MITS Summer Institute June 2009 Kurzweil 3000 – v.11

Kurzweil is a multi-sensory software program that provides reading, writing and study skills tools all on one platform. Students can access text and online material, allowing them to access curriculum with the appropriate supports. Kurzweil gives students an opportunity to work independently, to select the tools that help them the most and to demonstrate what they know.

Reading: How much does it cost to read tests to students? Let’s help them become independent Reading settings – students select their own appropriate settings Read the Web – read html text from the Internet Student selects voice, reading unit, reading speed, etc.

Study Skills: We know that summarizing and note-taking are effective instructional strategies. Kurzweil tools allow students to identify and separate important concepts and ideas. Then extract the notes to create a personalized study guide.

Brainstorm – get ideas out and organize them visually Outline – text-based hierarchical view of ideas Draft – supports for writing text, reading it back, accessing reference tools, word prediction and more Writing Templates – provide a structure to produce a variety of papers. Teachers can edit and create new templates. Word Lists – transition words, summary verbs, conclusions, etc. Review – customizable checklist of proofreading and review tasks. Writing

Brainstorm Link boxes, change font, colors, box shapes, etc.

Arrange brainstorm session Automatically or manually

Split screen – outline and draft Use talking word processor, word prediction, spell check, etc.

Writing templates available Book reports, compare and contrast, multi-paragraph essay, persuasion, etc.

Customizable review checklist for students

Writing Tools - Kurzweil 3000 has added more research-based writing tools to support the student at every stage of the writing process – from brainstorming ideas using its graphic organizer or gathering information using its integrated Column Note taking feature, to reviewing the final draft. Best of all, these new writing tools align with general accepted writing processes (e.g. Planning, Drafting, Revising and Proofreading) and are available all in one program, so students do not have to learn additional programs. Writing Path Components  Column Notes – allows you to take notes using two or three column strategies to be better organized while reading or attending class lectures. In addition, when reading a document within Kurzweil 3000, you can use highlighters to select information and extract to specific columns to organize information.  Brainstorm – enables you to jumpstart your thinking process and get ideas out and linked to other ideas in a graphical way.  Outline – provides an alternative to the Brainstorm graphical view with a text-based hierarchical view of your ideas. You can choose how you like to see information as Brainstorm and Outline present two views of the same data.  Draft – is for creating and revising writing assignments from a blank draft, from new Writing Templates as well as from Brainstorm diagrams and Outlines. Main parts of Draft include: o Writing Templates – based on some of the most common writing tasks, included writing templates (e.g. Compare/Contrast) provide a framework for the student to complete writing assignments. Also, teachers can create, modify and save their own templates. o Floating Word Lists – Floating Word Lists help writing in a couple of ways. First of all, you can use the many new word lists included with Kurzweil 3000 to help prompt you to use words for areas such as transition words, summary verbs or conclusions. Another use of Floating word lists is to provide ready access to new vocabulary words you may have learned. o Split View – allows you to refer to your outline shown in the left pane, while you write. You can also drag/drop and copy/paste selected text from the outline. o Note Snippet – access Column Notes in a hierarchical view while you read or write or even while you use other applications.  Review - for a customizable list of proofreading and reviewing tasks to perform before a writing assignment is complete.

Thank you for your time and attention. JST, Inc. is your authorized, Michigan-based reseller of Kurzweil Our technical and instructional personnel are committed to answering any questions and supporting your implementation.