Reading, writing, and learning. Need help!

Kurzweil 3000? Kurzweil 3000? hmmm.... I heard of this before. Over the past summer, I worked with a friend who is blind. I met with him on a regular basis and helped with organizing and sorting out various handouts and reading materials and putting it into a format that he is accessible to him. I used Kurzweil 3000 to scan the documents and then I saved it into a word format, where I went through the documents to make any edits to the text. Sometimes, the scanned document didn't quite translate very smoothly when there were small smudges, tables and charts, and other visuals. That's when I had to go into major text editing mode. After the document passed the test(in terms of being accurate), it was time to send off the final product. Depending on what he wanted, I would either have it embossed or emailed to him as an attachment. He seemed to prefer having it sent as an email attachment. He uses the screen reading tool called JAWS(Job Access with Speech), which converts all the text on the Windows system into speech. More information on JAWS can be found on the following link: http://www.afb.org/prodProfile.asp?ProdID=117&SourceID=49.

So, during the summer, I was exposed to the Kurzweil 3000, but, in a very limited aspect as I only used it to scan documents. During this semester, I learned of all the tools available on Kurzweil 3000 as it is a software that addresses the reading, writing, and learning challenges that students face. Struggling readers, individuals with learning difficulties, and English language learners would greatly benefit from using this software. My professor provided us with the Kurzweil 3000 -30 day free trial cdrom, so, I decided to try it out. The software provided many tools such as a voice that read the text, highlighter, text boxes, electronic post its, etc. It's a great way for students to learn how to use note-taking strategies. Students can complete worksheets on the computer. The following are pictures of an adapted worsheet with the use of Kurzweil 3000.





I made text notes in the blanks for students to write their names and to write numbers as their answers. I also made a bubble note to provide a reminder instruction. In question number 4, it states "James needs 40 crayons. Circle 40 crayons in the picture." So, the question is "How do the students complete that question? Is it possible?" The answer is "Yes, it is possible." After playing around with the toolbar and using the help feature, I found the answer. You have to add a zone. I went to scan --> zone editor --> add zone --> placed a box around the area where the boxes of crayons were. Guess what? I was able to complete the question. I think this is an excellent tool that can be used as both an instructional technology and an assistive technology!

More info about Kurzweil 3000:

• Kurzweil Education Systems - http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.aspx#q1
• Abilities - Nathaniel H. Kornreich Technology Center - http://www.kornreich.org/KTC/onlinetraining.aspx