Cloudworld logo

Cloudworld's mission: Technology in the service of mankind.

Cloudworld has three projects, where it can also provide relevant expertise:

Climate change

Cloudworld organised an event at the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth, 20-22 April 2010, Cochabamba, Bolivia, entitled "Necessary steps to save the planet"

Necessary steps to save the planet

Pasos necesarios para salvar al planeta

Thursday, 8.30 - 10.30 am, 22nd April 2010, UNIVALLE, biblio P3

President Morales has called for a halt to global warming, a halt to sea level rise, protection of ecosystems, respect for all life, and a more equitable society. At the same time, scientists are concerned that the Earth system is liable to pass certain "tipping points", when it becomes impossible to prevent catastrophe for all life on this planet - a major extinction event. How can we minimise risk of catastrophe whilst meeting the President's objectives? Our event will update you on the science of climate change, and identify critical tipping points. It will show how to reduce the risk of catastrophe, and point the way to achieving the President's goals, with a risk-assessed "Plan B" to replace Copenhagen's suicidal "Plan A".


This plan B involves various necessary steps:
  • use of sunshine reflection techniques to cool the Arctic - essential to avoid tipping points - NOW AN EMERGENCY;
  • preparation for additional geoengineering - essential to keep global warming below 1 degree and halt sea level rise;
  • use of CO2 removal techniques - essential to halt ocean acidification and maintain marine food chains;
  • forest management to save the Amazon and other rainforests;
  • reduction in black carbon (soot) to save glaciers;
  • improvement of soils to feed a growing population, especially using "biochar";
  • payment for the above from a tax on fossil fuels, such that all carbon taken out of the ground is put back in the ground.

Costing under 2% of world GDP, this plan would be a good investment for ourselves and our offspring, for animal and plant life, and for Mother Earth.

Panel chair: John Nissen, Cloudworld, geoengineering researcher
Moderator: Julius Just, Just Associates
Presenters: Oliver Tickell, environmentalist and author of "Kyoto2"; Julie Major, International Biochar Initiative;
Kevin Layton and Albert Kallio, geoengineering researchers
Other contributors: Stephen Salter, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Design; Oliver Wingenter, Professor of Atmospheric Studies; Joshua Horton and Mark Massmann

Education

WordAloud® - teaching English and literacy worldwide

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." Benjamin Franklin

New! Get them reading!

Synthetic phonics is the only proven method of reading instruction which works for everyone. Teachers and parents will be interested to have reading material for use with synthetic phonics. We have prepared stories which the beginner reader can be reading within a few weeks. The stories will be available on a new CD we are producing, for use with WordAloud. The first story is of a cat and a parrot called Pip.

And we have described how some of the Dr Seuss books, including "The Cat in the Hat" and "Fox in Socks", can be used with synthetic phonics: by a teacher or teaching assistant as a resource, by a parent in helping their child to read and write, or by a parent in home-schooling.

Details of how to teach synthetic phonics, with the help of WordAloud, will be included on the CD, together with a comprehensive guide on the pronunciation of the English language, for teaching ESL/EFL. Synthetic phonics works with adults, dyslexics and struggling readers of any age, even if English is not their first language. We recommend that children start to learn to read and write as early as possible. Some children may be ready when they are two or three years old. Certainly all children are ready to learn before they get to primary school. Order your CD now from sales@cloudworld.co.uk.

A scientific theory of dyslexia

There is evidence that good phonics teaching can develop the pathways in the brain that allow rapid decoding of words, and thence fluent reading. Perhaps the best evidence is from the 7-year Clackmannanshire study, in which every one of 300 pupils were taught, aged 4+, to read by synthetic phonics, and their average reading age, by age 11, was 3 years ahead of the norm. There were no non-readers!

However, in that study, a group of "pupils at risk" was identified, and they were given special attention to ensure they did not lag behind the other pupils. This suggests that dyslexia and LD can make it more difficult for a person to develop the necessary pathways (i.e. this is their "disability"), but with an intensive course of one-to-one synthetic phonics teaching, those pathways CAN be developed.

To support this theory, look at this summary of brain research into reading.

"It is worth noting that the activity associated with listening to a person speak and the activity associated with reading is very similar - in both cases, the temporal lobe (especially on the left side in right-handed people) and the frontal lobe are active processing sounds and meaning, respectively. It is only the addition of the activity in the occipital lobe that separates reading text from listening to speech, and this is consistent with research on the cognitive processes involved in reading. Evidence suggests that, in order to be able to read, children must be able to decode text, translating it into a speech form, and children must also be able to understand spoken language. These two skills are the foundations for reading comprehension."

Thus, for a fluent reader, the pathways used for reading are just those for decoding and listening. So the theory is that, in dyslexic slow readers, other pathways have been developed, often through misguided teaching. The skill and habit of proper decoding can only be instilled by intensive training and exercise.

Synthetic Phonics First and Fast!

Banish dyslexia. Banish the gender gap.

Achieve 100% Literacy using Synthetic Phonics with WordAloud. We urge schools to adopt synthetic phonics, so that children, from as early an age as possible, learn to read by decoding rather than by memory and guesswork. The notion of memorising many "sight words" by "look and say" is an unnecessary burden on the child, and should be dropped from the National Literacy Strategy (NLS). And the notion of a child using "searchlights" to guess the meaning of a word is utterly confusing for the child, and should also be dropped from the NLS.

The dropping of these two notions must be a major conclusion of the Jim Rose report for the government.

If you are interested in the debate on how best to teach reading, see the Reading Reform Foundation site.

The WordAloud Assistive Reader

WordAloud is a versatile software program and a powerful tool which is affordable, accessible and user friendly. It is used in the teaching of English (TESL/TEFL); it is used in the teaching of literacy skills; it is used in remediation or intervention for people with dyslexia or other reading difficulties; and it is used as a reading aid for people with dyslexia or a visual impairment.

Reading is made as simple and easy as possible. WordAloud displays text a word at a time. You see each word in big letters, on the screen. You can hear each word spoken as it is displayed. You can increase the speed of display as reading and listening skills improve.

You can download a free evaluation version.

WordAloud to teach or learn English Language Skills and fluency

TEFL and TESL - teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language: Choose your own text, and display it, word by word in large letters on the screen for all to see. Explain how each word is pronounced. Get the whole class to speak the words. Speed up the display until students can speak whole sentences fluently. Display pictures alongside the text to give added meaning. Improve their reading and listening skills as below.

Improve your English reading skills: Work at your own speed to read any text you choose. Start by reading a word at a time. Increase your reading speed until you are a fluent reader.

Improve your English listening skills: Choose any text. Listen to the text being spoken slowly, a word at a time. Increase the speed until you can understand English spoken fluently.

WordAloud to teach Basic Literacy Skills

Teaching basic literacy skills to children in class: Choose your own text, and display it, word by word in large letters on the screen for all to see. Explain how each word is pronounced. Get the whole class to speak the words. Speed up the display until pupils can speak whole sentences fluently. Display pictures alongside the text to give added meaning.

Improve reading fluency: Let each child work at their own speed to read any text you choose. Start them by reading a word at a time. Increase the reading speed until they become fluent readers.

WordAloud for Special Needs, Dyslexia and Learning Difficulties

Helping children or adults with special needs and reading difficulties: Get them up to speed on reading, so that they can keep up with their peers.

Reading and writing aid for dyslexics: The built-in speech allows you to have the text spoken as it is displayed, making it easy to take in the meaning of what you are reading, or check what you are writing. Alternatively you can read silently, and just click on any difficult word to hear it spoken.

Reading aid for visual impaired people: The word-at-a-time display, large character display, and choice of colour scheme, gives maximum clarity and reading speed for somebody with partial sight. Operation from the keyboard, and built-in speech, means that WordAloud can be used by somebody who is totally blind.

 

You can download a free evaluation version of the WordAloud software.

Assistive technology for disabled and elderly people

See Cloudworld and EU projects
Cloudworld Ltd makes no representations about the suitability of the information contained on this web site for any purpose. Such information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. In no event shall Cloudworld Ltd be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages.

WordAloud® is the registered trademark of Cloudworld Ltd
Copyright © 2010

Page prepared by Cloudworld’s web consultant, Geoff Cox