Kurzweil 3000: Fostering Independence and Inclusion in the Classroom

Fostering Independence and Inclusion in the Classroom

Molly Riggs, AT Coordinator
meriggs@k12.carr.org
Nettie Reese, Assistant AT
ndreese@k12.carr.org
Carroll County Public Schools
Westminster, Maryland

The Situation

Zach Bryant is a lively 6th grader in school in Carroll County, a suburban public school district located about 45 minutes from Baltimore, MD and one hour from Washington, DC. Since the passage of the Assistive Technology Act in 1998, the district has been actively investing in software and has strived to provide appropriate software for its students with special needs, like Zach.

Despite Zach having cerebral palsy, he is an outgoing, curious, active and happy kid. Zach's disability poses many challenges for him. He is wheelchair bound, unable to speak and has poor motor coordination. However, technology tools such as Pathfinder (a touch-screen communication device that Zach uses to run other software) and Kurzweil 3000 (reading, writing and learning software for struggling students) allow him to be fully integrated into life in the classroom.

Zach was starting 4th grade when he first began using Kurzweil 3000. While cognitively alert, Zach had been struggling with reading since first grade and was more than a year below his grade level. Phonics, one of the foundations needed to become a proficient reader, wasn't working for Zach who found the process of decoding individual words very difficult. Visually, he had trouble dealing with large amounts of text on the page, and his parents feared that he would never become a proficient reader.

The Solution

Zach was introduced to Kurzweil 3000 as the result of a successful grant written by Stevie Savar, the Carroll County Supervisor of Special Education, and Molly Riggs, Carroll County AT Coordinator and co-author. The district had become aware that the state was planning to use Kurzweil 3000 as an official accommodation for students with learning or physical disabilities taking standardized tests. In preparation for this move, grant money had been made available to local communities interested in piloting Kurzweil 3000. The Carroll County grant, which was extended in its second year, provided funds for every school in the county to have a copy of the program. It also made Kurzweil 3000 available to all students, including Zach, who used a computer as a classroom accommodation. And it provided for training and for the hiring of an assistant AT coordinator, co-author Nettie Reese.

Together, we [Nettie and Molly] worked to build an integrated network to support Kurzweil 3000. We developed a hands-on Kurzweil 3000 tutorial that was used for the initial training of teachers, parents and students and is now available to anyone wishing additional Kurzweil 3000 support. We also both make regular visits to schools and encourage teachers, parents or students to contact them by email or phone with any questions or concerns about the use of the software.

The Carroll County students who use Kurzweil 3000 are pretty self-sufficient. We train them to do their own scanning, except for more ambitious jobs such as scanning entire textbooks, which Nettie handles. It's not unusual for student users to become the local Kurzweil 3000 experts for their school with teachers and other students coming to them for help. During the summer, for instance, the county usually runs a technology camp where students have a chance to work on a variety of software-based projects. Kurzweil 3000 users, such as Zach, are the first ones recruited as assistants.

The Results

Within a month of starting to use Kurzweil 3000, Zach's reading started to improve dramatically. For the first time, he became interested in reading. Using Kurzweil 3000, Zach could simultaneously hear and visually track words as they were read aloud. Tracking proved to be a critical feature for Zach. He no longer had to struggle to sound out words, but could deal with them as single units as well as in the context of a phrase or sentence. Acquiring greater fluency aided both his comprehension as well as word recognition. Remarkably, by the end of the year, Zach's reading had caught up with his classmates. Now he reads silently with just the benefit of tracking. He also enjoys using the Kurzweil 3000 Sticky Note feature to jot down questions or ideas as he reads. Since his classmates are encouraged to use Sticky Notes, Zach prides himself on being able to use the same tools.

Kurzweil 3000 has also helped Zach improve as a writer and has enabled him to write more creatively. Since he does not have the benefit of speech, hearing his own written words spoken aloud by the software has enabled Zach to express himself with greater clarity and precision. This has made him a more effective self-editor and communicator. In fact, Zach now enjoys writing movie scripts and musical compositions.

Before using Kurzweil 3000, it was extremely difficult for anyone to know what Zach was really learning. Kurzweil 3000 made it easier to track Zach's reading speed, which is now on a par with his peers. It has also helped his teachers assess his mastery of content by giving him the tools he needs to answer comprehension questions about what he has read. At the end of 5th grade, for the first time, Zach took the statewide grade-level standardized tests in Math and Reading. He used Kurzweil 3000 as an accommodation to take the tests. To the delight of his teachers and parents and the two of us, he received a proficient grade in both subjects.

Additional Background Information

Prior to No Child Left Behind, Maryland was one of only a few U.S. states that required high school students to pass a standardized test in order to graduate. With the passage of No Child Left Behind, the state now requires standardized testing not only at the high school level, but also at the middle school and elementary levels. Beginning with the class of 2009, high school students are required to pass the Maryland

High School Assessment (HSA) in order to earn a Maryland high school diploma. HSA is given in English, Algebra/Data Analysis, Biology and Government. In addition, high school students must take the Maryland School Assessment (MSA) in Reading in grade 10 and in Geometry after completing a geometry course.

In grades 3-8, students must take the MSA in Reading and Math. As early as March 2008, Science will be added to the MSA in grades 3, 5, and 8.