At our Technical College we have a high population of students with learning
disabilities.  Kurzweil 3000 scan and read has been invaluable to some of
our students.  Many of the students use it on a daily basis and others only
when they are studying for an upcoming exam.  Having the technology
available also helps when we are having difficulty in getting a textbook on
tape or CD for a student. Even if they'd prefer the book on tape they will
usually use Kurzweil until the tape is available.

I agree too on the ease of use of the program.  I have had no trouble at all
in training a single  student on how to use it.  The overall design is so
simple and not at all threatening to "low tech." folks.

-----Original Message-----
From: David Poehlman [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Saturday, November 23, 2002 6:21 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Fw: Kurzweil 3000 cost vs. benefit and user/parent acceptance


----- Original Message -----
From: "Harold Richardson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2002 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: Kurzweil 3000 cost vs. benefit and user/parent acceptance


In our Community College setting, I have found that the Kurzweil
3000 scan/read stations are being used every day. In my opinion
they have a high degree of user acceptance. They are straight
forward to operate and easy to learn. I find that some students
don't have the patience to learn and adapt to some of the other
  adaptive H/W S/W solutions. After a few attempts they lose
interest in the task even though they could get real benefits by
learning the new technology. I don't see that happening as often
with Kurzweil 3000, especially with the improvement in the
available voices.

Harold

Steve Crawford wrote:

> I am a high school special ed teacher in California.
> I recently purchased the K3000 for just under $2000
> with grant money.  It is an excellent program for high
> school.  It comes with a great deal of the required
> reading for 9th-12th grade on a CD.  My students can
> follow along and listen individually to their reading
> assignment with headphones.  Cost-wise I think it's
> worth it.  We use it on a computer in the Special Day
> Class and one in the library.  When a student needs to
> read .. say "Red Badge of Courage", he puts in the CD,
> the program reads to him as he follows along in the
> book. I haven't tried the scanning feature yet.  The
> program is used extensively at the local college. One
> of my students, now in college, uses it to read his
> textbooks. Parents love the program but not the price.
> --- Donald Strickland <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>>Hello-- I'm Don Strickland, a graduate student in
>>Special Education. I'm researching Assistive
>>Technology for a paper on its use in the classroom.
>>I learned about the cost of training school district
>>personnel via Kurzweil's website, but did not learn
>>anything about the cost of buying the K3000
>>technology. Part of my paper's focus is on the cost
>>implications for school districts, and on how
>>parents accept new technology for their kids with
>>learning disabilities. Any information would be
>>appreciated. Thank you.
>>
>>
>>---------------------------------
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>
>
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