Reading+pen

1. Who needs this assistive technology?

The reading pen can be used to help people with reading difficulties due to learning disabilities such as dyslexia, but it can be helpful to a wide range of people who do not qualify as learning disabled (the reading pen utilizes a dictionary that can display definitions of words that anyone would find useful). For instance, according to [|LD Online], “perhaps as many as 15-20% of the population as a whole…have some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words”. Beyond being tool that could help LD students, as well as being a tool that any struggling reader could use, [|ReadingPen.com] states that reading pens could also aid young people who are learning to read for the first time; also, people learning English as a second language could use this technology.

2. What is the history of the assistive technology?

This is assistive technology is a technological derivative of OCR (optical character recognition) systems which, according to [|webopedia.com], use scanning devices in conjunction with computer software to read text from paper documents, and often read the text in a computer voice. The reading pen is more of a next-generation of OCR system, that integrates the software and scanning device into one portable, hand-held unit. According to [|Marshall Raskind, Ph.D]., a reading pen “combines miniaturized OCR with synthetic speech and a liquid crystal display (LCD) in a battery-operated, handheld unit”.

3. What benefits does the assistive technology provide?

[|ReadingPen.com] lists the benefits of the technology as follows: · Provides in-depth instructional support · Scans words or full lines of text instantly · Displays words on built-in LCD screen · Pronounces and defines scanned words · Provides synonyms in context · Translates from English to Spanish · Verifies guesses of meaning and pronunciation · Includes built-in speaker and headphones · Durable construction holds up to repeated use

4. How does the assistive technology work?

This diagram of reading pen’s technical details can be found at [|ReadingPen.com] (to hear the reading pen’s voice visit [|quick-pen.com]): · **Store:** Retains a history of the last 80 words scanned for easy review. · **Text Recognition:** The Readingpen reads a wide range of printed fonts and sizes (6-22 points), including inverted text · **Left-handed Support:** The Readingpen can be set for convenient left-handed or right-handed use. · **Ergonomic and Lightweight:** Weighing only 3oz, the Readingpen is totally portable - use it anywhere, anytime - in class, in the library, outside, at home. · **Optical Character Recognition Accuracy:** 97% (based on standard font and size average). · **Personalized:** Voice on/off, volume, reading speed, contrast Batteries: 2x AAA (Included), auto shut down, long life · **Headphones and jack converter (Included):** For private listening or connection to external speakers ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> **Technical Support and Professional Development “Training foot” (Included):** Train first time users to achieve scanning expertise ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> **Single sheet “Getting started”** ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> **Quick Operation Guide:** Basic pen operation for new users ·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> **User Manual:** Detailed usage information
 * Additional Features**

5. Exemplary examples of how the assistive technology would be integrated into an english classroom.

Language arts, or English, classes are the perfect class to integrate this technology. Because this technology is a tool to help reading, its most readily obvious use would be to help all types of students with reading skills, comprehension, vocabulary, and spelling. [|Wizcomshop.com] has a listing for a classroom set that includes 10 units with headphones that would allow many students to use these pens during classroom individual reading time, thus opening up the world of literature to those with disabilities, those who are learning English as a second language (it often has a translation capability), and those who might need a little help understanding certain words. One example of integration to aid vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and word identification can be found at [|intime.uni.edu].

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