Assistive Technology in the Academic Success Center

Several assistive technologies are available for all Menlo College students to use in the Academic Success Center.

Kurzweil 3000 - Text to Speech

This is a computer program that can help the student with reading comprehension as well as information masstery by "reading" the material to the student. The "read aloud" features can also help foster fluency skills.

To begin, click on the Kurzwel 3000 icon on the desktop and then place the reading material into the scanner and click the scan icon on the toolbar. Once the reading material is scanned, use the headphones to listen to the material being read to you.

You can cange the reading speed (WPM) and the size of the text (ZOOM) on the toolbar. Once you begin reading, you can also click on the icons on the toolbar for the definition, pronunciation or synonym of a word.

To change the sound of the reading voice, click on Tools, then Options, then Reading, and choose from several different reading voices.

To add a "sticky note" or footnote, click on Tools, Note, then Sticky or Footnote. (Right click on the notes to change size or delete)

To find words that are often confused or that sound alike but are spelled differently, go to Edit, then Find, and look at the Confusables and the Homophones.

There is also a Kurzweil 3000 Quick Reference at each computer to provide more detailed information.

Inspiration - Graphic Organizer

Students can use Inspiration Software for a variety of planning taks. From organizing portfolios to planning research projects, using graphic organbizers to plan their work results in better-organized student projects. It is very user-friendly - just use the icons in the toolbar to create the diagrams or outlines.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking - Voice Recognition Software

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a computer program which actually types the words that you speak into the headphone. It is necessary to come into the Tutor Lab sometime before you want to actually use Dragon, in order to train the program to recognize your voice.

Once you have done the training, you can begin by openinig Dragon and then a new Word document. Make sure your text insertion point is at the start of the new document simply start talking! Use the Dragon NaturallySpeaking Quick Reference Card for more detailed information.