Designing for Real Brains: Rethinking Reading, Dyslexia, and EdTech That Actually Works

What if reading clicked the moment the page changed shape? We sit down with Hillary Summerbell—visual dyslexic, designer, and founder of the Summerbell Reading Method—to explore a bold idea: meet learners where their brains are by reshaping lines into gentle arcs. Instead of adding more drills or another dense program, Hillary shows how a simple visual reformat can reduce cognitive load, quiet the noise of crowded lines, and create that immediate “I can read this” feeling for students who’ve long felt shut out.

Across the conversation, we unpack how positional arc reading works in real classrooms and why ease matters. A lightweight Chrome extension turns any passage—articles, assignments, study guides—into customizable arcs in seconds. Teachers don’t rewrite curriculum or sit through marathon trainings; they click, convert, and watch confidence grow. Hillary shares how independent evaluation from Johns Hopkins approached the core claim—“easier to read”—using standard linear baselines and retesting, and why transparency and unbiased reporting are crucial for trust.

We also push beyond tools into culture. Hillary challenges the deficit lens on neurodiversity and argues for design that respects visual thinkers—artists, architects, out-of-the-box problem solvers. From practical non-negotiables for edtech adoption (evidence, simplicity, student voice) to instant aha moments that lift self-esteem, this episode offers a blueprint for literacy that feels more human and more effective. If you’ve ever wondered how to make reading accessible without reinventing your entire program, this story-driven deep dive will spark new ideas and give you tactics you can try tomorrow.

Subscribe for more conversations that turn big ideas into classroom wins, share this with a colleague who champions inclusive design, and leave a review to help other educators find the show.

Transcript

Welcome And Season Frame

SPEAKER_00 0:06

Welcome back to EdTech Empowerment, Innovating Education Together, the podcast where we explore how technology, creativity, and thoughtful design can transform learning for every student. This is our 2025-26 season, and we're kicking off with conversations that challenge the status quo and spotlight people who are re-imaging what education can be. Today's guest is someone who is flipping the script on reading, dyslexia, and ed tech as we know it. We're joined by Hillary Sommerbell, an ed tech entrepreneur, CEO of Sommerbell Reading Method, and the powerhouse advocate for designing learning tools that honor how different brains actually work. Hillary isn't about fixing kids, it's about fixing systems. Through the research, back design, and real classroom impact, she's helping students build confidence, reduce frustration, and finally experience what it feels like when reading clicks. If you ever wondered how technology can truly support neo-divergent learners or how it integrates ed tech without any more noise, this episode is for you. Alright, so let's jump right into it. The first question, Henrik, um, before we get into it, the tech, the research, tell us a little bit about you. What led you into the work and what problems were you obsessed with solving?

SPEAKER_01 1:17

Hi, thanks so much for having me on the show today. I'm so excited to be here and to share the discoveries. So, what, what, how did I get here? So it's long and short of it, is I'm a visual dyslexic. I um have always struggled in school academically, you know, really just the kid in the back of the classroom who was quiet, who they just passed along with, you know, C's and D's just enough to get through, which was um so disheartening, so sad as a child. And so that's one of the reasons I'm here. I'm I'm here to stop the train. I want to help people or neurodivergent learners um kind of engage with their own self-esteem to give them empowerment, knowing that, you know, they are very special, they are very smart. I never used to believe when people used to say, oh, dyslexia doesn't affect your IQ. I would be like, okay, but I feel stupid. I get what you're saying, but I don't feel that way. So Summerbell was created to support people like me, neurodivergent, you know, visual dyslexics to help, you know, change the trajectory of their lives. I mean, that's really why I'm here.

Lived Experience Of Visual Dyslexia

SPEAKER_00 2:39

I love that. I love that. And I like that you shared that. Um, it's not, I guess it's not a barrier, right? It's perhaps like a superpower that we should look at it. Yeah. Um, and you now you came up with a product that supports that. Um, can you kind of like describe yourself as a visual dyslexic? And how did your own learning experience shape the way that you think about education and technology today?

From Interior Design To EdTech

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Okay, so I'm definitely visual dyslexic, education and technology. So, to tell you honestly, you know, early on, you know, I got an associates in interior design because I didn't have to read. So I was really never focused on education, to tell you the truth, until this happened, and until I had this, you know, I basically redesigned text so I could absorb it, is basically what I did. And then once I did it and I realized it worked, I kind of went like OMG. And I started asking like teachers in the Washington DC or this DC area who were special ed teachers, I'm like, have you seen this before? Really, that's what my always my question was. I would send them an image and I would say, you know, it and for your for your audience, so basically what I created is I took a linear line and I turned it into almost like a shape of a rainbow. So if you just convert a linear line into like a radius or rainbow, and we have consecutive arced shape lines, and that's how it's easier to read. So really what happened is once I figured out it worked, I was just so curious about like, wow, like OMG, like what is this? And have you ever seen it before? And this really works. And that was the time that I pivoted towards wanting to be involved with education, wanting to be involved with technology and act tech, because I realized that I was basically informed by others that ed tech was the way of the future. And that is, you know, with all the kids having the Chromebooks and the schools and stuff, like that was the this was now the new vehicle to get a um a tool to the children. And so that's how I became very interested in ed tech. And it's, you know, when I meet people, they're like, what do you do? And I'm like, well, I've been an interior designer for decades, but now I'm I'm starting in an ed tech company, and they're like, what? That's that's exciting.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

And I think it's an easy lift, right? Because you're not I think it'll be easier to convert the text and the words and have that arch like pretty similar to what you have in your background. Oh, our views can't see it, our listeners can't see it, but in your background, you have a tablet and you have um what it looks like is like an arch of the um the linear line. It'd be easier perhaps to do that on technology than to print out a whole bunch of books for students of every page uh with that with that.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

That's right. Yeah, I mean you can handwrite it, but technology makes it way more efficient and way more accessible.

Why Arc-Shaped Text Reduces Overload

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Awesome. And that's exciting. Um, I definitely would like to look more into that. Um, but from your understanding, right? From your perspective, a lot of ed tech promises transformation, but does it always deliver? In your opinion, what's the biggest mistake that schools make when then when they're adopting new technology?

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Okay, so this is a deep question that I'm just learning about. Um, you know, I believe that it's so important for the superintendent and the school board to um one, have um valid, you know, validation, have research, have an evaluation done of their project in like an unbiased university or college, somebody that comes from the outside that can really give a good overall view of what this technology is. So I do think that um instead of just kind of like focusing on the marketing, maybe, you know, really dig deep and see what the kids think. And, you know, so I think that's very important. Um the other thing that's super interesting about Summerbell is it's not like heavy, it's not like it's like a low lift for the teachers and the students. So they don't have to, the teachers don't have to go through hours and hours of training. It's not there's no, you know, it's not expensive to learn how to teach Summerbell. I mean, basically I just I created a manual and um so they can learn, like it helps with spelling, it helps with writing, it helps with reading, it helps decode a word. So really, it's something that I can talk to the teachers about for like maybe a half an hour or two half hour sessions, and they don't have to go through rigorous expense or training. It's an easy product, it's an easy tool to integrate into the classroom. And the kids like it too. I mean, it's easy for the children to navigate the tool as well.

SPEAKER_00 7:40

Yeah, so I hear what you're saying. So I feel like a lot of schools do get caught up with the bells and whistles of like this brand new product that has tons of marketing behind it. Yeah. Um, so I'm glad that you had mentioned that your product is an easy lift, um, something that any teacher can manage. Yes. So I mean, I hope that our listeners, educators, definitely practice, Jack. Jump on board, try this new product out. Um, but you talked about you talk a lot about reducing cognitive load for educators listening. What does that actually mean in practice?

Adoption Pitfalls And Low-Lift Design

Cognitive Load And Positional Arc Reading

SPEAKER_01 8:09

Okay. So with linear text, what happens to me, and I believe happens to others, is you do, you get like, one, you're overwhelmed because it's just too many symbols almost. You know, it just it all kind of smooshes together. There are words that you can't decode, it just becomes very like I say it's like almost like hieroglyphics. It doesn't break it down, right? So it's it's it's just overwhelming. And so as I begin to try to read a linear text, I'm like already looking at the 25 lines that I haven't even read, and I'm exhausted from the first three lines that I'm trying to figure out, and I don't even know what two of those words mean because I never I can't decode it. So already I'm like, I'm out of here, man. I want to go, you know, go to the garden and you know, plant a flower or something. Like I am not interested in torturing myself in linear text. I mean, that's kind of how I felt about or feel about that. So what happens in when you take Summerbell, there's a couple different ways to look at it. One is, so again, for the for the listeners, just imagine a rainbow. Imagine a rainbow that has like maybe 12 lines, 12 colors, right? And you know rainbows are always in arcs. So that really is what Summerbell is. You can go to summerbell.com and just look at the vision of what it we're doing. And all we're doing is reformatting linear text into something that's more accessible for the reader who has strong skills and visual spatial abilities. And a lot of visual dyslexics are architects, artists. And so I believe in my mind that because we are not asking the teachers to teach curriculum differently, we're not asking them to teach phonics or anything, we're just simply reformatting that it's it's just we're coming to where the reader is. Instead of them being forced to read linear by putting it in the positional arc reading, it it you kind of flow with it. Your brain is relaxed, it engages with the text, and you're you're not overwhelmed. And I think that is the biggest thing. We are meeting the reader where they are rather than trying to force them to read linear text. So we're we're reaching them rather than asking them to constantly reach us or reach a neurotypical uh plan.

SPEAKER_00 10:39

Yeah, Hillary, I want to repeat what you said, right? Is that you're not changing the curriculum, right? But you're changing it changes how text is visually presented with that arch.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Right? Why why is this distinction so important to you?

Not Curriculum Change, Visual Change

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Okay, so one thing that was just so exciting when um Johns Hopkins did an evaluation of the Somerbell reading program in Pennsylvania. Standard procedure is when you and when anybody does any research, you have to get a baseline information, right? Like you have to understand where they are before the uh before the testing or the evaluation happens. So in in my case, what they did was in which every any university would do is so they use a cadence, and a cadence is a linear reading standardized test that the state of Pennsylvania uses to determine what the reading levels are of their students. Okay. Then we our students um worked in Somerbell, there, you know, and then they were retested in linear. And so what I found so deeply exciting was the you know, the results that they found in the the evaluation, which is on my website. So that was uh that was wonderful. And it you know really confirmed the fact that all we were doing is re-presenting the text. I think it's a visual problem. Personally, I think it's it can be if you like reading in positional arc reading as it you know is just you know is implemented in Sumerbell, then go for it. Like you can read in this. And if it's easier, you can use, you know, you can read whatever you're supposed to read in positional arc reading or you know, via Summerbell.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

So, what did that validation from the Johns Hopkins university study mean to you? Um, or for the skeptical educators out there.

Johns Hopkins Evaluation And Evidence

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Yeah, so so Johns Hopkins um did an evaluation, which it was is a wonderful thing. And so basically what happened is they called me and they said that they wanted to do like an efficacy study, right? And I said, Well, what's an efficacy study? Because I really didn't know. And and they said it basically means did the software, did the program, the computer program software, reach its intended use? So I'm saying it's easier to read. And so what their evaluation did is they wanted to see if my claims of it makes it easier to read were actually what were actually happening. You know, basically they wanted to, you know, make to see if it was a real thing. So when they called me to do the study and to engage in a school district that I had to identify, it was actually kind of like around COVID time, so it was kind of interesting, but I was like, oh yes, like hard, yes, yes, yes, yes, like please, and what can I do? And yes. And actually, I have a uh phone call with them tomorrow as we explore the option of doing another um study. So they have been an incredible resource um to Somerbell. And I honestly, if you really look at the down and dirty of it, they are a research. So it's the Johns Hopkins Center for Research and Reform for Um Technology in the Classroom through K through 12. Right. So this is what they're interested in. And I happen to fall into that category. So I was honored to be a part of their um, you know, to be a part, you know, to let them evaluate Summerbow.

SPEAKER_00 14:36

Yeah, and you said a lot of that data and the the information is on your website. Can you like share highlight some of the key things that you um that are on there? Um, some of the stuff that some of our listeners should know uh prior to perhaps jumping on your website?

What The Study Means And Accessing It

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, so let me let me explain the how it works when you have a university study. It's very interesting, and I and I learned a lot about it. I had to. So one thing that I heard from um Emily Hansford, uh, I think it was sold a story. If I'm not, I might, I think she said out of 88 vendors that only two of the that the people use in the different um school districts, only two of them have a university um evaluation, which I thought was like, wow, only two of them, because it's hard. It's hard, it's expensive, it's time consuming. So, and then okay, so that was cool. When Hopkins came on, I had to sign a big fancy contract because they are the leading research university, I don't know, maybe in the world. Let's call it the world. It's it's probably an arguable thing, right? And one of the things that be is very important to them is they do not, as a as a researcher, they will not um they only give me data. They only that that that report that's on my website is a hundred percent what they found out. Because they are researchers and not marketers and not business people, it's very important that anybody that reads that reads the evaluation, which is why I put it in my website, and you can also listen to it because it's pretty long. The main thing is they have to be unbiased, and I have to be unbiased as I speak to their results. So I honestly had to legally um just offer the community the full evaluation. So, to answer your question, I don't think you'll be disappointed if people take the time to read or listen to the evaluation. Um, but I can't comment on exactly what the findings were because that would show bias, and I'm not allowed to show bias for them. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_00 17:04

It does. It can make complete sense. And thank you for being super transparent and open about all that. Yeah. But for our listeners uh who are interested in like learning more, like perhaps want to go onto your website. Can you please share that website so they can go on there?

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Yeah. So it's summerbell.com. It's super easy. You go on our website, you see the Hopkins, you know, everything, you know, the Hopkins, and actually it's on the Hopkins website too. I think they put it on their website. So summerbell.com, just go to the homepage. You'll see um, you know, their colors are blue. There, it's right there. You just click on it, you can read it. I like the audio, it's easy. So I would highly recommend any teacher just um glancing through it. The other thing that we have on our website that is incredibly powerful is we have testimonials from four special ed teachers in the DC area who have used Summerbell. Now they are actually in video and they're speaking to what happens to the children when they actually are using the ed tech. And I think from teachers to teachers, I think that um that's would be super helpful for your audience.

SPEAKER_00 18:14

Yeah, that's important.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

So we've got lots of stuff to share.

Non-Negotiables For Thoughtful Integration

SPEAKER_00 18:18

That's super empowering to get a testimonial from an educator. I think it'll probably take the lift off another educator who might be hesitant to use your product.

SPEAKER_01 18:26

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 18:27

But let's pick your brain a little bit further, Hillary, and talk about and learn more about your expertise. Um, for schools who are trying to integrate technology um more thoughtfully, what are two to two to three non-negotiables uh that they should consider before rolling anything out?

Instant Aha Moments And Confidence

SPEAKER_01 18:44

Well, you know, I mean, it's you know, it's a this is a super broad thing, you know, and you and you want to say, does it work? Right. And, you know, I only say that simple, broad comment because of me educating myself through Emily Hansford's, you know, multiple podcasts, where, you know, I guess some it wasn't really working, you know, those and you know, some of the systems that have been used in the past decades were really not effective. So I think it's important that, you know, if when school districts use Summer Belt, actually, I'm going to a school board meeting in February because in New Jersey, because there's two districts that want to use it, right? So um I'm explaining it to them and I want them to try it out. I want them to, you know, look at the data, you know, watch the kids, look at the progress, you know, just see it for yourself. You know, how do the kids reacting? What, you know, how how are they feeling? What are their fluency rates? You know, how are they decoding? Does the, you know, does Summer Bell help? Does the word helper help? I would love for school districts to take a micro look into you know different softwares and and before they really like to use it for decades, make sure it's working, you know, effectively. So that would be one thing. Um, secondly, make it easy. Make it easy, make it simple. This is a simple project. This is a simple program, you know, click, click, click, boom, boom, boom, and you're in. Like you, we're not we're not putting a rocket ship on the, you know, on the moon. We're basically reformatting text. It's it's I'm not asking any of the teachers to teach differently. I want them to integrate, you can integrate this, you know, Summerbell with their current curriculum. So if they're the kids need to write a report about George Washington, you can just use the Chrome extension, put George Washington in the and you know, up there, hit the pink button and it converts. So I think ease of use is really important. I and my last comment I would say is do the kids like it? Is it cool? Is it fun? Do they has their self-esteem? You know, does it change their self-esteem? Like, oh my God, like I can read this. Like, what? They're like, what? I haven't been able to do anything like this, and now all of a sudden I can do it. So I love the just the gut reaction of the reader and their and because what it did for me at 55 years old, 54 years old, all of a sudden I didn't feel stupid because I could read and it wasn't like freaking me out. So automatically my self-esteem went from like, you know, whatever it was in reading, you know, let's say my self-esteem on a scale scale of 10 and reading would let let's say it would be like a four or five at a 55 year old woman, right? When I started reading in, you know, Summer Bell positional arc reading, I was like a 10, like boom. And I was like, okay, I'm smart, I'm cool, I like it.

SPEAKER_00 21:58

I love that story. It is it. Is right. And I think one of the best things is you had mentioned making sure that the kids are get excited about this, right? I think one of the best things as an educator is seeing your students' eyes light up whenever they're using something new, whenever they I think most importantly, when they have that once they build that confidence and they're able to talk about the content that they're learning about. Um it's really exciting to see as an educator. So thank you for sharing that.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

As somehow is visually, it's instant. Like I'm not even joking. When I say instant, I'm not talking three weeks, I'm talking five seconds. So you do get that aha moment because either you love it or you hate it, you know, and it's just, and if it works, use it. If it doesn't, let it go.

Simplicity, Customization, And User Control

SPEAKER_00 22:42

Yeah, and I think one of the things that educators go through is that whenever they're trying to integrate any technology, is that there are going to be some barriers or there are gonna be some stuff that get in the way that make it challenging to integrate that technology and it becomes discouraging. Uh, but how can educators better shift from a deficit mindset to a strength-based mindset when working with dyslexic or neodivergent learners?

SPEAKER_01 23:07

Well, one, make it easy and accessible, right? So when when we did our evaluation, my software um engineer connected with the vendors they were currently using in the Chrome Extension. So we were able to build a bridge from their current software to their, you know, to integrate with Summerbell. So I think it's my responsibility as an ed tech owner to make it so easy, to make it intuitive, to make it seamless. So they don't experience that frustration. It's a really big part of it. It's hard enough just navigating the the large classrooms and everything else. So when we were developing Summerbell, I kept on telling my developers, it's too complicated. I want it easier. I want it easier. I don't want, I don't want seven clicks, I want two clicks. I want, you know, like I want it to be the best it can be and the most intuitive that it can be. So so we take away the um aggravation of the ed tech itself, and we just really focus on the user experience. I want a when I was when we were building the software, I said to my the peeps, I was like, I want an eight-year-old. I said, make this software so an eight-year-old can use it. And and if you don't make it so an eight-year-old can use it, I don't want anyone talk to you anymore. I mean, like, get back to me next week and you can figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

I don't want it.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Right? Right?

SPEAKER_00 24:38

Yeah.

Who Summerbell Serves

SPEAKER_01 24:39

I'm like, I don't want a complex system that you have to, you know, have a master's to figure out. Like, I'm talking, your client, my is an eight-year-old. So that's drove the the simplicity of Summerbelt. I mean, look how it's just super simple. Like when you go to a website, you'll see like, is this all it is? Yeah, this is all it is. But we give you customizable tools. So it's not just for everybody. It's it's not one, it's not, it's either it's not my way or the highway. It's you can use our our customizable tool to to reshape the arc radius. So some kids might like it a lot, some kids might like it a little. And as you read more in Somerbell, in my experience, you can you become a better linear reader. Like I'm a better linear reader today than I was before I ever started reading in Somerbell. So the fact that we integrate with the reader itself and we kind of interface with the reader. So we give control back to the reader. So you can you can have it in a radius, you can have as much space in between the lines, you can have the the letters to be bigger. You know, we give the user control for their own personal needs.

SPEAKER_00 26:00

Awesome, awesome. And can you tell me more about the group of learners that you work with? To my understanding, correct me if I'm wrong, you work mostly with adult learners and educators.

Redesigning Systems Around Neurodiversity

SPEAKER_01 26:10

Oh no, kids. You know, the for sure, no, it's kids too. I mean, it's the evaluation that we did was elementary school. I I'm really uh focused on that emerging reader, you know, the first, second, third grader. But Summerbell actually can work from you know four to a hundred. So really, it's for anybody that is interested in learning more about the act of reading. So it's for it's for everybody. Awesome. It's for everybody. But I focus on the K through 12 because they are the ones that are most at risk right this very second. And I want to make school easier for them so they can become more successful.

SPEAKER_00 26:50

Yeah, and I think that's the I think that's a key group to focus on um and supporting them with this technology. Um, and if you could redesign, let's go back to another question that I had. I want to backtrack a little bit. I'm sorry. Sure. Um, but if you could redesign one part of the education system using technology, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_01 27:08

Summerbell, it's the short answer. If I could redesign, if I can redesign how people approach dyslexic students, I would instead of making it that we that there's something wrong, that you have to remediate their brain for some reason because it's wrong. I don't like this. There's something wrong with you. I don't like this, or you need to be different. You know, you're not good enough, you're neurodivergent, not neurotypical. You have a learning difference. Like, what the hell does that all mean? To me, that means the message they're sending them, the students, is they're not good enough. That, you know, they're and that's that's cuckoo because we, you know, there's a hundred percent population and everybody's different, and everybody has different skill sets. So why is it just because the the 80% of learners are what they call neurotypical, why is it bad to be neurodiverse? I disagree with that. I think that there's, I know there's articles about how a creative brain, like dyslexic generally, they think out of the box. They're architects, they're artists, you know, most of their careers, like, you know, Albert Einstein was dyslexic, um, Richard Branson is dyslexic, Steven Spielberg is dyslexic. All of these highly creative people basically just said, you know what? I have to think of this differently. And they do, and they're creatives and they think out of the box. And I think that the dyslexic community or the neurodiverse community, or um, I think of Temple Graydon, the autistic um inventor um who helped the cattle industry manage their cattle. You know, like we bring something to the table that neurotypical people don't. And I'm kind of getting sick of this whole thing where like you're not good enough situation. I say, boo to that. Like, oh yeah, I'm good, we're good enough. And by the way, our brain is awesome and we're creatives. And shame on, you know, people who don't think that way because all you're doing is under-leveraging 20% of the human population. Let's just call it in the United States. Like, why wouldn't you leverage all of that intelligence more than you do? So, yeah, I could get on a soapbox about that whole situation. I think it's ridiculous.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

We need to get you on a TEDx stage, Hillary.

Listening To Learners Over Hype

SPEAKER_01 29:32

Rock on. Yeah, how yes.

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Yeah, I think that was that was so empowering, right? Let's not see this as a handicap, but let's see this as a superpower. It is. Does it mean that it should be a barrier or anything that would get on our way? And you named so many big names that I think should be inspiring for the student who's dyslectic, who might be sitting back and playing, where am I going with this? You could be the next movie producer or the next big actor or the next big artist. Uh it don't let this get in your way, right? Don't let this be a challenge.

SPEAKER_01 30:04

I mean, Taylor Swift, she can't dance, right? But she's a hell of a song. She's a great songwriter, and she's got great creativity. So they she just does moves, right? Yeah. So she empowered herself through a different vehicle to be the performer that she is. And so she took away dancing. So I took away linear text because it didn't work for me. Just like an ugly green sofa in my client's living room doesn't work. I throw it in the garage. I mean, throw it in the trash. So when I developed Summerbell, I took away what didn't work. And what didn't work was linear. And as a designer, I just drew what did work. I mean, that's really what happened. I'm a master. I mean, at this point, you would say, You're an artist. I'm a master of design. And my whole, my whole career has been based on redesigning spaces and things so people can use them. And when I came across this reading situation that I was so frustrated with, I just said, you know what? Linear doesn't work. How about this? And that's what happened.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Yeah, you find a you found a gap and then you fixed it. Um, you filled up the gap and you fixed it. I love to hear that. But it's you have a strong ed tech tool that's actually working. Uh, there's a lot of tech tools out there that might have these shiny bells and whistles that we've just talked about previously. Uh, but where do you see ed tech needs to go next uh if you want to make it equitable or more accessible for all students, not just be shiny and be a shiny tool uh that's out there?

Quick-Fire Personal Questions And Close

SPEAKER_01 31:41

So, you know, it okay, so it was interesting. Um I went to the International Dyslexic Association conference a couple years ago, right? And the reaction was very interesting. Um, you know, some of the PhDs came up to me and said, What have you been doing? Have you been like sitting in a basement for 10 years trying to figure this out? How did you figure this out? Rah, rah, rah. And I'm like, my name is Hillary Somerbelt. I'm an interior designer from, you know, that grew up near Washington, D.C. I am not a PhD, I am not in a think tank. I don't even, I didn't even really like school. But this is the deal. I'm a visual dyslexic, so I know how to solve my own problem. You are not a dyslexic. I would probably guarantee if you have a PhD and you think I'm a rock star, I'm like, you're not dyslexic. So what do you guys do in those rooms all day long trying to figure out what what a dyslexic person is thinking? Like, how does that even work? You're totally neurotypical. So I would say that my empowerment or what what ed tech needs to be going future in into the future is you need to get, you need to talk to the kids more. Like you need to figure out what the kids think, what they like, what they do. So to answer your question, I think people need to get out of their own ego, get out of their own way. And when somebody, a child or me or anybody comes up who is actually dyslexic, I think you should put your, you know, you should you should open up your ears a little bit and say, they must, they have a yeah, like listen, because I'm dyslexic. I can't, I can't, you know, be a linguistic person because I can't speak other English, you know, other languages. So I'm not pretending like I am that. So you get what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00 33:36

I mean, bottom line is I think what just saying is that they should like fully immerse themselves and experience all those challenges and barriers that they perhaps that that person perhaps will go through so that they have a better understanding as to like how they could solve their issues or close those gaps that you had mentioned in the past. So yeah, you're you're right on.

SPEAKER_01 33:53

Yeah, sit in a class of dyslexic children and freaking talk to them and say, what is it that makes what's hard, what doesn't make sense, what can I do to make it easier? Like that's not, I don't think how it goes right now. I think, but that's what Somerbelt does because we we let them customize their own reading experience. We I respect them, I respect the learners. They yeah, I think that that's what I if there's a shift, I think that that should be the shift.

SPEAKER_00 34:24

Thank you so much, Hillary.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

Don't make them feel less than.

SPEAKER_00 34:27

Don't make them feel less than or that's where you drop the mic. Boom. That's awesome. Thank you so much. That was awesome, Hillary. That was so great. Um, but we want to close out this feature uh with some fun questions, just so our listeners can get to know you on a more personal um level. Yeah. Uh so that I just kind of like seeing you as this big ed tech CEO. Um, but let's get into it. Let's have some fun before we end this conversation. All right. So the first question would be if Somerville were not an ed tech company, what would it be? Would it be a playlist, a coffee shop, a sneaker brand? What's your vibe?

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Oh, what's my vibe? Oh my god, I'm born in 1963, dude. I'm a hippie. I mean, like, I mean, I I but you know, it's interesting because I grew up in this little town called McLean, Virginia. I uh it's like 20 minutes from the White House. That's just to get in perspective. So my vibe is, you know, totally peace and love. I have actually um one of my friends in the chimney of my 200-year-old cottage in Lewis Delaware did a um a steel peace sign that I have on my chimney. So I'm I'm a cheerful person. I want everything to be good, right? I am I am an optimist at the very heart of everything. But I also have a little bit of an awesome thing because I grew up in that area and I know from living in, I mean, we went to school with congressmen, senators, like, I mean, all of we were in the the power, like the ground zero of power. And I knew that you can change things. Like when I got my patent, I mean, dude, I went to get a patent at the patent office. I just walked myself in the door and I'm like, my name is Hillary Sarembell, and I'm a citizen of Virginia, and I have this idea, and it it works. So, what can you do to help me protect this thing? I think I'm supposed to get a patent or something, and they helped me. So I think overall, I am probably my percentage would be a person who is um accessible, interested, interested in innovation as a creative. I have to be, I'm a I'm a creative, right? So I am not just creative. My whole being is how can I make things better? Boom, like I don't know if that answers the question, but it does, it does.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Um, and uh, I want to go back to to um dyslexia and learning differences, right? What's one myth about dyslexia and learning differences that you'd love to completely destroy?

SPEAKER_01 36:58

Completely obliterate, completely destroy. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 37:02

One of the things that I've done in black, like if we had that pen for men in black and I just pressed the button and erase it from everyone's mind, what would that be?

SPEAKER_01 37:10

What would that be? The stigmatism that that people have that it if if you process information differently, that there's something wrong with you. So I would I would reframe the conversation about dyslexia and say it's a gift, it's a gift. You are the lucky, you were the lucky 20% that have it. And guess why it's you're the you're the lucky one because now you you get to engage your creative imagination and live your life through that vehicle. You know, you are creative and it's a gift, and that's it. I think it's a gift.

SPEAKER_00 37:53

So switch it from a negative light to like a more positive light. Yeah, I love that.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

Love that a thousand percent.

SPEAKER_00 38:00

Yeah, let's do let's I hope we all rock with that, and I hope the educators are listening to that. But this last question is a lightning round. I'm gonna ask you three quick questions, you answer them right away.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Okay, quick, quick, quick. Got it.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

Coffee or tea? Coffee, books or audiobooks.

SPEAKER_01 38:18

That's not a fair question.

SPEAKER_00 38:21

Books.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

I mean, you know, like it's easier to do audio, but it doesn't it doesn't grow my mind. So I'm gonna say real books because I'm interested in in being different.

SPEAKER_00 38:32

And last one, early morning or late night ideas.

SPEAKER_01 38:36

Oh, early morning. I'm a I'm up with the sun. I'm up with the sun. I and I'm a meditator. I love to think. I think with my eyes closed, and I can think for hours. So, and I I designed my solutions in my mind like this. And I and you probably saw me do it when I was trying to decode a word. You know, I see things, I work them through, and then I start believing in them, and then I can practice them.

SPEAKER_00 39:09

There you go. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 39:10

But it has to come for me. It um I see it first. I see it. I'm a visual. Yeah. So I see that I see the solution, and then I gotta figure out how to execute it. And that's what the deal is.

SPEAKER_00 39:24

Yeah, that's your superpower.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

It's my superpower and rock on. And why me? I have no freaking idea. Like, why me out of all the people in the freaking world would come up with this? Like, this doesn't even make any sense. Like, I'll tell you this one last story and then we can roll. But oh my gosh, like when I figured it out, I have four children and I'm in, you know, I live at the beach, I'm at the cottage, and my kids are here. I'm like, why me? Why me? Like, this doesn't make any sense. Like, I'm a designer and like I hated school. I basically dropped out of school. Why, why me? And sometimes I still struggle with that. Why me? And I just and I'm learning to accept it now. And I think it's me, I guess, because one, it's authentic because I I dyslexic creating a dyslexic solution. And then why me? I think because I'm not afraid. I am not afraid of anybody. I, you know, like there's a system in place, and as a citizen of the United States of America, I I have the right to engage in that system just as much as any like you or anybody else who has a PhD. I can roll into the IDA conference with four teachers and a bunch of software with an associate's degree in interior design with a GPA of 1.7, you know, when before your interior design, and I can say, guess what? I deserve to be here too. So I'm not afraid. I think that's probably why it's me.

Closing Thanks And Calls To Action

SPEAKER_00 40:51

Awesome. You have such a great story. Thank you so much, Hillary. Hilary, that has been an incredible conversation. Thank you for reminding us that good technology doesn't make learning harder, it makes learning human. For our listeners, is today's episode resonate with you, make sure to check our SummerBill Reading Method and follow Hillary's work. We have links in the show notes. And as always, thank you for tuning in to EdTech Empowerment Innovating Education Together, a podcast by NextGen Classrooms. If you enjoyed today's episode, subscribe, leave a review, and share with the other educators who need to hear it. Until next time, keep innovating, keep questioning, and keep designing learning experiences that work for every learner and that work for real brains. Thank you so much, Hillary.

SPEAKER_01 41:34

You're welcome. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you.