By ADMIN
Speed Reading Software
Want a speed reading program that really works? So do countless others out there who are tired of spending hours on homework or studying up for college exams. As someone who used to be a slow reader myself, I can honestly count days worth of saved time, through my college years alone, thanks to working with one of the many speed reading programs available to you today.
Speed reading programs have been shown to increase your reading speed from around 240 words per minute (the average American adult’s reading speed) to around 800 words per minute in less than three month’s time. This more than triples the speed that many people are reading at, with no loss of comprehension at all. That can save you hours of study time, and will prove to be a skill that will carry over into the working world as well.
What you should look for in a speed reading program is a lot of practice exercises, the ability to track your progress as you work through the program, and relevant practice. You don’t necessarily want to have a program that will drill you on “eye exercise” as being helpful alternatives to actually practicing with texts. These exercises might help you move your eyes faster, but they do not help teach you any of the other skills of a speed reader, namely, the ability to process more thoughts and make sense of them.
With that said, here are our choices for excellent pieces of speed reading software:
Speed Reader X – This system, which you’ll also see listed under our recommendations for speed reading courses is a two-parter as it includes practice exercises and tracking through their member’s only website, and they offer the tutorials and tips that you’d normally find only in a speed reading course. Again, there are much better options if you have the money, but even just as is, the Speed Reader X course is only $40 if you purchase all of the upgrades (and $30 if you get just the speed reading software), and that’s a deal and a half.
Reading Genius – This course is much more expensive that Speed Reader X, but it also gives you a lot more. This is a course that focuses on speed reading and retention more than attempting to maximize your reading speed. While I doubt you’ll read as fast as you eventually might with long-term practice, you’re probably getting a better deal for beginners here because you’ll be building stronger foundations. Another highly recommended program.
Freader – This is the cheapest speed reading software solution available, but it’s lack of features reflect it’s $20 price. The program is pretty slow in responding, and it’s timer and calculations are not all that accurate from our tests. This software does not give you a whole lot of tests you can take, and it doesn’t have lessons. For an extra $10, you could get Speed Reader X, which is our recommendation to you.
AceReader – This is the program that has the prestige of being called the most widely used software program for teaching speed reading. It is used by Educate, Inc. and Sylvan Learning Centers in their study skills program to help students practice the tips they teach. In general, this is decent software, but all it does is track your progress, it doesn’t have any lessons to teach you anything about speed reading. While it’s an OK solution, we don’t think that it’s your best option. Given that it costs more than both of the top two solutions, we would recommend that you look elsewhere.
EyeQ – EyeQ Speed Reading software is pretty much a waste of your time. This software is entirely focused on giving you "eye exercises" which are supposed to help you learn to take in more information quickly. In reality, the only thing they’re good for is giving you a headache. We adamantly do not recommend this software.
