Using Technology to Overcome Increased Academic Demands in Order to Succeed and Graduate Presented by: Ed Smith & Mary Anne Steinberg, Ph.D.

Learning Outcomes Understand the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities in higher education. Identify the potential impact of disabilities on learning at the postsecondary level. Explore how a technology, like Kurzweil 3000-firefly, can assist postsecondary students.

Struggling Students: What is school like for them?

In their own words… Jonathan David Samantha Student 1

Reading Research What do think happens to this gap as students go to college? How does this gap impact your students’ performance? What can we do to help?

What is it that we want students to do when they are given a text?

Read it What is reading like in college? What do good readers do? Review a text before they read it (look at pictures, graphs, and headings); Write down unknown vocabulary words and look them up; Use Post-It notes (to identify key words or sections of text, to ask questions, etc.); Highlight important information in the chapter; Integrate prior knowledge; and Self-regulate (problem solve) when they read. How can Kurzweil 3000-firefly help do these things?

Comprehend what they have read What is reading comprehension? The RAND Reading Study Group (2002) defines reading comprehension as: "the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language" (p. 11).

A Model of Reading Comprehension

Comprehension continued… How can students “show” that they understood a text (or tried to)? o Sticky Note Questioning o Concept Maps/Graphic Organizers o Summarizing Information How can Kurzweil 3000-firefly help?

Demonstrate their knowledge What are the primary ways students are asked to “show what they know”? What does one have to do in order to write? The Writing Process o Select a topic or write on an assigned one o Use invention techniques o Outline your ideas o Draft an essay o Revise and edit o Proofread How can Kurzweil 3000-firefly help?

A few more stories…

“Because I’m a slow reader, everything takes much longer, both in school and at home. If it weren’t for Kurzweil 3000, I wouldn’t have as much time to think of ideas and formulate them into reality.” — Billy Vermillion, Biomedical Engineering graduate student, Catholic University of America “With over 300 users across campus, Kurzweil 3000-firefly has quickly become an essential component of our reading, critical thinking, and adaptive technology classes. The combination of firefly on the Web, the iPad app, and Kurzweil 3000 also helps us meet the increasing demand for access to alternate media on a wide variety of platforms. Accessibility on any operating system, any device, is a common assumption among our students. firefly is helping our team in our efforts to meet this need.” — Alexis Copeland, Adaptive Technology Specialist, Monterey Peninsula College, California “[Kurzweil 3000] has made such a positive difference in the lives of our students with disabilities. It provides independence for some, improves the ability to focus and perform for others, but for ALL, it makes a positive difference in the way they feel about themselves, their abilities and their future.” — Paula McCroskey, Convention Chair CAPED Connecting the DOTS, Dean Emeritus Counseling & Specially Funded Programs Riverside City College

Contact Information Ed Smith, MA, MEd Kurzweil Educational Systems Mary Anne Steinberg, Ph.D. University of Florida