Saturday, October 20, 2012

Review - Crossbow Education - Eye Level Reading Rulers


 

Crossbow Education is Christian family business started in 1992. They specialize in teaching aids for children with Dyslexia and Visual Stress. This review is about Crossbow Education's fabulous Reading Rulers. From the Crossbow Education's website, "These rulers are the ONLY product of their type available ANYWHERE that combine all of the following essential features: 1) A sufficiently wide range of colors to meet the needs of all children who will benefit from using a colored overlay product (Smith, Wilkins, British Journal of Psychology 2007) 2) Tinted strips on the edge of the ruler and not as a central “letterbox”, ensuring that context is not lost. 3) A choice of single line or paragraph depth tracking, differentiating individual needs and ensuring that fluency can be achieved while using the reading ruler. 4) One side matt coated, one side gloss; again allowing for individual preference (Wilkins, “Reading Through Colour”, Wiley 2003)."


A moms review: 
This review is only going to be from my perspective. I currently wear very weak prescription glasses. They mostly help me with clarity and focusing when watching TV, reading, working on the computer and driving. So because these are things I do often throughout the day I do wear my glasses all the time. But for some reason when I read I still get headaches or eyestrain. I also suffer from mild dyslexia especially when it comes to numbers. I have read about colored reading rulers and have always wanted to give them a try. So when I found out that TOS Crew members had an opportunity to review the 10 pack Eye Level Reading Rulers from Crossbow Education I jumped at the opportunity

 Eye Level Reading Rulers provide trackinbg support alongside glare reduction.

Like I said I used these more for myself but am pretty sure they are going to come in handy with the children especially my son who I fear may have inheritated dyslexia from his father and I. But since he is not reading yet I was unable to try them with him

The Reading Rulers are made of durable, color-tinted plastic. One side is a matte surface and the other side is a glossy surface. I found that my eyes preferred the matted side. They have duo reading windows – one is 1/2″ wide and the other is 1 1/4″ wide. The smaller side is great for oversized text or two smaller lines of text. The larger side is great for short paragraph. The wider side seemed to be the one I used the most.

They are very convenient to carry with you so you will always be ready to read even on the go. I just kept mine in my book and used it as a bookmark also (warning: they can get scratched easily so be careful not to have them rub against anything other than the book pages).   The reading rulers help reduce glare, dancing, blurring text and other issues. They also help provide tracking and focus support (both which I need).

So how did I use them...well to read of course.

I was a but overwhelmed when I opened the package there were so many pretty colors and I had no clue what color I needed or how to choose.
 
Colors included in the 10 pack - Pink, Celery, Sky, Magenta, Grass, Yellow, Aqua, Purple, Orange and Jade

Luckily there was a nifty information sheet included in the pack that provided instructions. Turns out the color you need may change day to day or you may find that you do settle for one particular color. To find the right color you simply just test read with all the colors, choose the one you feel most comfortable with, and use it to read. I laid them side by side in turn on a piece of text and then chose the one that was the clearest. There is a recommended order for testing the colors which is what I followed.

I noticed that there are 3 colors I like best and the one I use changes each time I read according to the lighting I am reading with, paper color and text size/style. I always go with whatever feels most comfortable for my eyes.  For me the brighter colors worked best: yellow, magenta, orange and celery. I notice if I am using white paper I prefer the celery and yellow. But for off-white paper orange and magenta are better for me. There are little codes (first or first two letters of the colors) on each ruler to help you remember which colors work best for you.



From Crossbow Education's website, " Studies have shown that students need a spectrum of colors to choose from, to find the one that best meets their individual needs."

If you or a child suffers from any of the reading issues described in this post you definitely need to try out the Reading Rulers. They are a must have for every homeschool classroom and very inexpensive! 

Wrap up:
I love the reading rulers and am so happy to have a product that enables me to read more to the kids without getting headaches and eyestrain. I am seriously considering purchasing the Crossbow Educations Virtual Colored Overlays which are designed for computer screens (great for bloggers). 

Freebie:
Scroll down to the bottom of Crossbow Education's main page to obtain a FREE 30 day trial of their Virtual Colored Overlay. I have been trying out the 30 day trial and purple seems to be my color for the computer. Its great for reading eBooks on the laptop!

Links to follow:
-Crossbow Website
-Crossbow Facebook
-Crossbow Twitter


Where to buy:
You can purchase the 10 Pack Eye Level Reading Rulers on the Crossbow Education website. They are currently $16.95. You can purchase one of each color or if you know what color you need you can get all of them the same. There are also plain rulers, full page overlays and virtual rulers available. Crossbow even offers a 30 day money back guarantee.

Click here for more Crossbow Education reviews from the The Schoolhouse Review Crew.


*Disclaimer - As part of the TOS Review Crew I received a 10 pack of the Eye Level Reading Rulers in return for my honest review. Please note that prices indicated in the post are subject to change. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are our own! Many of the links found on my side bars and in my blog posts are affiliate links. As a result, I might get paid money and I will most likely spend the money on homeschool supplies.

1 comment:

Kelli- AdventurezNchildRearing said...

looks like a great product - we'll have to try it out!

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