Kurzweil 3000 Quick Start Guide Independent Living Resource Centre Adaptive Technology Program The ILRC is a resource centre designed by people with disabilities for people with disabilities. The resources, supports and opportunities found at the ILRC can help consumers stay in control of their lives. The ILRC also shares information and resources with other community organizations, students and teachers, government departments, agencies, businesses, and anyone who is interested in disability issues. Some services that the ILRC offers are: * Information & Networking * Individual Advocacy * Volunteer Services / Peer Support * Career Development * Adaptive Technology * CAP Site – Community Access Program * Research & Development * Independent Living Internship Adaptive Technology at the ILRC Adaptive Technology (AT) has become very popular at the ILRC. People who use it are able to overcome obstacles that would otherwise prevent them from using a computer or accessing the Internet. The Adaptive Technology Program is funded through the provincial Department of Human Resources, Labour & Employment (www.hrle.gov.nl.ca/hrle/), with additional supports received through Industry Canada & Human Resource Social Development – Youth Employment Services. In the ILRC CAP (Community Access Program) site, we have a wide range of computer hardware and software all in a fully accessible environment. Anyone can come in and try out any piece of equipment to see what works best for them. Our AT Coordinator – Donna Greene – is here to help people use the equipment and find ways to own it themselves. We currently have a whole bunch of exciting Adaptive Technology for you to check out. So if you are curious and want to explore more, feel free to stop by the ILRC for more information. Community Access Program – Innovation Fund 2008-09 As part of our participation with the Community Access Program (CAP), in 2008-09 we were able to take advantage of new funding through the Innovation Fund. Thanks to this funding we were able create quick-start training manuals that help people learn specific Adaptive Technology software programs. The purpose of these manuals was to give consumers the necessary information to get them started with using the programs, and to do so in a way that was practical and easy to understand. Please note that these manuals are meant as an introduction to the program only. For further details about any of the information contained in these manuals, please consult the manufacturer’s user guides. Independent Living Resource Centre 4 Escasoni Place St. John’s, NL A1A 3R6 Ph: (709) 722-4031 | Fax: (709) 722-0147 TTY: (709) 722-7998 | Toll Free: 1-866-722-4031 Email: adaptech@ilrc-nl.ca Website: www.ilrc-nl.ca ------------ Contents Introduction Getting Started with Kurzweil 3000 Toolbars Toolbar Sets Reading a Document Scanning a Document Study Skills Tools Test Preparation Tools for Teachers Test Taking Tips for Students Word Prediction Working with Different File Types The Kurzweil 3000 Taskbar Kurzweil 3000 Practice Exercises Kurzweil 3000 Online Resources Appendix A: Installation and Setup Tips ------------ Introduction Kurzweil 3000 is a piece of software designed to help users read, write, and understand text. It allows the user to work with material by scanning pages of a book, by opening electronic documents or by viewing web pages. It highlights text as it reads the material to you and can help you prepare study material in a way that helps you learn. This guide provides an overview of Kurzweil 3000 and describes different ways the program can work for you. This manual is meant as an introductory tool only. For more detailed instructions on using Kurzweil 3000, please refer to the manufacturer’s User Guide. You could also visit the manufacturer’s website (www.kurzweiledu.com/) ------------ Getting Started with Kurzweil Note: For the purpose of this manual, we are assuming that you already have a copy of Kurzweil 3000 installed on your computer. For help with installing the program, please go to Appendix A at the back of this manual. To begin, launch Kurzweil 3000 from the shortcut on the Windows desktop or by clicking on the Start Button and choosing Programs > Kurzweil Educational Systems > Kurzweil 3000. For anyone who likes to use their keyboard for navigation, you can create a shortcut key to open the program. To do this, right-click (Shift+F10) on the Kurzweil icon on the desktop and choose Properties. Enter any key or combination of keys that you wish to use. ------------ Tip of the Day Each time you open Kurzweil, a new tip for using the program will be displayed. These tips give you quick bits of information that may be helpful to you. If you don’t want to see the tips, you can turn off this feature by going to the Options menu and un-checking the “Tip of the Day on Startup” checkbox. ------------ Using the Kurzweil 3000 Help Menu You may find it helpful to become familiar with the Kurzweil Help section. Whenever you have a question, you can use Help to find the answer. The Help file is organized into many different topics, such as Reading, Scanning, Working with different files, and more. You can also use the Search features to enter a topic and find information related to your question. To open the Help file, press F1 on your keyboard or click on Help on the top menu. You may find it convenient to leave the Help file open so that you have quick access to information. ------------ Toolbars At the top of the Kurzweil window, you will see many controls for using the program. These controls are grouped together into toolbars. Kurzweil has 4 standard toolbars: * Main Toolbar * Reading Toolbar * Study Skills Toolbar * Writing Toolbar Show or Hide a Toolbar If you don’t see all four toolbars when you first open Kurzweil, here is how to get them: * Move the cursor over an empty area of the main toolbar, the right click to get the toolbar shortcut menu. Now select the toolbar you want to see. OR * Go to the top menu of Kurzweil and select Tools > Customize > Toolbars. When you get the customize toolbars window, click each tab and ensure the checkbox next to Visible is checked. If it’s not, check it and then you’ll be able to see all the toolbars. The Main Toolbar contains basic document management like opening files, printing, saving and scanning. It also contains reading controls, and reference tools such as definition and synonym look-ups and spelling. The Reading Toolbar is made up of controls for reading such as speed, voice, zoom, page number, and page view options. The Study Skills Toolbar contains tools for highlighting text, as well as adding notes and bookmarks. The Writing Toolbar is made up of controls for editing the way your text looks such as text font, size, style, alignment, and spacing. It also contains the Spell Check and Word Prediction tools: ------------ Customize a Toolbar As you use Kurzweil more and more, you may discover that you use some controls a lot, and others not at all. To make things simpler, you can remove any controls you don’t use. To do this, go to Tools > Customize > Toolbars. The Customize Toolbars screen will give you a list of active and inactive buttons for each of the 4 standard toolbars. To move buttons around use the up and down arrows in the center of the screen. Exercise: Let’s say that you don’t use sticky notes at all, but you do use bubble notes. To make the toolbar work best for you, let’s remove the Sticky Notes button and replace it with the Bubble Notes button. Step 1: Select the Sticky Note button from the list of Active buttons. Click the red arrow pointing down. Now the Sticky Note button has moved from Active to Inactive. Step 2: Select the Bubble Note button from among the list of Inactive buttons. Now click the green arrow pointing up. This will move the Bubble Note button to the Active button list so that you will see it and be able to access it easily from the main screen. Your Study Skills toolbar will now look like this: ------------ Toolbar Sets Kurzweil comes with a number of pre-designed toolbar sets that can give you access to functions that typically work well for accomplishing certain goals. For example, if you wish to work on improving your reading speed and accuracy, you may find the Fluency Training toolbar set useful. Note: This section of the guide was taken directly from the Kurzweil 3000 v.10 Help file. The sample toolbar sets are designed for specific learning tasks. You can apply one (display it at the top of the Kurzweil 3000 window) just as it is, or you can open one in the Customize Toolbar dialog box and make minor changes to suit your particular needs. To apply a toolbar set: - From the Tools menu, choose Customize, then Apply Toolbar Set, and select a name from the list. Note: The list also includes any toolbar sets that you have created, and any sets created by someone else. Classic This is the Kurzweil 3000 default toolbar set. Basic For the primary and elementary grades, and beginning users at all grade levels. Purposely uncomplicated, and designed for teaching students essential skills in scanning, adjusting reading speed, enlarging text, finding definitions, and managing documents. Content Reading For students who are reading for information. Includes highlighting pens for marking main ideas and supporting details, an eraser, and the Definition button for creating vocabulary lists. Fluency Training For students who are training themselves to increase their speed and accuracy by reading a passage over and over. Includes Definition and Syllables buttons for use early in the training, and the Silent button for use when students no longer need audible reinforcement. Language Learning For students learning English as a Second Language or for anyone learning a foreign language, this toolbar set is an aid to vocabulary building. It includes Definition and Synonym buttons and Sticky Notes for placing definitions in the document. Students can then extract the notes to create vocabulary lists. Pleasure Reading Includes only the tools necessary to scan and read for fun, and save a document for re-reading later on. Proofreading Designed to help students create and edit their own documents, it includes Word Prediction, Spell Check, Definition and Synonym buttons, as well as the basic reading and writing tools. Study Skills Training Includes Definition, Highlighting, and Sticky Notes buttons to help students learn new words, organize information, and take notes on their reading. Test Taking Provides the tools necessary to complete a scanned test or worksheet, including Text Notes for filling in blanks, Sticky Notes for written answers and short essays, a Color Highlighter and Circle Tool for multiple-choice questions, Word Prediction to help in writing answers, Spell Check for proofreading, and Save and Print buttons for saving both electronic and printed versions of the completed test. Vocabulary Building Includes Definition and Synonym buttons for looking up the meaning of a word, and the Footnote button for adding definitions to a vocabulary list. Students can use the Bookmark button to create a personalized, searchable list of definitions, which they can use to check their knowledge as they study for a test. Document Preparation Provides the tools necessary to prepare new image documents: Zone Edit for designating when special text areas, for example sidebars, are read, Spell Check, Edit Underlying Text to correct OCR errors, Fill In the Blanks to automatically add Text Notes to answer lines in tests or worksheets, Note Options to specify Sticky and Text Note characteristics, such as initial size, text color, background color, etc., and Options for quick access to the Options dialog box. Test Preparation Provides the tools necessary to prepare tests or worksheets. Includes Text notes for adding places for students to enter answers, Sticky Notes for written answers and short essays, Bubble Notes for adding interactive notes, and Voice Notes audible instructions. ------------ Reading a Document With Kurzweil 3000, you can open and read the contents of just about any typed document. To start reading a document: 1. Move the mouse pointer to where you’d like to start reading 2. Click the green Read button on the Main toolbar. Kurzweil 3000 will then start reading your document. You will also notice that the Read button has changed to a Pause button so that you can pause the reading whenever you want to. Exercise: Open a sample document – click Open, select Sample Documents, and choose the document named "Horse's Tale". Place the mouse pointer at the beginning of the title, and then press Read. Changing the Reading Voice You can choose from a number of different reading voices. Reading will be more enjoyable if you use a voice that you like. Here’s how to change voices: 1. From the Tools menu at the top of the screen, select Options. 2. Click the Reading icon to display the Reading Options panel. 3. Use the Speaker list to select a reading voice. By default, Kurzweil 3000 uses the English speaking voice named Reed. 4. Click Test Speech to hear the text in the text box spoken aloud with the settings you have chosen. Click Stop Speech to end a speech test. You can also change the speed of the reading by moving the marker to the left (decrease speed) or right (increase speed). Let’s experiment a little! Exercise: Open the Reading Options window by following the instructions above. From the speaker list, choose Shelley. On the speed bar, choose 100. Click on the Test Speech button to hear what this voice sounds like. What do you think? Does that voice work for you? If not, try some different choices until to find one that you like. Reading One Word at a Time (Double-Click Reading) If you find it helpful to focus on one word at a time when you are reading, you can tell Kurzweil to read a word when you double click it. Here is how to do that: 1. From the Tools menu, select Options. The Options dialog box appears. 2. Click the Reading icon on the left to display the Reading Options panel. 3. Put a checkmark in the box next to “Read Word when Double Clicked”. 4. Click OK to apply the change and close the Options dialog box. Give it a try! Double click the first word on the third line of the sample document you have open. Kurzweil reads the word! Reading Text in Other Applications Note: This feature works with many, but not all, Windows applications. 1. Make sure that the application is open and the title bar of the window is highlighted. 2. Press the CTRL+ALT+R keys simultaneously to copy all text from the active application, or CTRL+SHIFT+R to copy selected text from the application. A new Kurzweil 3000 document opens. The extracted text appears in the new document (it also remains in the application from which it was copied). You can format and edit this document, treating it just like any text document. Another way to read text from other applications is to use the Kurzweil taskbar. (You’ll see this taskbar at the bottom of your screen on the Windows taskbar.) If you are on a webpage and want to read the sports scores from last night’s hockey games, simply copy the text from the webpage and paste it into the Kurzweil Taskbar reading window. Now press Enter, or click Read. We’ll talk more about the Kurzweil Taskbar in a later section. ------------ Scanning a Document For this section, we are assuming that you already have a working scanner installed and ready to use. If not, and you require more information; please visit the Kurzweil 3000 website (www.kurzweiledu.com) to learn about scanner compatibility and setup. To scan a document into Kurzweil 3000: 1. Place the document face down on the scanner glass. 2. Click the Scan button on the Main toolbar. An image of the page then appears on the screen. As you scan more pages, Kurzweil 3000 adds them to the end of the current file. This means that if you have a four page assignment to scan, when you scan them they become one four-page file in Kurzweil, not four separate files. When you scan a page, Kurzweil 3000 creates an image of the page to display on screen. By default, Kurzweil scans black text on a white background. From the image, Kurzweil is able to decide what is typed text and what is a picture (for example), and it allows you to read and edit the text. Kurzweil also recognizes columns which comes in handy when reading newspapers or magazines. However, it cannot recognize handwriting as text. For Best Scanning Results * Use documents that are clean and free from wrinkles. * Avoid photocopies or documents with text color that is similar to the background. * Use documents with fairly standard typefaces (avoid decorative fonts). * Avoid very thin paper. If you need to scan paper that light shines through, place a sheet of construction paper behind it. ------------ Study Skills Tools You can access all Study Skills features from the default Study Skills toolbar. Two very helpful functions on the study skills toolbar are the highlighters and notes. To add highlighting to a document: 1. Click any of the Highlighter buttons in the Study Skills toolbar. 2. Click in the place you’d like to begin highlighting and then drag the cursor over the text you want to highlight. A bar of color highlights the text you selected. 3. To stop highlighting, click the Highlighter button again. You can also select the text you want first and then click one of the color Highlighters. To remove highlighting from a document: 1. Click the Erase button in the Study Skills toolbar. 2. Click and drag over the highlighting you want to remove. As you move the eraser over the text, the highlight color disappears. 3. To stop erasing, click the Erase button again. You can also select the text you want to erase first, and then click Erase. How can highlighters help with learning? Highlighting text in different colors can help you identify all the characters of a story, any words that are new to your vocabulary, or important points in an essay that you need to remember for a test. You can use different colors to identify different categories of highlighted text. For example, characters of a story could be highlighted in yellow; new vocabulary in green; and important points in magenta. Another convenient feature of Kurzweil is that it can take all your highlighted text and put it together in a new document. This lets you organize the text in a way that helps you understand the material. It can be helpful for putting together study notes or creating an outline for an assignment. ------------ Notes Notes are a great way to get additional support and direction related to the text you are reading. For example, a teacher could place a bubble note at the beginning of a paragraph and point out something that you should pay attention to while you read the upcoming paragraph. The teacher could also place another bubble note at the end of the paragraph asking you a question about what you’ve just read. This can let you focus on one topic at a time and help you understand the material a little more easily. There are five types of notes you can use in Kurzweil 3000: * Footnote – used to log supporting facts about something in an essay (for example, citing reference material) * Sticky note – similar to using a Post-It * Text note – a good tool for completing things like ‘fill-in-the-blanks’ on a test * Voice note – this is a spoken voice that is recorded, rather than printed text * Bubble note – balloon- or cloud-shaped notes that pop up in a particular section when you are reading a document To add a Sticky Note or Text Note: 3. Click the Sticky Note or Text Note button in the Study Skills toolbar. 4. Click on the location where you want to place the note and type. To create new text lines, use the Enter key for line breaks. 5. When you are done typing, click outside the note. When inserting a footnote, voice note or bubble note, place your mouse cursor at the place you want to put the note before you click the note button. If you want to change the colours of your notes, you can do so by going to the Tool menu, then select Note, then Default Note Options. ------------ Test Preparation Tools for Teachers Kurzweil 3000 can handle different types of tests and worksheets including: * Multiple Choice * Fill in the Blanks * True or False * Essay Tips for Scanning Tests When you prepare a scanned test for use with Kurzweil 3000, keep in mind that some test formats work better than others. Make sure the print on the test is clear, and that there is sufficient space between columns for the system to read the test correctly. See the Scanning a Document Section of this manual for more information about scanning. Advanced The Test Preparation Toolbar Set To make preparing tests and worksheets easier, Kurzweil 3000 includes the Test Preparation toolbar set, which provides quick access to most of the tools listed above, as well as the Reading toolbar. See the Toolbars section of this manual for more information about customizing Kurzweil Toolbars. Multiple Choice Questions Create the test in any word processor, and bring it into Kurzweil 3000, either by scanning it or by using the KESI Virtual Printer to open it. Students can use the highlighting feature to highlight the correct answer. If the test is an image document, you can insert empty Text Notes next to each question. Students can then enter the answer in the Text Notes. Fill in the Blanks and True or False Questions You can use Kurzweil 3000’s Fill in the Blanks feature to automatically place a Text Note at the beginning of the blank(s) of each question in the test or worksheet. Advanced * Create the test in any word processor, and bring it into Kurzweil 3000. * Then, from the Tools menu choose Fill in the Blanks. Kurzweil 3000 searches the current page and automatically inserts either a Text Note or Voice Note at every blank. If there are unwanted Text or Voice Notes created, click on the one you’d like to erase and select Delete Note from right mouse button menu, or open the Tools menu, click Note, and select Delete Note. During the test, students simply click on the Text Note or use Voice Note (or use the Tab button), and type or record the answer. This is also the case for True and False format questions. Note: This feature works with black and white documents, but not with color, and only on one page at a time; you must apply the Fill in the Blanks command to each page of a test. Though Auto Width is often the best, you can set a specific size for the Text Notes created with Fill in the Blanks, by using the Initial Width setting in the Note Options dialog box. You may want to do this if all the blanks are the same size. ------------ Preparing Essay Response Tests For best results, avoid including lines for essay responses on the test. If your test has lines for other students, consider editing them out for the students who will be using Kurzweil 3000. Have the students use Text Notes to compose their responses. They can use standard word processing/editing functions in Text Notes. You could put an empty Text Note in the test as a starting place for the students, eliminating the need for them to create the note themselves. ------------ Administering a Test When you administer a test, it’s important to work with students to understand how they can best interact with the material. For example, some may be able to fill in answers on a printed copy of the test if Kurzweil 3000 reads the questions out loud. Others might need to provide verbal answers (using Voice Notes) within Kurzweil 3000 itself. Other tips for successfully administering a test: * Provide sufficient training on the system before using it to administer tests. Help students determine personal settings that work best. Make sure they can adjust reading speed and dual highlighting colors. * Make sure students are familiar with the specifics of test taking using Kurzweil 3000. For example, tell them how to use Fill in the Blanks and Text Notes to complete a scanned test. If you want students to print their test documents, for best results, advise them to use the Fit to Paper setting on the Print dialog box. ------------ Test Taking Tips for Students Highlighting the Answer Highlighting works for multiple choice tests. Simply select and highlight the correct answer. Basics Typing the Answer into a Text Note A Text Note is the most versatile test taking feature. It works for multiple choice, fill in the blanks as well as essay response tests. Your teacher may have Text Notes inserted already and all you have to do is click on the Text Note box and type your choice. Dragging and Dropping the Answer You can drag and drop your answers in multiple choice tests. First, double-click on the answer you are selecting. Now, with the cursor over the selected text, click and hold down the left-mouse button while you “drag” the text to where you want to place it (usually next to the question). Finally, release the mouse button and your answer will be clearly visible for the teacher. [image] In the image above, we’ve selected answer B, Augusta, and want to drag it up so that it is next to the question (Maine). The arrow shows where we will drag the answer. In the image below, we have a completed multiple choice answer. [image] ------------ Word Prediction Word prediction assists with writing by helping you complete words or find the next word for your sentence. As you create documents, you can add new vocabulary to the word prediction list so it becomes more familiar with your work. For example, if you are working on a science assignment, it would be important to have the relevant vocabulary already loaded in the word prediction list. Exercise: Begin by typing the letters “the “. You'll notice the Word Prediction box will give you quite a number of suggestions: the, their, and them. If you see a particular word in the list that you want to use, you can press Ctrl and the number next to the word to have it automatically added to your sentence. Now, let's type an ‘o’ after the ‘the’ to make the word ‘theo’. The prediction list now shows you two options: theoretical and theory. If you press Ctrl+1, the first word in the list, theoretical, will be applied to your document. Learning to use Word Prediction can be of great assistance, especially if you intend to do a lot of writing; combined with the ability to right click a word in your document to look up its definition, you can greatly expand your writing vocabulary! ------------ Creating a Vocabulary List When you want to create a word list for a certain topic (like, a chapter of a book), you can do that in one of two ways. You can create a list from scratch or you can create the list by highlighting words in an existing document. For either option, go to Tools and then select Vocabulary Lists. When the Vocabulary Lists dialogue box appears, click on New. To start a list from scratch, select the option to “Create Vocabulary List from words I type”. This will present you with the following screen where you can enter new words, their definition and related words. [image] When you’ve entered all your words, click Next, then save the file. To create a list from words in an existing document, you will first need to open a document in Kurzweil. Now when you get to the Vocabulary Lists dialogue box, you will select the option to “Create Vocabulary List from ”. You can add all the words from your document, or highlighted words to add to the list. Note: You will need to highlight the words before opening the Vocabulary Lists dialogue box. ------------ Working with Different File Types Kurzweil 3000 allows you to work with several different file types. For example, you can open and read files from PDF, MS Word, Text files, Rich Text files, image files and more. Kurzweil also has an Export feature that allows you to save text files in a new format so that you can open them using a different program. A file format that is unique to Kurzweil is a KES file. This format should be used when you want to save a scanned image, or when you want to save a file that has footnotes or voice notes in it. This way the notes will be preserved for when you open the file again. You can also save a text file in an audio format (MP3 or WAV) so that you can listen to the file. To do this, select the File menu at the top of the program then choose Create Audio File. You will have options to control the speed and voice of the reader. You can also choose to “translate” the entire file or just certain pages. And you can select which file type to use (mp3 or wav). ------------ The Kurzweil Taskbar The Kurzweil Taskbar is a small application (in version 10 or higher) that places itself on your computer’s taskbar and offers quick access to three of Kurzweil’s features – Read, Dictionary look-up, and Spell Check. These tools can be quite convenient when reading text from a different application. For example, if you are writing an email using Hotmail and you want to check what you’ve written, you can drag the text into the taskbar and have Kurzweil read it aloud for you. If you are reading a webpage and find a particular word that you don’t recognize, you can use the Dictionary Look Up to get the definition of the word. If you are completing an online form and are unsure of For the Kurzweil 3000 standalone edition, the Taskbar runs even when the program is not open. Some differences exist with other versions of Kurzweil. Check the manufacturer’s user guide for more details. Exercise: Open your internet browser and go to www.vocm.com. Select a paragraph of text from one of the news stories and drag it (or copy and paste it) into the Kurzweil Taskbar. Now click Read! Next, select any word on the page and look up its definition using the Taskbar. ------------ Kurzweil 3000 Practice Exercises In the following section, you’ll be taken step by step through some exercises that will allow you to practice using some of the different features of Kurzweil 3000. For the purposes of this manual, we are assuming that you have a basic working knowledge of computers, or have supports in place to help you work through these exercises. Please note also that these exercises are based on Kurzweil 3000 version 10.0. Slight differences may exist if you are using a different version. Exercise 1: Using the Highlighting and Notes Tool To begin, let’s open a sample document. - Click the Open button on the Main toolbar - Navigate to the Sample Documents folder - Select the file called “Horse’s Tale.kes” Position your mouse pointer at the beginning of the title and press Read. Now, let’s try changing some of the reading features. - Change reading speed to 170. - Change voice to VW Kate or Microsoft Mary. - Set the options to read one line at a time only. In the same way as you might use highlighters to highlight important information, you can highlight within Kurzweil. - Go to the Study Skills toolbar and select the green highlighter. [If you don’t see that toolbar, refer to page 8 of this guide.] - Highlight the first sentence to show who owns the horse. - Use the yellow highlighter and highlight the sentence that describes Buffalo Bill (“He is over six feet...”). - On page 2, use the Magenta highlighter to highlight the sentence that tells us what Buffalo Bills job is. (“He is Chief of Scouts...”). Let’s also put in a couple of notes. - Use a sticky note at the top of page 1 and type “This might be on tomorrow’s quiz!” - Add two footnotes. - Footnote # 1: the definition of the word “hostile” (first paragraph, page 1) - Footnote # 2: the definition of the word “moccasin” (end of paragraph, page 2) [Not sure how to insert a footnote? See page 24. For definitions, see page 16.] As a final step to this exercise, Save the file as “Horse’s Tale Study Notes” to your Desktop, but don’t close it! Exercise 2: Extracting Highlights and Notes The next exercise works with the highlights and notes that you made in Exercise 1. This tool allows you to put all of your highlights and notes in a separate document, which is perfect for studying. - Go to the File Menu and click on Extract Annotations Now you will see the following window: [image] This is where you select which notes or highlights you would like to extract. Let’s do the highlights first! - Make sure the button next to Highlights is selected and put a checkmark next to each color highlighter you used. The Indent column let’s you position each colour differently so that you can pick out the information more easily. The Prefix column let’s you put a “tag” on each color to identify what it is. You can also use this to number each color category. - Set the Green highlight to 0 in. with prefix “main character” - Set the Yellow highlight to 1 in. with prefix “description” - Set the Magenta highlight to 2 in. with prefix “job” When you’ve finished, click Okay and you’ll see your new document that contains only the information you highlighted. Now, go back to the Horse’s Tale document and extract your notes. This will create a new document with your sticky note and the two footnotes. Once you have these two new documents, you can work with it the same as any “Word-style” document (i.e. Microsoft Word). You can copy/paste, format the layout, and more, to make the document look the way you want it to. Exercise 3: Building a Word List and Word Prediction As a teacher, one of the things you may need to do in preparing an assignment or test, is to create a list of vocabulary that is relevant to the subject the student is working on. There are two ways to do this. The following exercise takes you through the steps for creating a list of adjectives by highlighting words from an existing document. To start, let’s go back to the sample document “Horse’s Tale” and start highlighting adjectives (words that describe nouns). Next, let’s create the new word list. - Go to the Tools menu Click on Vocabulary Lists - Click New - Choose “Create Word List from “Horse’s Tale.kes” and then choose “Extract highlighted words only”. - Click Next At this point you can edit your list to remove any words you don’t want to include. When you’re ready, click Next again and then save the word list. Now it’s time to put that word list to work with Word Prediction. - Open a New blank document - Start Word Prediction by clicking on its button Begin typing the following sentences and when you get to the verbs, use the Word Prediction box to select the verb you need. 1. Buffalo Bill wore beaded buck-skins. 2. He had a handsome face. 3. Buffalo Bill’s horse was the best-educated and best-mannered. 4. Buffalo Bill comes from a good family. [image] To select words from the Word Prediction box, either click the number next to the word you want or, on the keyboard, press Ctrl+1 (or the number of the word you want). ---------------- Kurzweil 3000 Resources 1. Online Flash Demonstrations for Kurzweil 3000: http://kurzweiledu.com/flash.aspx 2. How-To Videos: http://kurzweiledu.com/howto.aspx 3. Resources for People with Learning Disabilities (from the University of Toronto’s Adaptive Technology Resource Centre): http://atrc.utoronto.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=159&Itemid=47 4. Trial downloads of Kurzweil 3000: http://www.kurzweiledu.com/downloads_kez3000.aspx#trial 5. Using the Brainstorm feature (version 11): http://www.kurzweiledu.com/K3000V11brainstorm.aspx ------------ Appendix A: Kurzweil Installation and Startup Equipment needed: • Windows desktop or laptop computer • 300 MHz Pentium Processor for regular voices, 400 MHz for RealSpeak Voices • 64 MB RAM, 128 MB for RealSpeak Voices • 300-400 MB free disk space for installation • 2 MB Video Ram • Windows 95, 98 Higher • Sound Card • CD Drive, Floppy Drive • Kurzweil installation CD and activation key on floppy disk • TWAIN-compatible Scanner (and software) from approved list on Kurzweil website at www.kurzweiledu.com. Installing Kurzweil: The program installs quickly from a CD. The first time you attempt to launch the program after installing it, you will be prompted to insert the disk containing the software key. If you don’t insert the floppy to activate the permanent install, a trial version will run for 30 days. You can activate the permanent install at any time during the 30 days. Registering Kurzweil: If you do not register your copy of Kurzweil, you will not be able to access the News from KESI or the Updates items from the Online Menu. You will still be able to access online web-reading and book search. The software serial number is required for registration. Full Installation vs. USB Portable Installation Kurzweil is also available on a USB flash drive, meaning users can gain immediate access to Kurzweil 3000 features without installing the program on computers. Students and teachers can easily use Kurzweil 3000 at home or on other non-school computers, which enables them to have quick access to their important files regardless of what computer they are using. There are however some differences between features in the full version and those in the portable USB version. The following is a list of features that are available in the full version, but not in the USB version: * Kurzweil 3000 Taskbar * Recent Files * Multiple users and change users * Internet Explorer 7 support (use IE 6 or Mozilla Firefox) * Online Product Updates and Registration Updates * KESI Virtual Printer * Universal Library * Kurzweil 3000 Automater * ScanSoft OCR support (the USB Edition uses FineReader) * The USB device folder does not contain PDF documentation. To find Kurzweil 3000 Version 10 PDF documentation, go to www.kurzweiledu.com. NOTE: All Kurzweil 3000 Version 10 PDF documentation from the website is for the Kurzweil 3000 for windows Professional Standalone product, so some of the features presented will not apply to the USB Edition. (The above list was taken from the ReadMe file of a Kurzweil 3000 USB v.10.)