Abstract

Kurzweil 3000 is a leading software program used in higher education by individuals who need reading assistance. This text-to-speech program is one of the most successful ways of helping students with reading and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder become more accurate and fluent by improving word recognition and decoding. In this presentation we summarize extant literature on Kurzweil’s effectiveness as a reading tool. We describe the components within Kurzweil that respond directly to the reading challenges of students with Learning Disabilities (LDs), and also include the components that mitigate the attention limitations of students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition, we present one undergraduate student’s experience using Kurzweil in her coursework and highlight the features of the program she finds most beneficial to aid her learning. We conclude the discussion with recommendations for instructors and students in higher education who use Kurzweil.

Citation

Kanitkar, A., Ochoa, T. & Hadel, M. (2012). Kurzweil: A Computer-Supported Reading Tool for Students with Learning and Attention Challenges in Higher Education. In T. Amiel & B. Wilson (Eds.), Proceedings of EdMedia 2012--World Conference on Educational Media and Technology (pp. 648-653). Denver, Colorado, USA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 11, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/40814/.

© 2012 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)