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As a student professional I have the opportunity to attend and present at State and National Conferences. The Decker and Muns memorial scholarship has made that possible.
-Barbara, Friendship Memorial Scholar

Technology for Learning Disabilities


Kurzweil Educational Systems, Kurzweil 3000

This powerful Optical Character Recognition software allows the computer to scan printed materials and render them in a spoken and visually highlighted output. The system also provides enhanced access to web content via text-highlighting and voice output. Finally, the built-in definitions dictionary provides full definitions and synonyms for hundreds of thousands of words.

Franklin Electronic Publishing, Language Master

These hand-held devices allow individuals to quickly search for definitions and spellings of difficult or troublesome words. The systems also allow the user to locate synonyms and antonyms for particular words. Finally, the units include a speech synthesizer allowing them to read definitions and spellings aloud.

The AlphaSmart 3000

The AlphaSmart is an easy to use portable text-writing tool. It has a notebook size keyboard and a small LCD display. Several optional software programs provide word prediction or outline creation. This unit can be used for taking notes in class or writing documents. Connections for exporting to a computer enable printing or further text formatting.

Optelec, SVGA Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV)

This device assists individuals with visual impairments or learning disabilities by allowing them to enlarge the contents of printed materials. Like a traditional CCTV, the user places the printed material on an X-Y table. The image is then captured by a video camera that allows the user to adjust magnification level, focus, brightness, contrast, and coloration. This unit differs from a traditional CCTV in that it shares a single display/monitor with an existing PC. The user can thus (with the press of a button or foot pedal) select a full screen view of the computer, CCTV, or a split screen containing both. This system allows the user to easily read printed materials while working simultaneously with a computer.


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