This summer, we reviewed some different software that is available to help students utilize technology to help them accommodate their learning needs.  We had some guest speakers that talked about how to use Kurzweil 3000, TextHELP, and Inspiration.  The computer lab in Project ASSIST also has Microsoft Office 2003 and the other software that UW-Whitewater supports. Student assistants are available to help students with all software.   

TextHELP

TextHELP is a program that supports learning by providing both reading and writing support. Speech can be used throughout the program.  TextHELP contains the following features:

• Spellcheck
• Word Prediction
• Dictionary
• Homophones
• Calculator
• Speech

Spell Check

• Click the check mark on the toolbar with the ABC
• Check Spelling
• Read words/definitions aloud
• Correct spelling

Word Prediction

• Click the Crystal Ball
• Watch the prediction box
• Select correct word
• Press correct function key

Dictionary

• Click on the book icon
• Enter your word
• Read the definition aloud

Homophones

• Click the "head" icon on the toolbar
• Homophones will be highlighted in blue
• Read the definitions aloud and select correct word

Calculator

• Click the calculator icon on the toolbar
• Perform functions and listen

Speech

• Click the down arrow after the triangular read button
• Select desired settings
• Select Speech Options and choose voice, character and quality of speech
• Read as you type; read from the web; read printed materials

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Inspiration

Inspiration is a program to help you think and learn visually. Inspiration can help you organize your thoughts and is a great writing aid.  Inspiration has two views:

• The diagram view
• The outline view

The Diagram View

• Use the diagram view to create a map showing how ideas or concepts interconnect.
• You can create many types of diagrams.
• It doesn't matter if you are planning a project, looking at cause and effect, or developing your understanding of a complex concept.

Diagram Types

• Concept map
• Idea Map
• Web
• Storyboard

Concept Map

• A concept map is a hierarchical diagram used to represent concepts, beginning with the most general or most important, and then working down to more specific detail.
• Key concepts are connected by links that have descriptive words.
• Concept maps are often used to illustrate scientific or historical concepts-knowledge mapping.

Idea Map

• Used to brainstorm ideas and develop thoughts
• Start with main idea
• Record associated ideas

Web

• A web is a visual map that shows how different bits of information relate to each other.
• Has a main idea or core concept at the center.
• Ideas, facts, and information are connected.
• Useful when analyzing a story or brainstorming ideas for a written report.

Storyboard

• A storyboard is a visual way to organize projects such as the design of a web page.
• Helps you plan what you're going to say and show, and help put it in order

The outline

• An outline is a hierarchical structure for your ideas.
• It helps organize written documents, etc.
• Outlines can help you organize very complex material.

How to use inspiration

• Begin by opening the program.
• Inspiration opens in the Diagram View where you process, organize and prioritize information visually.
• Key functions are right at your fingertips with the Diagram toolbar along the top, the Formatting toolbar at the bottom and the Symbol palette on the left.

Enter the topic

• Type the diagram topic into the Main Idea symbolUse the create tool to add a new linked symbol
• From the new symbol use the RapidFire tool to quickly capture ideas.
• Add an unconnected symbol; add using the link.

Creating a diagram

• Replace a symbol with one from the Symbol palette
• Add text to a link
• Drag a symbol; link it; add text; add a note; move the note
• Move symbols-link stays
• Change colors of symbols; pictures
• Save 

The outline view

• Select Main Idea
• Click on Outline in the Diagram Toolbar
• Add topic-topic button on outline toolbar
• Add subtopic
• Can switch back and forth between views and make changes
• Print

Transfer to a word processor

• Click the Transfer button on the toolbar

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Kurzweil 3000

A premier reading, writing and learning software for struggling students, Kurzweil 3000 is a remarkably powerful tool for students -- it is an effective adaptive strategy for personal and professional lives and lifelong learning.   Even people that have never thought of themselves as having reading or writing issues can may find that this software will help them more effectively manage their reading or writing workload.

Kurzweil 3000 Features

• Patented Dual Highlighting - highlights a sentence, paragraph, line or phrase in one color and highlighting each word in another color as it is read aloud.
• Quick Access to Word Meanings - access to recursive dictionary definitions, synonyms, syllabification and spell mode.
• Comprehensive Study Skills Tools - improve their reading comprehension and retention with study skills tools that facilitate active reading including highlighting, annotations, Bookmarks, Voice Notes and Extract to create outlines, study guides, or word lists. 
• Online Books and Encyclopedias - search through and select from thousands of electronic books and online encyclopedias such as Columbia Encyclopedia,Wikipedia Encyclopedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica, helping ensure access to content comparable to that of their peers. 
• Vocabulary List Support - use Vocabulary Lists for new or curriculum-based vocabulary learning, includes vocabulary lists such as homophones or confusables or quickly and easily create new lists. 
• Natural-Sounding Synthetic Speech Options - Two clear, human-sounding VoiceText voices from NeoSpeech - one male, one female - and precise IBM ViaVoice voices deliver superior text-to-speech (TTS).
• Easy Web Access - Kurzweil 3000 enhances audible and visual access to web pages, with support of both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. 
• Audio File Creation - create MP3 and WAV files of entire documents, or select pages or text, and listen to the files on portable players. 
• Broad Access to Electronic Files - Kurzweil 3000 supports popular file formats, including .doc, .pdf and DAISY. 
• Advanced Scanning Support - Kurzweil 3000 provides advanced scanning and image management features with the latest optical character recognition (OCR) technology and scanner optimization tools.
• Picture Dictionary - Kurzweil 3000 supports popular electronic picture dictionaries such as those from Mayer-Johnson and Crick Software.
• Multilingual Assistance - With audible dictionary definitions available in English, French,German, Spanish or Italian, and the ability to read text aloud in any of these languages. 

This software is sure to amaze first time users -- unlike most other reading software, Kurzweil will read and fully support both text formats (like HTML or MS Word and graphical formats (like basic .pdf or text that has been scanned into a computer).  This software can also work with fairly complex page layouts, including many table and column formats.

It is not hard to use, but we cannot adequately present how to get started in a short Webpage.  Stop by Project ASSIST's computer lab, however, and we will be happy to get you started.

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