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DAVID BRADBURN
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
LERNOUT & HAUSPIE SPEECH PRODUCTS
KURZWEIL EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS GROUP
52 THIRD AVENUE
BURLINGTON, MA 01803, USA
TEL: (781) 203-5018
Millions of people around the world struggle with reading
everyday. In fact, 1998 figures from the National Institute of
Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) indicate that some "10
million children have difficulties learning to read." Their
research goes on to say that anywhere "from 10 to 15 percent
eventually drop out of high school; only 2 percent complete a
four-year college program." Perhaps more daunting are the
"surveys of adolescents and young adults with criminal records
[that] show that about half have reading difficulties. Similarly,
about half of youths with a history of substance abuse have
reading problems."
Despite all the gloomy facts and figures, there is hope.
Long-term studies conducted by NICHD have shown that between 90
and 95 percent of children with reading difficulties can be
helped to overcome their impairments IF they receive appropriate
treatment at an early age. Once a reading disability has been
identified, treatment may take the form of "phonics" instruction
or "whole language." Despite some very strong views on which is
the best approach, research conducted by NICHD found that
"children taught with a combination of both methods make the
greatest gains in reading" and that "they fare better than
children taught with only one method at the exclusion of the
other." By way of a disclaimer, I suppose, NICHD stresses that
for a reading impaired student to be successful, the different
approaches to reading "should be taught in an integrated
manner."
As many people know, Ray Kurzweil invented a life-changing piece
of technology in 1975: a reading machine for the blind that could
scan and convert printed text into speech. Costing close to
$50,000 at the time, the "Kurzweil Reading Machine" (KRM) changed
the lives of print disabled people forever. That single
technological achievement was the beginning of what is today
referred to as the adaptive technology industry. You see, the KRM
was a combination of text-to-speech (TTS), optical character
recognition (OCR), and scanning technology. And Ray Kurzweil
invented all three things.
Fast-forward to the late 1980s. Ray Kurzweil's company had long
since been sold to Xerox Corporation and the Xerox Imaging
Systems (XIS) company was formed to further development of
scanning technology. At about this time, XIS introduced a
software-based scanning and reading solution for people with
learning disabilities. It was called BookWise. Although it only
worked in MS-DOS (pre-Windows operating system, i.e,
non-graphical), BookWise generated a lot of interest for its
ability to scan, but more importantly, for its ability to read
text aloud while reading units (line, sentence, paragraph) were
highlighted onscreen. Plus, struggling readers could obtain
dictionary definitions of new or unfamiliar words.
Now, fast-forward again but this time to January 1996. Ray
Kurzweil was back on the scene with a new company, Kurzweil
Educational Systems, Inc. (KESI), and 2 new scanning and reading
solutions called Omni 1000 and Omni 3000, respectively for people
who are blind or reading disabled. With a name change a year
later to Kurzweil 3000, Ray's latest contribution to the world of
computerized reading was set to change even more lives.
Nowadays, L&H(tm) Kurzweil 3000 has lots of loyal friends --
teachers and students alike -- who rave about the way it has
changed their lives.
For the many dedicated teachers who use L&H(tm) Kurzweil
3000, it is often the case that some of their students have
difficulty reading and require additional attention with their
work. Because they are dedicated, those teachers are happy to
help their "special" students but typically find it increasingly
difficult to balance their time equally among all students in the
class. With L&H™ Kurzweil 3000 in the classroom,
struggling readers can work independently with fluency training
and phonemic awareness. The L&H™ Kurzweil 3000's
audible and visual feedback of words and phrases also help to
increase reading accuracy and speed.
At the middle school level, L&H(tm) Kurzweil 3000 enables
active reading in which students create questions and vocabulary
words before reading the text. This can be done through the
L&H™ Kurzweil 3000 study skills tools and guide.
Mastery of information through the summarization of notes and
written material becomes easier using the L&H™ Kurzweil
3000 through the manipulating information in electronic format.
Plus, a test-taking and form fillout allows students to type
answers right onto a scanned test or worksheet, listen to them,
and then print out the page complete with their answers.
Kids too, tell that L&H(tm) Kurzweil 3000 is life changing.
They enjoy the feeling of empowerment that comes from working
independently on a reading or writing assignment, and then
handing in their completed work. They love the fact that reading
is something they can now do for pleasure and knowledge. Old
feelings of frustration spent trying to decode new or unfamiliar
words are replaced with an "I CAN" attitude that is most evident
in their smiles of accomplishment.
For anyone, the written word is the gateway to extraordinary
knowledge. It bridges time, geography, culture, language, and it
unlocks some of life's most exquisite treasures. But for those
with reading difficulties such as dyslexia or attention deficit
disorder (ADD), the simple act of reading becomes a challenge for
many, an insurmountable obstacle for some. Now, L&H™
Kurzweil 3000 is helping to meet that challenge and overcome that
obstacle.
Today's hands-on computer lab session will take everyone on a
special reading and writing adventure, made easy courtesy of
L&H(tm) Kurzweil 3000.
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