Kurzweil Educational First to Offer Customizable Test-Taking Technology.Business/Technology Editors BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2002 New Version of Kurzweil 3000 Provides Unprecedented Flexibility, Allowing Teachers to Provide Accommodations Based on Specific Student Test-Taking Needs Kurzweil Educational Systems Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. is an American based company that specializes in providing reading and writing software to assist people who are blind or partially sighted, or who have learning disabilities, such as dyslexia and Attention Deficit Disorder. , innovator of reading technology products for individuals with learning and visual disabilities, today announced the new Kurzweil 3000(TM) Version 7, to be unveiled at the International Dyslexia Association The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a non-profit education and advocacy organization dedicated to issues surrounding dyslexia. The International Dyslexia Association serves individuals with dyslexia, their families, and professionals in the field. 53rd Annual Conference on November 12-15 in Atlanta, GA. Kurzweil 3000 Version 7 is the first product that not only adds reading aloud and visual dual highlighting to the testing experience, but also enables a teacher to selectively link both classroom and standardized tests A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] to a wide range of additional, customizable accommodations that help assure that ability, not disability is being tested. Depending on individual needs, testing purposes and IEP IEP In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Irish Punt. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. requirements, educators can provide access during testing to a selection of writing and decoding de·code tr.v. de·cod·ed, de·cod·ing, de·codes 1. To convert from code into plain text. 2. To convert from a scrambled electronic signal into an interpretable one. 3. tools. These tools include annotations, voice notes, definitions, personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. toolbars, word prediction and more. All of Kurzweil 3000's test taking innovations, as well as comprehensive tools for more accessible reading, writing and studying continue to be included in a single integrated package - no additional software purchases are required. "Gone are the days when children would score poorly on tests simply because they could not read the questions or have problems writing," said Roger Rachow, Adaptive Technology Adaptive technology is the name for products which help people who cannot use regular versions of products, primarily people with physical disabilities such as limitations to vision, hearing, and mobility. Specialist, Halverson Regional School District, Iowa. "Using the new Kurzweil 3000, students with reading and writing challenges have access to a range of easy-to-use features that help them demonstrate their knowledge and spend minimum time reading the test or typing in their answers. And it is especially helpful to have a software solution that can be easily customized in keeping with accommodations specified in a student's IEP for test taking, unlike other products that have a one size-fits-all approach. The benefits for both student and teacher are huge." A complete redesign re·de·sign tr.v. re·de·signed, re·de·sign·ing, re·de·signs To make a revision in the appearance or function of. re of the underlying image display components of Kurzweil 3000 resulted in the exclusive AccessibleImage(TM) technology, which significantly boosts usability How easy something is to use. Both software and Web sites can be tested for usability. Considering how difficult applications are to use and Web sites are to navigate, one would wish that more designers took this seriously. See user interface and usability lab. and flexibility for students engaged not only in testing but a multitude of reading, writing and learning tasks. AccessibleImage also provides a striking overall improvement in the clarity of scanned page images, as they are re-presented on the computer screen. Another exciting leap forward is Kurzweil 3000's ability to automatically search multiple websites for electronic text materials. Among the text repositories While acknowledging services such as [ROAR: [1]] and [OpenDOAR: [2]] it is perhaps necessary to provide a list of individual repositories described in more detail within wikipedia here. explored by Kurzweil 3000 is Bookshare.org, the online community that allows people with reading related disabilities to legally download To receive a file transmitted over a network. In any communications session, "download" means receive, and "upload" means send. The download/upload often implies a big/little scenario, in which data is being downloaded from the "big" server into the "little" user's computer. over 10,000 public domain and copyrighted books. In addition to an automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. link to Bookshare.org, Kurzweil 3000 Version 7 will include a free 30-day Bookshare.org trial membership for qualified users. Kurzweil 3000 Version 7 new features and product enhancements include: Streamlined test taking: -- Students can now have an electronic experience that closely simulates taking a test on paper, entering their answers directly on to a highly accurate image of a test or worksheet. The enhanced ability to drag-and-drop selected text within image documents also assures that students can borrow sections of questions or answer options and use them to create their responses with less time and effort. -- The text-to-speech and visual highlighting components of Kurzweil 3000 allow students to proceed seamlessly from reading the questions to responding, simplifying the self-checking process. -- To help students focus on the content of their responses, the text field provided is automatically resized to accommodate a short or long answer. Also, to help assure that students respond to all the questions, blanks waiting to be filled are pointed out via a unique color marker and an audible A protected MP3 file format from the Audible.com audio download service. See Audible.com. pause. Access to online resources: -- Version 7 revolutionizes access to contemporary and classic literature that can be found on the Web. Students can enter a single author or title to initiate an automatic search across multiple online book repositories. -- Students searching for books online need not be limited to public domain material but can now explore online text repositories such as Bookshare.org, Project Gutenberg, or Baen Free Library, and request books by title or author, then download, open and read them. -- Product upgrades, patches and news, as well as teaching and technical tips, are automatically retrieved online from Kurzweil Educational. Enhanced control over text and image content: -- Educators can now check and correct scanned images more quickly and efficiently with tools for global spell checking as well as search and replace capability that is not limited to text documents. -- Students can drag-and-drop from an image document directly into a waiting notes field or external text document, creating new, simplified note taking options. -- The Page Thumbnail A miniature representation of a page or image that is used to identify a file by its contents. Clicking the thumbnail opens the file. Thumbnails are an option in file managers, such as Windows Explorer, and they are found in photo editing and graphics program to quickly browse multiple feature is now a vastly improved tool for getting the fastest possible overview of a multi-page document, with expanded page images in vibrant color. "New state-wide standardized tests have catapulted test-taking onto center stage in most schools around the country, and to most educators it is important that it be used to measure, as accurately as possible, a student's abilities. Given that, the very flexible test-taking capabilities included in Kurzweil 3000 are a significant breakthrough in our effort to help teachers unlock the minds of students who have had difficulty demonstrating their knowledge," said Michael Sokol, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. and President, Kurzweil Educational Systems. Pricing and Availability The product is available in various packages. A popular example is the Kurzweil 3000 5-unit Color Learning Lab Pak at $539 per seat. Further discounts are available for larger configurations. Both standalone stand·a·lone adj. Self-contained and usually independently operating: a standalone computer terminal. and network versions are expected to be available in January 2003. Kurzweil 3000 can be purchased directly from Kurzweil Educational at 800-894-5374, or from Kurzweil Educational's worldwide network of distributors and resellers (www.kurzweiledu.com/k3000distributors.html.). About Kurzweil 3000 Kurzweil 3000 is Kurzweil Educational's flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. for struggling readers and writers. It is widely recognized as the most comprehensive and integrated solution for addressing language and literacy difficulties. The software uses a multisensory multisensory /mul·ti·sen·so·ry/ (mul?te-sen´sah-re) capable of responding to more than one kind of sensory input, as certain neurons in the central nervous system. approach - presenting printed or electronic text on the computer screen with added visual and audible accessibility. The product incorporates a host of dynamic features including powerful decoding, study skill and test taking tools designed to adapt to each individual's learning style and minimize frustration for both the learner and educator. About Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. Kurzweil Educational Systems, founded in 1996, is the industry leader and innovator of scanning, reading and writing solutions for people with learning disabilities, and people who are blind or visually impaired. Ray Kurzweil, a co-founder of the original company, invented computer-based reading machine technology 25 years ago to provide access to printed text for the blind. With a pioneering history in developing assistive technology Hardware and software that help people who are physically impaired. Often called "accessibility options" when referring to enhancements for using the computer, the entire field of assistive technology is quite vast and even includes ramp and doorway construction in buildings to support , the company has received worldwide recognition for enabling people with disabilities to lead more independent lives through improved reading and writing abilities. Kurzweil 3000, the company's flagship product for individuals with reading and writing disabilities, recently won the "District's Choice Top 100 Product" 2002 Award published by the District Administration magazine. For more company or product information, visit www.kurzweiledu.com. Kurzweil 3000 and AccessibleImage are trademarks, and Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. is a registered trademark of Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. Other company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. |
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