Specifically, what are some guidelines for using Kurzweil 3000 as a reading tool? When is it not appropriate?I think Kurzweil and other text to speech software is critical for LD students who are reading approx. two years below grade level leading to a discrepancy in their verbal and non-verbal skills. But is this software appropriate for students in grades one to four? Should we encourage modifications, strategies and accommodations that will help students develop their reading skills to their max and then move on to technology as a compensatory modification?? Is there any research out there on this topic??
Re: When is technology not appropriate?
It depends upon why you are using the software.
For example, if a student in the early grades is doing a “research project” on say, insects (a common second grade topic) using text-to-speech software on approved websites allows the student to access the website and gain the information that they need to complete the project.
Another example, if the student has output issues and uses an AlphaSmart 3000 or other portable word processor or a computer, using text-to-speech is beneficial to help them edit their work by listening to it as it is tracked. Kurzweil at this level may be overkill.
Write:Outloud is an excellent elementary level text-to-speech program with a talking phonetic spell checker and dictionary. CAST eReader is an excellent program for reading websites.
I do not participate in the remediation vs. compensation debate. It can not be one approach at the exclusion of the other. Remediation and compensation should occur simultaneously. In this era of full access to the curriculum, how does the fifth grader who is reading at the second or third grade level keep up with his peers academically? He receives remediation and compensatory strategies so that he has access to the curriculum.
Re: When is technology not appropriate?
Sue,
What has been your experience with remediating fluency in a high school student with a reading disability? Is it possible to completely remediate the fluency issue? Or does the IEP team need to consider text-to-speech?
Teaching with Technology
I think technology needs to be used in conjunction with a good teaching program. I have been using laptop computers in my classroom with wonderful success. My learning disabled students have been writing, doing webquests, learning fractions, practicing their multiplication tables and reading not to mention practicing for the Standards of Learning Tests. I am quite pleased with the results. Of course, this is along with the teaching I am doing. I am in the classroom working with the students while this is going on. Using technology does not replace the teacher, it assists the teacher and enhances the curriculum.
I’m sure there’s active debate, and therefore there’s probably research, on the topic of “remediation vs. accommodation”.
It is usually inappropriate to replace instruction with accommodation; however, they are not mutually exclusive. To complicate further, that same “accommodative” software can be used instructionally (though not as much as instruction-avoiders would like you to think; just being able to highlight as you read doesn’t mean you’re going to figure out reading doing it, so implying that the student is learnign to read and doesn’t need further instruction is invalid).
I would hold that even while accommodating with technology in later grades, you should also be instructing. Often older students can learn to read well using skills & strategies only possible with a more mature brain. Of course, there are many factors involved — it would be wonderful to do everything, but prioritizing is a necessary evil.