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Presenter(s)
Stephen Baum
Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc.
14 Crosby Drive
Bedford, MA 01730
Phone: 781.276.0600
Fax: 781.276.0650
Email: stephen@kurzweiledu.com
Kurzweil 1000, from Kurzweil Educational Systems, is award winning software that provides accessibility and tools that enhance the reading, writing, researching and learning for people with severe visual impairments. Kurzweil 1000 enables access to virtually any printed or electronic publication by making text audible; provides document creation and editing capability and study skills for note taking, summarizing and outlining text. In addition, Kurzweil 1000 provides access to a variety of online books, magazines and encyclopedias, along with the ability to send files to Braille note takers, embossers or MP3 audio files. Above all, Kurzweil 1000 is designed for ease of use for beginners, yet powerful enough for advanced users.
Kurzweil 1000 converts the printed word into speech - virtually anything that fits on a scanner can be used to create a version of the page that Kurzweil 1000 can read aloud.
The primary purpose of Kurzweil 1000 is to provide convenient access to printed and electronic text for people who are blind or visually impaired. However, it can also be a powerful educational tool, providing various mechanisms for previewing, skimming, summarizing, analyzing, and reviewing complex documents.
For the first half of this session, I would like to demonstrate Kurzweil 1000 from this somewhat unusual perspective. Faced with the task of reading, synthesizing, and being held accountable for the information contained in lengthy documents, how can a blind student best utilize Kurzweil 1000?
Kurzweil 1000 turns text into a variety of life-like voices and does much more. Users can bookmark, make notes, skim or summarize text to aid mastery of concepts and details. They can modify speech speed, pitch, and emphasis to suit specific preferences and purposes. They can edit or create documents assisted by an audible dictionary, thesaurus or prioritized spell checker, and archive them using a simple file management dialog.
Kurzweil 1000 also retrieves information online with features that simplify locating electronic books and magazines, and even encyclopedia articles from the Web. In addition, it takes reading on the road by sharing electronic information with MP3 players, portable note taking devices, Braille printers and conventional e-mail applications.
With these and an array of other features, Kurzweil 1000 can make a difference in student's lives. It is easy-to-use software that provides an entree into printed and electronic language as well as tools that promote understanding, simplify communication and save time.
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:
1. Understand how Kurzweil 1000 can be used by students who are blind or visually impaired to read, synthesize, and be held accountable for information contained in lengthy documents.
2. Explain how the various features can be used for previewing, skimming, summarizing, analyzing, and reviewing complex documents.
3. Discuss and influence features that will be included in future releases of the product with the CTO of Kurzweil Educational Systems.
Participants will also be able to learn the benefits of using Kurzweil 1000 as an educational tool for blind or visually impaired students, through discussion and a demonstration of Kurzweil 1000.
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