Web Posted on: December 4, 1998

Study Skills and the Kurzweil 3000

Kenneth Elkind

The Kurzweil 3000 from Lernout and Hauspie's Kurzweil Educational Group is PC based software that takes printed material and reads it aloud to the user. This presentation will explain how the notetaking toolbar of the Kurzweil 3000 can be used by both the teacher and student. The teacher can use it as a way to communicate with the students on pre reading activities. The student can use it as a study skill for pre reading and while they are actually reading in order to organize the text to aid in their comprehension of new material.

Proper study skills aid your students in organizing reading material into systematic notes they can identify with, thereby increasing comprehension. The toolbar provides highlighting to be used by both the teacher and student.

The teacher can highlight vocabulary words for pre-reading activities. Imagine a passage from a science book where you highlight words you don't think your students know. As the student reads along any word that is highlighted they need to provide a definition. These vocabulary words and definitions, are copied to a main vocabulary list with the click of a button. The teacher need only do this process once, as he/she prepares the reading and lessons for the day. In addition, the teacher can add thought-provoking questions within the passage allowing students to use their critical thinking skills. These questions would be in the form of voice annotations, so it would actually be the teacher's voice. It allows your students to move along at their own pace.

Students can label highlight colors to represent themes, main ideas etc. Students then use the highlight colors they have chosen to organize their notes by themes, main ideas, summary in their own words and vocabulary. As the student reads along, they highlight what they want right on their computer. After they have finished their chapter, they can review what they highlighted and print out their notes.