Adaptive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities

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Adaptive Technology for Students with Learning
Disabilities

• Mike Walker, Learning Strategist
• Mark Giddens, Adaptive Technology Technician
• Presented at NP-SCDSB Building a Community PD
  Day, January 2004

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The Big Three

• Kurzweil 3000 (our focus today)
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• textHELP Read Write

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Three Major Tools

• Reading Software
• text to speech, may include OCR
• Kurzweil 3000 but many other tools
• Writing Software - Dictation
• speech to text
• Dragon Naturally Speaking and others
• Writing Software - Editing
• textHELP Read Write others
• listening, spelling, word prediction, etc.

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Text to Speech Software

• Kurzweil 3000

www.kurzweiledu.com
Also see WYNN 3.1, Premier Programming Scan
Read, TextAloud MP3, ReadPlease 2003
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Text to Speech Definitions

• Scan Read Software
• converts printed word to electronic speech
• typically uses a scanner in the process
• OCR Optical Character Recognition software
• Kurzweil 3000, WYNN, Read Write Gold, Premier
  Programming Scan Read
• Reading Software ( screen readers)
• converts e-text to electronic speech
• TextHELP, ReadPlease, TextAloud MP3, WordQ,
  HELPRead

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Kurzweil 3000 - Overview Scan Read (BW or
Colour)/Read Only

• Used for reading, writing, test taking, research
• For individuals with
• learning disabilities
• reading difficulties - print physically
  disabled
• Improves reading speed and comprehension
• Highlights tracks text as it is spoken aloud
• Uses a multisensory approach to reading and
  writing
• at school, at home, at work
• Classic literature CD 1,100 titles!

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How we use it at Nipissing.

• Basic Kurzweil
• Publishers send a copy of purchased textbook
• We cut off the spine
• High speed scanner, 60ppm
• Regular textbook can be scanned and converted
  within an hour or two
• Formatting (photos etc.) remains the same
• Burn a CD

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Kurzweil 3000

• Scan read print materials
• scan in colour or black white
• save with page formatting or as text only
• can open many formats (.doc, .rtf, .txt, .pdf,
  .tif)

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Scanning Basics

• Flatbed Scanner
• Repeated Scanning, Setting the Delay
• Two Facing Pages
• ADF (Automatic Document Feeder)
• 8-80 pages/minute, 400 - 10000
• Virtual Printer
• Send any document (pdf, word, etc.) to Kurzweil
  without a scanner.

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Scanning Basics

• Increased Accuracy
• Change the OCR to FineEngine
• Despeckle
• Brightness
• Find Columns

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Editing Scanned Documents

• Change Underlying Word
• Edit/Correct OCR/ Change
• For Broken or Merged words
• Edit Underlying Text
• Edit/Correct OCR/Edit
• For correcting Large Amounts of text
• Change the Pronunciation of a word

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Reading toolbar features

• vary voice, reading speed, reading mode
• track print visually, on the page or in the
  magnifier box (change colour highlights)
• speak definitions, provide pronunciation guide
• toolbars are customizable test taking, scanning,
  minimal, etc.
• Read the web feature

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The Study Skills Toolbar

• Highlighters let you add your own highlighting to
  the words in a typed or scanned document.
• Typed notes let you attach typed notes anywhere
  in a document.
• Sticky notes let you attach rectangular yellow
  notes to a document.
• Text notes let you add notes on top of a scanned
  document.
• Voice notes enable you to record spoken notes and
  attach them to a document.
• Ability to extract highlights, notes, or
  bookmarks

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Kurzweil 3000

• test taking features
• scan read
• write or speak responses to document
• integrates with Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• lockout various features, if required, for test
  taking

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Kurzweil 3000

• Writing skills toolbar features
• word processor
• dictionary
• thesaurus (synonyms)
• spell check
• word prediction (create a custom word list)

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Voice Recognition Speech to Text Software

• Dragon NaturallySpeaking

http//www.dragonsys.com
Also see IBMs ViaVoice, Microsoft Office XP
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Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dragon Demo

• Benefits people
• Physical disabilities
• Fine motor problems
• LDs who can verbalize but not write
• Writing tool
• Get the ideas down
• Worry about grammar and sentence structure
  afterwards

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Dragon NaturallySpeaking

• Dictate directly into the computer
• 5 to 15-minute training session
• Patience!
• Works with MS Word, WordPerfect, almost all
  Windows programs

• Allows hands-free use of the computer
• Have to memorize commands
• Voice file is transferable
• Reads back what you say
• Beware the voice!

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(No Transcript)
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Dragon NaturallySpeaking

• Dictation
• Make corrections
• Training note (for reading disabilities)
• Test taking alone or in combination with
  Kurzweil or textHELP Read Write
• Read back two modes
• Newer version 7.0 claims 99 accuracy

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Reading Writing

• textHELP Read Write

www.texthelp.com
Also see WordQ, Aurora Systems
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textHelp Read Writeoverview

• Reading tools
• Screen Reader
• Read virtually anything on the screen
• Text Reader
• Read e-text
• Read as you type
• Read after you type
• Read the internet

• Writing tools
• Use your word processor
• Word Prediction
• Dyslexic Spell Checker
• Homonym Checker
• Thesaurus
• Word Wizard

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RW Reading Tools

• Read the screen applications (icons, menus)
• Highlight and read e-text (docs html)
• Track words in 4 different ways
• In the document
• Textreader window
• Speech balloon
• One word display
• Change character, voice speed, voice pitch, and
  highlighting colours and size
• Listen to text as you type by letter, word,
  sentence or speak punctuation
• Find and listen to words and definitions in Spell
  Check and Word Wizard

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RW Writing Tools

• Listen to your writing
• Check spelling as you type or after
• Dyslexic (b p q d) and first letter errors -
  filosofy
• Speaks back definition gives examples in context
• By parts of speech noun, verb, adjective,
  adverb
• Keeps spelling log errors and dates
• Check homophones
• Speaks back definition gives examples in context

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RW Writing Tools

• Word Prediction
• Change prediction window size and colours
• Find a word the word starts with an ele
• Expand vocabulary learns as you type or import
  spelling lists
• Personalize - learns your writing style and
  predicts for YOU
• Program phonetic replacements (fone, filosofy)

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RW Writing Tools

• Word Wizard expands vocabulary
• Look for alternative or linking words
• example auto part of speech get a
  definition do a search more things like or
  different kinds of
• For research president

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RW Math Tools

• Calculator listen to your math work
• Talking calculator
• Can change the size and colors
• Can printout an audit trail
• TextHelp Gold also contains a scientific
  calculator

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textHelp - Helps!

• Assists and motivates
• Accommodates reading and writing difficulties
• Helps build reading and writing skills
• Probably the best all round LD tool for the money

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RW targets skill deficits

• Directly
• reading (e.g., decoding, comprehension)
• written language (spelling, written expression)
• mathematics (e.g., computation, problem solving)
• To a lesser degree
• oral language (listening, speaking,
  understanding)
• organizational skills
• social interaction
• social perception

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RW aids processing deficits

• Directly
• phonological processing
• language processing
• visual-spatial processing
• To a lesser degree
• memory and attention (engages students)
• perceptual-motor (keyboard/prediction)
• executive functions (planning, monitoring and
  metacognitive abilities) (elaborating, editing)
• processing speed

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Read Write GOLD

• All of Read Writes features plus
• Scanning
• Speech input (speech to text XP engine)
• Research tools gather, organize, annotate info
• Simple scientific talking calculator
• Teacher Toolkit manage spelling and activity
  logs and student access

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Todays Special - Freebies

• ReadPlease 2003
• free text reader
• go to
• www.readplease.com

• Project Gutenburg
• classic literature - lots for kids
• Aesops fables, Beatrix Potter, Mark Twain, etc.
• go to
• http//promo.net/pg/
• over 300 titles

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Read Please 2003www.readplease.com

• Text-to-speech (no scanning feature)
• Developed in Canada
• Free version
• Supports ATT Voices
• Very simple to use

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Comparison

• Kurzweil 3000 ScanRead, Colour
• Sheet-feed Epson Scanner
• ? 3544

• ReadPlease 2003 (free download)
• Canon Flatbed Scanner with OCR
• ? 99

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Other Technology

• More Technology for Students with Information
  Processing and Other Disabilities

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Technology for Young Learners

• WordQ (simpler tool similar to textHELP!)
• www.wordq.com
• Kidspiration
• www.inspiration.com
• IntelliTools Inc. (www.intellitools.com)
• IntelliTalk II
• IntelliMathics
• IntelliPics Studio
• MathPad
• Accessibility Tools (for physical disabilities)

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Premier Assistive Technologywww.readingmadeeasy.c
om
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Premier Assistive TechnologyAccessibility Suite

• Products to assist people with Low Vision
• Scan and Read Lite
• Scan and View
• Products for Everyone
• Text to Audio
• Talking Calculator
• Universal Reader

• Products to assist the Blind
• Text Cloner
• Complete Reading System
• Products to assist people with LDs
• Talking Word Processor
• Scan And Read Pro
• Talking Web Browser

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Premier Assistive Technology

• Benefits
• much more inexpensive than name-brand products
• school can apply for a grant to get the
  software suite for free
• 200 yearly maintenance fee on grant

• Drawbacks
• software isnt as efficient as name-brand
  alternatives
• some of the programs functions still a bit
  quirky
• however, they are upgrading regularly and adding
  new features

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Free Software

• Screen Magnifier (Lens Magnifier)
• http//www.markuswelz.de/freeware/index.html
• Talking Calculator (P.P. Talking Calculator)
• http//www.premier-programming.com/downloads.htm
• Talking Web Browser (Simply Web 2000)
• http//www.econointl.com/sw/
• Text Reader (ReadPlease 2003)
• www.readplease.com
• Screen Reader (textHELP Screen Reader v4)
• http//www.simtel.net/pub/pd/15213.shtml

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Questions?

• . . . We thank you for this opportunity!