science

Learning Ally

Learning Ally is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Learning Ally rather than just read about it. In short: Learning Ally, previously named Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), originally named Recording for the Blind (RFB), is a non-profit volunteer organization operating nationwide in the United States. It produces and maintains a library of educational accessible audiobooks for people who cannot effectively read standard print because of visual impairment, dyslexia, or other disabilities.

Key takeaways

Learning Ally belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Learning Ally to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Learning Ally from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Learning Ally, previously named Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), originally named Recording for the Blind (RFB), is a non-profit volunteer organization operating nationwide in the United States. It produces and maintains a library of educational accessible audiobooks for people who cannot effectively read standard print because of visual impairment, dyslexia, or other disabilities.

Services

Learning Ally provides services to individuals with print disabilities such as dyslexia and visual impairments, as well as the people who support them. This includes services for parents such as phone consultations, webinars, support networks and information on specialists and tutors; and services for teachers such as classroom management tools (Teacher Ally), professional development workshops and lesson plans. Learning Ally also offers a digital audiobook library which in 2015 contained over 80,000 titles, including textbooks on specialty and academic subjects, from kindergarten through post-graduate and professional. Borrowers must provide a certification of their disability, and they may borrow titles through an individual membership, through their association with a member institution such as a school, or both. In recent years, approved borrowers had paid no charges for this service through funding which was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Since the federal appropriation was eliminated in 2011, Learning Ally began to require individuals to pay an annual membership fee, currently $135, and hardship waivers are also granted to individuals who qualify for them. Audio software for mainstream mobile devices and the group's Link software for Mac and PC are available to members free of charge. At various fee levels, Institutional memberships are also provided to public and private schools, colleges and universities. The company awards four types of scholarship prizes to students who use its assistive technology.

Software Learning Ally Link is an educational reading app, designed for students who learn through listening, including students with dyslexia, learning disabilities or visual impairment.

Explore 1in5 In 2015, Learning Ally launched the Explore1in5.org site, a student-driven community hub to drive public awareness of dyslexia. The site offers resources and information about dyslexia, including:

Video statements and stories by children and teens describing their dyslexia experiences Common misconceptions and myths about dyslexia Opportunities for site visitors to contribute their own stories by uploading a video or writing a blog entry Ideas and materials to help raise awareness of dyslexia

References

Illustrations

Learning Ally: A Learning Ally member's personal audiobook library. — A Learning Ally member's personal audiobook library.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Learning Ally

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Learning Ally claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Learning Ally before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Learning Ally ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Learning Ally

In research: Learning Ally appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Learning Ally in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Learning Ally is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Accessible information, Audiobook companies and organizations, Blindness organizations in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Learning Ally outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Learning Ally” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Learning Ally in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Learning Ally means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Learning Ally out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Learning Ally in simple terms?

Why does Learning Ally matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Learning Ally?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Learning Ally.