Assistive Technology: Benefits and Challenges in Education

This essay explores the application and advantages of assistive technology, specifically focusing on Kurzweil 3000, a software designed to aid students with learning disabilities. It highlights how Kurzweil 3000 functions as a reading, writing, and study platform, offering multi-sensory access to learning materials and supporting students with conditions like dysgraphia and dyslexia. The essay details the implementation process, including planning, budgeting, training, and resource acquisition, while also addressing potential challenges such as inadequate training and funding limitations. The author reflects on the need for further resources and understanding to better support students with special needs. The essay concludes by reiterating the benefits of Kurzweil 3000 in improving learning skills and providing immediate feedback to students.

Running head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Assistive Technology
9/12/2019

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Assistive Technology
The aim of this essay is to discuss about the use and benefit of Assistive technology
that are used for teaching students with learning disability. The chosen technology for this
task is Kurzweil 3000 whose use and benefits will be explained for students. Besides this, a
short piece of reflection has been provided in order to discuss about the challenges of
executing the assistive technology.
Kurzweil 3000 is one of the well-known educational technology, also called as
assistive technology that offer a study, writing, and reading platform to the student with
learning or any other disability (Bone, 2011).
Source [(Kurzweil Educational System, 2013)]
Kurzweil 3000 is one of the most effective integrated scan as well as read software
program that offer multisensory access to the reading of the material with influential test-
taking, learning, writing and reading tools. The device do not help in teaching in writing and
reading, it is the tool that offer a digital text-to-speech setting for applying confirmed
learning, writing, and reading strategies (Patrick, Eliason & Samide, 2011). This technology
could be utilized to convert any of the curriculum material in the collaborating digital format
that is integrally flexible and accessible to the broad group of students who require support in

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retrieving the general education prospectus. Kurzweil 3000 is also called as the integrated
literacy solution.
Kurzweil 3000 is majorly used for the students suffering from dysgraphia, and
dyslexia. This program is the award winning software solution that benefits the disable
students or children with development delay in bridging the gap of communication for those
with Dysgraphia by eliminating the barriers modelled by the writing mechanics (Kurzweil
Education, 2019b). Kurzweil 3000's is a assistive tool that enable student to independently
and easily meet their academic tasks like writing essays, reacting to the test in the digital
environment, and note-taking, thus enhancing their accuracy, speed of learning, legibility,
and organization. Kurzweil 3000 is the web multi-platform well-suited and could also be
accessed on the iPad. This software also offers a talking word mainframe that reads back the
matter that has been written by the student. By listening to the written material, students get
the immediate feedback and make changes in the work, modifying any oversights and then
re-listening to the written work for ensuring precision (Kurzweil Education, 2019a).
The implementation procedure for the instalment of Kurzweil 3000 in the classroom
is as follows: The pre-implementation procedure that will be adopted in order to install
Kurzweil 3000 in the classroom is comprised of some of the steps that are - Developing
Master implementation plan in order to have clear objective and goals, creating a budget to
know the feasibility, identification of the Kurzweil 3000 team of implementation in order to
ensure organized execution of the program in the classroom, purchase decision of hardware
and software, installing software, acquisition of the digital material. In addition to these steps
in the implementation, there will be need of providing proper training, consulting and support
to the teachers and other management officers in order to ensure successful implementation
as well as operation of the software (Kurzweil Educational System, 2012).

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In spite of the major benefits of the implementation of the Assistive technology in the
classroom there are some of the major challenges that can be experienced are inadequate or
lack of training to the school personnel, constitutes a major barrier to effective
implementation of this technology, lack of team involvement in the implementation process
also results in failure of gaining the benefits, and lack or ineffective planning of the system.
Besides this, other challenges that can be experienced are funding issues, equipment issues,
and time constraints (Copley & Ziviani, 2004).
Considering the above analysis of the assistive technology and the challenges that can
be experienced while implementing the technology, I would live to learn more about the
resources that are accessible for the teachers dealing with the special need student. While
working on this task, I felt like I do not have much of the knowledge about this and was
stunned by the available level of information and indeterminate of what I wanted to know.
My focus for this learning is to gather maximum knowledge and information regarding the
topic and some of the resources and I am seeking help from are Microsoft learning tools,
Screenleap for education, Rewordify, Learning and Attention app, etc. All these available
resources and platforms will be only useful when I will get to know more about my
classroom special children who are in the search help in reading, writing, and learning. I will
try to build strong relationship with them in order to known about their actual performance
and then implementing the best suited technology within the classroom.
The above essay has discussed about the use and benefits of assistive technology that
is Kurzweil 3000 which is an integrated learning software support children with disability in
learning, writing, and reading. From the analysis, it has been identified that this software
helps children in improving their skills and making corrections in the learning.

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References
Bone, L.K. (2011). Educator's Guide to Grants, The: Grant-Writing Tips and Techniques for
Schools and Non-Profits 1st ed. U.S: Lorenz Educational Press.
Copley, J., & Ziviani, J. (2004). Barriers to the use of assistive technology for children with
multiple disabilities. Occupational Therapy International, 11(4), 229-243.
Kurzweil Education. (2019a). Common Indicators Of Dysgraphia And How Kurzweil 3000
Can Help. Retrieved from https://www.kurzweiledu.com/about-kurzweil/dysgraphia-
and-kurzweil-3000.html
Kurzweil Education. (2019b). Supporting Lifelong Literacy For Those Learning With
Dyslexia. Retrieved from https://www.kurzweiledu.com/about-kurzweil/learning-
with-dyslexia.html
Kurzweil Educational System. (2012). General Guidelines for Implementation. Retrieved
from https://www.kurzweiledu.com/shared_content/Kurzweil-3000-Implementation-
Guidelines.pdf
Kurzweil Educational System. (2013). Getting Started with Kurzweil 3000 Win Version 13.
Retrieved from
https://www.kurzweiledu.com/files/v13/Getting_Started_With_Kurzweil_3000_WIN.
pdf
Patrick, J., Eliason, G.T., & Samide, J.L. (2011). Career Development in Higher Education
1st ed. India: IAP.

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