SALT LAKE CITY, March 5 /PRNewswire/ — Infinite Mind founders of eyeQ™ are happy to announce an alliance with GrantsQuest. GrantsQuest and Infinite Mind will be attending the ASCD conference at booth #1041 to facilitate answers and strategies pertaining to competitive, federal, state, and private funding opportunities.

Since 1993 GrantsQuest has specialized in grant funding solutions for education. Their strategies allow customers to initiate or improve their grant development programs by reducing costs and decreasing the burden on internal staff and resources. "Let us help you obtain the funding needed to truly make the greatest impact possible in this competitive grant season."

Infinite Mind's eyeQ™ program is making huge strides across the nation with significant improved standardized test scores. Having success in the preliminary results of the use of eyeQ™ in the Granite School District through the mindful cooperation of Linda Mariotti her principals, and encouraging support staff.

If you mention this article and briefly try eyeQ™ at booth #1041 you will immediately be entered to win an Amazon 6", Global wireless latest Kindle.

Come learn, secure funds, and win at this most critical ASCD convention.

About eyeQ™

EyeQ™ is advancing reading comprehension, reading processing, decreasing reaction time and increasing standardized test scores up to 20%.

Contact

Martha Humphreys, VP Strategy and Marketing of Infinite Mind, +1-801-707-7701, martha@infmind.com, or Charles Isham, VP Development & Partnership of GrantsQuest, charlie@grantsquest.com

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Waycross College's purchase of the award-winning eyeQ program has produced immediate results for WC students, especially among the members of the men's basketball team.

Designed to utilize parts of the brain to help increase reading speed and comprehension, eyeQ was introduced to students in the College's Academic Support Center and freshman orientation classes during fall semester.

Bryan Hartley, WC's athletic coordinator, included use of the software in the athletic department's success development program, which teaches student athletes the keys to success not only in the game but also in life.

"I believe that we are not just born successful, but that we must learn how to become successful," said Hartley. "The core of our athletic program is centered on this vision. As this vision is carried out, we will become more successful on the court or field, in the classroom, and be better prepared for life after college."

As participants in the eyeQ program, Hartley said each basketball player works through the program's short, seven-minute sessions. He said he has been pleased with the program's benefits.

"I (have been) impressed by the program," said Hartley. "Not only does it help increase reading speed, which (helps) students learn, but it also helps increase peripheral vision, which can be very helpful in any sport."

According to Hartley, half of the basketball team doubled their reading speed after one month of using the program. In two and a half months, the entire team had doubled its reading speed, with some players experiencing a triple percentage increase.

Overall, the team's average reading speed has increased from 214 words per minute (wpm) to 693 wpm.

Head coach Cory Baldwin is pleased with the program's effect on his players.

"eyeQ is a great tool for student athletes. They have such a compact schedule and need something quick that can help them speed up their reading comprehension," he said. "I have definitely seen (a) difference in my team after a short time."

When asked about their use of eyeQ, some of the Swamp Fox players also pointed to the positive difference the program has made academically and on the court.

"eyeQ has helped me in many ways, from reading in the classroom to seeing the next pass on the basketball court," said Andrew "Bob" Covin, whose reading speed has increased 237%, from 249 wpm to 838 wpm.

Brandon Hosely, the team's starting point guard, has seen his reading speed increase 288%, from 229 wpm to 888 wpm.

"eyeQ has really helped my vision on the court as a point guard," he said. "It has also enhanced my reading skills, which betters me in the classroom."

Other notable increases include Josh Mendenhall, whose reading speed increased 467%, and student assistant D.J. Hardy, who has seen a 537% increase.

eyeQ is marketed by Infinite Mind, LC. According to Jeffrey C. Flamm, the company's president and CEO, dramatic results have occurred among more than 1,000,000 eyeQ users in the United States. WC entered into the partnership with Infinite Mind this past spring as the first certified eyeQ institution in the nation.

Waycross College has been a proud member of the University System of Georgia since the College's founding in 1976.

eyeQ connected with Lisa Schencker, a Education reporter from the Salt Lake Tribune, for her to review to our program and it's use in Education. The following story was published in the Salt Lake Tribune on 10/31/2009:

Fifth-grader Hugo Tejada follows a tiny basketball with his eyes as it bounces around his computer screen.

He then reads a passage about Rapunzel, two lines at a time. A small, green apple appears on his screen and he attempts to simultaneously focus on it and visualize it expanding.

One might not know it from watching, but this is essentially a reading lesson. The idea is to teach kids how to use both sides of their brain at once in order to read faster and more comprehensively. It's part of a program called eyeQ being tested in 11 Granite District schools.

"It helps you read faster," said Tejada, a student at Granger Elementary, after finishing his 7-minute lesson on a recent school day. Students generally do the lessons for seven minutes at a time, three times a week.

Infinite Mind, a Salt Lake City-based company, has been selling the program, which is based on methods developed in Japan, for nearly 10 years via infomercials and the Internet. It developed the program for use in schools this past year. The people at Infinite Mind think of the program as "strength training for the eyes and brain," said company president John Humphreys.

The human brain is capable of a lot more, with proper training, than most people think, said Jeff Flamm, Infinite Mind founder and CEO. Most people are taught to read when they're very young by looking at one syllable or word at a time, he said, and they continue to do that through adulthood. But because people's minds can do so much more, they get bored.

"What happens is our minds wander," Flamm said. "We get down to the end of the page and think, 'What did I just read?' "

But with training on how to engage both sides of the brain while reading, including how to use peripheral vision to read more than one word at a time, the average person can process up to 2,000 words a minute, without losing comprehension, he said.

The program, however, has its skeptics.

Kathleen Brown, director of the University of Utah Reading Clinic, said she's wary of any program that claims to improve reading through visual exercises and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain. The university's reading clinic trains teachers to help students read better through research-based strategies, among other things.

"There is a strong consensus in the scientific community that has emerged over the last 30 years that the vast majority of reading difficulties are caused by glitches, if you will, in the reader's phonological system, not in the way his brain hemispheres connect and not in the visual system," said Brown, referring to a person's ability to manipulate speech sounds.

But the people at Infinite Mind said they've already seen success.

An independent functional MRI, paid for by the company, showed that activity in the left hemisphere of the brain doubled after a 7-minute session and activity in the right hemisphere of the brain increased by nearly 1,500 percent. And a previous pilot project showed average improvement of as much as 17 percent between pretests and post tests, Flamm said.

Brown, however, said she wonders whether the program's success so far is because of the visual and brain exercises or simply because it forces students to read more.

The eyeQ program for schools has not yet been featured in any peer-reviewed journals, but Infinite Mind hopes to get results from the pilot schools in Granite as the school year progresses. As part of the pilot program, groups of students using the program will be compared to control groups not using it.

Several Granite district educators say they're happy with what they've seen so far.

Mary Nilsson, a fifth-grade teacher at Granger, has been using eyeQ with a class of students learning English and with special education students for about three weeks. She said some of her students have improved by 100 or 200 percent -- as measured by reading speed and comprehension -- from where they were when they started, she said.

She said it's giving her students confidence.

"If they see these big chunks of text, they're not going to be overwhelmed," Nilsson said. She said she wishes her own daughter, who has attention deficit disorder, could have used program when she was in school.

Rebecca Tesch, Granger principal, said the program is unlike anything she's tried before with students.

"If it does the kinds of things they say it does, that can be a phenomenal investment for our students," Tesch said.

The program is now in more than 750 schools and colleges nationwide. It's free to the pilot schools but normally costs about $16 to $50 a student, depending on how many students use it and other factors, said Kathy Hansen, a regional sales manager for the company.

Flamm said the program could help students across all subjects by teaching them how to use their minds more efficiently.

He said it's not just a speed-reading program. It's not about racing through books, skipping words or skimming. It's about training brains to read and understand words more efficiently, say those at Infinite Mind.

"It shows us what the brain is capable of doing with training," Flamm said.

The following exciting news is sent to us by Buzz Priestly, from Centennial High School in the Frisco Independent School District, about the eyeQ Brain Enhancement and Speed Reading Program:

Over the past three semesters (since January of '08) the EyeQ program has proved to be an outstanding program for the students in my high school (9-12) Advanced Study Advancement Program (study skills) class for the following reasons:

1. User Friendly: The short (7 minute) lessons are passive and require little effort, aside from concentration, from students. I've never heard students complain about having to do the exercises, and they almost always appreciate results very quickly.

2. Fast Results: There is a pre and post summary for each lesson and students can easily track their results and progress. From my experience across three semester's, the company's claims and the expectations they establish for progress are very realistic.

3. Affordable: The year we started, EyeQ pricing was $29 per student for a one year license. We had a unique situation at our school so the company adapted the license term to one semester to fit our needs. It is remarkably affordable, and being computer based and accessible via the Internet, it is exceptionally easy to use.

4. Great Customer Service: Everyone at EyeQ has been terrific to work with. They adapted our original agreement and modified the original pricing to allow for the shorter license, significantly extending the number of students we could put through the program; they are easy to reach, and always very responsive. The original registration process was awkward, and was reworked to be much more user friendly.

5. Testing Results: The EyeQ folks have some empirical data from a Florida private school (Citrus high school, please see Actual Test Results above and on the left side for reference and results) where they conducted a controlled test with two comparable groups of students; one group took the EyeQ reading program, the other did not and they compared their receptive college entry test scores. The group that completed the EyeQ program had significantly higher scores. If I recall correctly, the test scores of the EyeQ group were more than 20% higher.

6. Confidence Building: I have some selected comments from students that I intend to put on the ASAP class website as I hope to rework it in the next few weeks prior to school starting. When I ask them, "How has the speed reading program helped you?" the reply is always, "Whenever we have a reading assignment in class, I notice that I'm the first one finished. " (It is probably important to note that the students in the ASAP class range from AP seniors who want to hone their skills and be more prepared for college, to Special Education students. Most are in the class because they want to be; a few because they need to be and their councilor or parents have 'encouraged' them to take the course.)

7. Results: The company claims results speed increases between two and ten times, and that has been my experience. I have pasted some actual scores below. You will note a relatively wide variation, which reflects the range of students abilities, how much effort (concentration) they put into the program, and in some cases, their learning disability.

8. Dyslexic students:

Jessica (senior - 2.4x improvement): "I have struggled in school as long as I can remember. I couldn't even write my name well enough until 5th grade, and I didn't read my first sentence until the end of my 5th grade year. I have been through a lot of extensive therapy to cope with my dyslexia, but one thing I still struggle with is reading comprehension. With my 504 accommodations it has made school better and less stressful. In my ASAP class I was introduced to a new kind of program. Being dyslexic, your eyes wonder around while you read. This program allows your eyes to travel across the page the way your eyes want to. You skim through the material sideways, backwards, or side to side. They when you read the material you feel like you have already read it, making it easier to understand what you have read. It also makes it less stressful. When I have to force my eyes to read one word after another it frustrates me if I skip a word or read it wrong. When I just skim through the material my eyes flow like they want to. I am reading a book in my English class and I came to Mr. Priestley for help. I was failing every quiz. He simply suggested that I use my EyeQ strategies while I'm reading my book. Now, if you look at my English scores, I have passed them with flying colors. This program really works. Many other students with a learning disability should try this program and see how their grades will go up and up?

Alexis: (freshman - 11.4x improvement): "I was diagnosed with dyslexia in the 5th grade. When Mr. Priestley told us that we were going to start the EyeQ program I thought, 'Great! I'm going to fail this portion of my class,' because I don't do well with reading because of my dyslexia. Once we started the EyeQ program I noticed that all my [reading speed] scores were higher than everyone else in the class. I thought that there was something wrong with my program, but the EyeQ program actually helped my reading a lot! Now in my other classes when we have to read articles, I'm the first one to be done - and I'm dyslexic! I really suggest that FISD start using this program in the dyslexia program and see what the results become."

Thanks again!
Buzz Priestly
Communications Applications / Speech & Academic Study Advancement Program
Centennial High School, Frisco Independent School District

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Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Felix and Judee Alvarado, owners of Straight “A” Academy in Bedford, New Hampshrie. I, Felix, have been a public high school teacher for over 20 years and a private tutor for almost as many. I have taught and or tutored just about every subject except Calculus. My specialty as a tutor is SAT Prep. I, Judee, have home schooled our five wonderful children for much of their lives, have taught Spanish from the preschool level through high school, owned my own ballet school for a few years, and tutor at our academy. Between the two of us, we have a vast breadth and depth of experience working with children in education. So when we founded our own education center, Straight “A” Academy, we were looking to draw on all of the best materials and programs to make our academy stand out as the best in the area regarding education and academic support.

We had heard of eyeQ, but in the midst of our busy lives, had not looked into it. However, when we started the academy, we knew it was something we had to investigate further. What we heard and saw was compelling. Yet, even with all the empirical evidence based on over 30 years of education research with regard to brain activity, we wanted to see how it worked in our corner of the real world. We can tell you that the results have been nothing short of astounding. On a most personal level, our own children have had the following dramatic results: Our 16-year-old daughter had complained of being a slow reader. Sure enough, she tested at 160 wpm, which is slower than average. It took her forever to get through her honors reading list. Instead of finding shortcuts, like most kids her age, she was determined to finish the required reading. Within two short months of doing eyeQ exercises, she was reading over 500 wpm and never had to stay up past midnight reading anymore. Most recently, she has tested at 750 wpm. Our 11-year-old was in a remedial reading program at school at the start of his 5th grade year, but by the end of the first marking quarter, the teachers mentioned at a conference that they had put him in the advanced reading program as his reading speed and comprehension had suddenly and dramatically increased. Our 14-year-old was already a fast reader, testing initially at 400 wpm. After a couple of months of doing eyeQ exercises, he doubled his reading speed and is now testing at over 1000 wpm.

So many of our SAT Prep students have complained that they did not, upon their initial taking of the SAT, finish each section on time. The most immediate way for a student to improve their SAT score would be to either be able to finish every section or to have the college board shorten the test! Obviously, the standardized test is not going to change, so eyeQ becomes the only alternative. Our SAT Prep students see an increase of over 200 points on the test, on average, and all of them more than double their reading speed using the eyeQ system. First and foremost, this is a result of their increased brain/eye acuity. They are able not only to read and comprehend faster in the reading sections, but they are also able to process information faster in the math sections of the SAT. Based on these remarkable results in our own children, the pupils we tutor, and in our SAT Prep students, Straight “A” Academy has made eyeQ a required part of any services we offer to students. Not only does eyeQ have a large body of empirical data, but Straight “A” Academy is amassing its own body of empirical evidence. Again, though, on a personal level, we are so thrilled to see the excitement in the children of a broad range of ages who are all benefiting greatly from eyeQ training.

For the 2009/2010 school year, Straight “A” Academy has been asked by an inner city high school to create an after school program for at-risk students. EyeQ will be one of the cornerstones of that program. Additionally, as a part of our program, we’ve teamed up with a semi-professional basketball coach and the U.S. Olympic Head Coach for Junior Racquetball. They’ve seen the results of eyeQ personally and they are excited to make eyeQ a part of their athletes’ training regimen for increased hand-eye coordination, improved field of vision, and quicker reaction time. Plus, they are excited to see the academic results to help keep their athletes eligible.

I, Felix Alvarado, Jr., and I, Judee Ann Alvarado, directors of Straight “A” Academy, give our unreserved endorsement of this incredible educational training system. In our estimation, eyeQ is, without a doubt, the single best investment a parent could ever make in their child’s education.

Sincerely,

Felix & Judee Alvarado
Directors, Straight “A” Academy

Waycross College has become the first certified “eyeQ institution” in the nation, implementing the award-winning software program to all Waycross College students in a campus wide effort to increase academic achievement and retention.

The eyeQ program, developed by Dr. Akihiro Kawamura of Japan, winner of Japan’s Emperor’s Award, is marketed by Infinite Mind, LC and designed to increase reading speed and comprehension by utilizing parts of the brain not normally used with these two functions.

Each eyeQ session is very short – only seven minutes in length – but combines technology and scientific research housed within methods of learning enhancement developed by Dr. Kawamura and are considered to be revolutionary.

According to Jeffrey C. Flamm, president and CEO of Infinite Mind, dramatic results have occurred among more than 1,000,000 eyeQ users currently in the United States. In less than thirty days after first utilizing the software, the average increase in reading speed has been 200%. Flamm said many have experienced even more significant increases.

“With eyeQ, students will be reading at a remarkable speed and will likely experience increased comprehension, typing speed, memory, and recall abilities,” said Flamm, who led an eyeQ presentation for WC faculty and staff on April 30. “These skills are imperative in today’s competitive world.”

Waycross College officials are looking forward to seeing the same results this fall when students begin using the software free of charge in the College’s Academic Support Center as well as all freshman orientation courses.

“I, myself, went through an abbreviated eyeQ training session, and my reading speed increased by 200 words per minute,” said Dr. David Palmer, president of Waycross College. “It is my expectation that, as I return for increased training in eyeQ, my ability to read more and retain more will improve. We certainly hope and have the expectation that this interesting program will enable more (of our) students to be successful.”

Dr. Mark Van Den Hende, vice president for academic affairs, is equally optimistic about the results eyeQ can bring to campus.

“The use of eyeQ software at Waycross College is an important step – being a viable development tool as well as an assessment system,” said Dr. Van Den Hende. “Many WC and high school students struggle with concentration, focus, reading speed, and comprehension skills. eyeQ addresses these reading deficiencies using the whole brain approach to reading and concentration.

“(This) often increases students’ comprehension by 20 to 50 percent within weeks of beginning the program,” Dr. Van Den Hende said.

John David Lynn, instructor of information technology, along with Dr. Van Den Hende was instrumental in securing the partnership with Infinite Mind and said he is also looking forward to the benefits students will receive by using eyeQ.

“I hope to see better grades from our students as well as better student retention by using eyeQ,” said Lynn.

Waycross College has been a proud member of the University System of Georgia since the College’s founding in 1976.

Walk into any elementary or middle school in America today and the likelihood that you will see a student with a cell phone is on the rise. Yes, I know that the largest reason for this is that we are so busy with work and afterschool activities that we need a better way to keep in touch with our children. Have you noticed what has happened? Our children have started to use the cell phones not just to talk with us but also to text their friends. When the kids are at home they spend more time at the computer or their gaming console. Why? The answer is simple; just like our generation they want the instant gratification for entertainment, information, and communication. The older generation can remember back to a time before cell phones and computers in the home. However, our children are the “Net Generation,” and expect the instant message from friends, an email from Grandma and Grandpa, or to be entertained with an action packed game.

It has become a practice today to include computers in our daily lives and most of our young people use them daily. Evidence from several research studies is mounting to support the claims that the 21st-century information and communication tools as well as more traditional computer-assisted instructional software have positively influenced student learning processes and outcomes. Why are we so surprised that this is happening? From personal experience, I can say that the computer and technology have allowed a new method for students to learn and get the instant gratification. Technology can provide the instant gratification while promoting the one thing we feel our kids do not do enough of……reading. By its own nature computers and computer related technology promotes reading. So the next time your child asks to look up something on google.com, remember that they are reading and engaging in research skills. Even if your child is just looking for a game cheat they are applying their research skills for real life application.

Reading skills can be taught at an early age to our children even before entering schools today. Software products have been on the market for several years that can assist your child in reading while allowing them to feel that they are being entertained. For the very young (ages 3 to 10 years) this can be a great help to build a good reading skill foundation, but for the older child and young adults this form of child’s play has little or no interest. This does not tear down the fact that computer technology can still influence the older student and assist or improve their reading skills. It is just a matter of tailoring such a technology to them. What does the students of today want in such a technology?

- 1. It must not be a childlike fantasy game.
- 2. It must not take a lot of time.
- 3. It must be able to be accessed from anywhere at anytime.
- 4. It must provide instant gratification.

Our students are facing tough competition to make the best grades, to attend the best schools or get that dream job. Many parents and young adults are turning to computer technology, software, and the internet to find helpful resources. What they are looking for in such products are the ability to train them to read faster, comprehend more, and or improve their study skills. One such tool that I have personal experience with is Eye-Q by Infinite Mind. Eye-Q is a web based application that can be accessed from a computer at any location with internet access. Eye-Q is unlike most web applications, it is an eye and brain trainer. It is able to provide the eyes and brain a workout in less than ten minutes and because of this workout most people are able to read much faster and over time comprehend more. This is an incredible tool that will grab the attention of students of all ages, but will effectively train them to read more fluently and process information more effectively.

In this day and age we need to think outside the box in order to adapt to the “Net Generation’s” way of learning. We need to be creative in our approach, and be open to new ways of teaching our students. There are many tools and resources out there to make our jobs easier. If you are looking for new ways to reach your students I would advise everyone to not be afraid to research the latest ideas, and try something new. It just might work!

By:
John David Lynn
Instructor of Information Technology
Waycross College