple products really do help me in my everyday life, from writing this blog to doing coursework for University. I often use my iPad for note taking and my MacBook Pro is used almost everyday. It's much lighter than my old laptop and has a more effective and longer battery life. But in terms of all my Apple products, my iPhone is the most essential. My iPhone has all my appointments on me and Mr Husband's shared calendar. I really struggled before, because without having the calendar, I would often forget appointments or even double book my appointments. My memory - a known problem with dyslexics - is awful.

Today's keynote announced a few things. In terms of the MacBook Pro ranges, these don't really affect me. I just got my MacBook Pro (story in a blog later) and I'm not looking to update mine now. However, I will be going to the Apple Store to look at the new MacBook Pro with retina screen to see how impressive it is.

What does affect me is OSX Mountain Lion with more integrated use of iCloud, which I use all the time. What I'm really excited about is Dictation on the Mac, which can be used anywhere in the Mac. This is ideal for me, since software for dictation has really improved in the last few years. And Siri in the iPhone 4S is probably the best version of this type of software to date so to see this on the Mac is impressive. Also, as a gamer, I am also impressed with the new Game Centre as well which will have gaming for Mac vs iPad or Mac vs Mac. Looks like I will be trying to beat Mr Husband on the Mac, as well as the iPad and the Xbox 360! Mountain Lion is out next month for $19.99 and its the same as the update for Lion, one download that you can use to update all your Macs. With 3 Macs in our flat, £19.99 is better than £59.97

Finally the iOS 6 updates. Siri is getting a huge update for launching applications and asking sports related knowledge. But also, there is an additional for more languages. Another Siri feature is Eyes Free which will work with particular car manufacturers. This would be awesome if I was buying a new car anytime soon or if Siri was on my iPhone 4 however, its a feature that I look forward to using in the future but will be great for Mr Husband's iPhone 4S. Facebook integration is also happening as well. This is no real surprise since they did this with twitter and since Facebook is a bigger social network (sorry Twitter but I love you as well), it was always going to happen. FaceTime will be used over cellular networks and no longer just over WiFi. This will be good if Mr Husband is away working and we need to use FaceTime instead of Skype's video conferencing which is temperamental. PassBook is also a good idea but we will wait to see who supports it in terms of airlines. This could be handy for Mr Husband's travelling. But also, its good to see that Apple is proud for their accessibility usage. As a dyslexic, the iPhone really does benefit me. There are also new maps for iOS 6 which more features than the current maps system. There have been a lot of rumours that Apple were developing their own system for maps and were planning to drop Google Maps. But the new maps are very pretty with more features such as traffic information and sat nat features using Siri. However, it isn't updated for the original iPad which affects both me and Mr Husband since we both have the original iPads. However, I doubt we will upgrade our iPads based on this

Overall, I'm really impressed with the WWDC. The software updates benefit more than that the hardware updates. That being said, I'm looking forward to seeing the new MacBook Updates in the Apple Store. Another impressive year from WWDC. Now just need to wait for the new iPhone 5 to be announced soon.

What Geek Am I?

For those of you who are new to this blog, I should really tell you a little about me.

My name is Addie and I'm currently at University in Scotland. I'm just finished my undergraduate degree and I'm looking to the future...and beyond! I have a loving husband-to-be (and for the point of this blog, he will be referred to as Mr Husband).

In terms of geeky - I'm an overall geek through and through. I love my films - me and Mr Husband are complete film nuts. I love my gadgets. But that being said, I am an Appletard. I got my iPhone 4...then my iPad and I recently got the MacBook Pro. But its not just computer gadgets I love. Anything that fixes a problem I will get. For example, I do love baking and I really try to do it regularly. But if I was going to pipe icing, a re-washable bag was a nightmare but throw away bags seemed a bit wasteful. However, I walked into a store one day and found a silicon piping bag which is easier to clean but not wasteful. I love it!

But of course, my love of Apple products and my love of a good solution have come together. I love my MacBook Pro because I need text-to-speech software because of my dyslexia. But Windows 7 doesn't have it innately and the software provided for me was awful. So, when I used Mr Husband's Mac Mini for University work, it worked like a dream. So when I ended up with a MacBook Pro - which is a story for another blog - I was delighted.

But of course, I do love other types of gadgets. I love doing photography and I currently use a Canon 400D with a body grip and a range of lenses. I love using my gadget knowledge to apply to my photography hobby. It's something I haven't had time for recently but I do plan to get into it. But my love of gadgets also affect my hobby of exercising. Mr Husband has recently completed his first half-marathon and when we were training together, we both used apps on our iPhone to track our progress. Which was ideal when we were in two different countries.

I use my love of gadgets so I can be creative. I have a tablet for my old PC which was really good for digital painting which I really enjoyed doing. Now, I use my iPad as the tablet and I'm going to get a new Bamboo pen so I can practise and get better at drawing again.

For me, being a geeky affects a lot of aspects of my life in a positive way. Hell, if it wasn't for my geeky trait, I would have never meet Mr Husband - who is just as geeky as me, if not more.

That's who I am. Leave a comment and tell me about you!

Moving Blog

I’ve just announced on my personal twitter that I’m changing my blogs. Some people might be confused why I’ve done this so I thought I would explain it here – on my new blog.

I really enjoyed doing my dyslexia blog. However, when I was doing my last blog series, I became stuck. I didn’t know what else to write about. But I did have topics but just not on dyslexia. So, I decided to move from a dyslexia blog to a geeky blog which would still contain blogs on dyslexia. I also decided to do bi-weekly blogs, which would help me from dealing from pressure from the real world. That being said, if I find out some AMAZING news - like the launch of a product I really want, then I might post in between the regular two weeks.

But, there was another issue which had bigger consequence for me. I was letting my dyslexia define me as a person. But I'm more than just a dyslexic. I'm a student, a friend, a fiancée, an internet user, an artist, a poet and a geek. Why should I tie myself down to something that some people might view as a negative in my personality? Whereas, being a geek is something that could be viewed negatively however most people don't. It could be argued that I'm doing the same with a geeky blog. But being labelled a bit geeky is a bit different than being labelled just a dyslexic. But more importantly, I'm ok with being labelled a geek. Simply put - it's who I am.

The third problem was nothing to do with the actual blog, but rather the provider itself. I used wordpress as a recommendation from years ago and I thought I would give it another go again. But wordpress was awful! Their apps for iPhone and iPad would continue to crash all the time. So when I wanted to lie in bed and do a quick blog, it was a nightmare! Wordpress has become unuseable. So I had to move and I know that blogger was very good back in the day and appeared to remain as a good standard.So I played around with it a lot more than I did wordpress before. And in terms of apps, you aren't stuck with just their app - which is only on iPhone (minor issue - I can live with that).

I hope you all understand why I've moved blogs and why I've changed blogs. And I hope you guys enjoy my new blogs as much as I enjoy writing it.

My next blog will be up quicker than two week though! I will post it up in the next few days - I promise.