TurboScan began in 1986, when I was part of a government-funded project exploring how the new generation of
personal computers might help young children learn. Our team focused particularly on children struggling to
read because of dyslexia. The original Commodore 64 version of TurboScan produced encouraging results: after
six weeks of practice, many participating children showed more efficient visual scanning in eye-tracking
studies as well as meaningful improvements in oral reading tests. Funding eventually ended, however, and my
career took me in other directions.
Now, 40 years later, I’ve rebuilt TurboScan for modern computers and made it available to parents, teachers,
and researchers who want to explore the approach again. The basic idea is simple: a scanning window moves
across text along the path a fluent reader’s eyes would normally follow, while the learner practices quickly
and accurately identifying and responding to what appears. Unlike the original program, today’s TurboScan can
be extensively customized, allowing users to create new practice activities and share them with others.
My hope is that TurboScan will become more than a single static reading program. It includes tools for creating and
organizing activities, assigning them to individual learners, tracking performance, and automatically
reporting progress. Researchers can also work with the detailed performance data. And a community
forum gives parents, teachers, researchers, and other users a place to exchange ideas, share what they learn,
and develop new ways of using TurboScan to help children become more successful readers. If you have any
questions for me, please do sign up for an account (all accounts are free) and post your questions on the
community forum. I will do my best to answer.
Try TurboScan
The untangle letters game that clicks for young readers
TurboScan uses a focused sliding-window technique to help many children with dyslexia build reading skills and
confidence.
It comes with pre-designed content. But it also lets parents and teachers create personalised reading content.