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Staff Directory

Kurzweil 1000

Available through Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. (KESI), this is an advanced PC-based reading tool that converts the printed word into speech for people who are blind or visually impaired.

Using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Text to Speech technology, combined with an audible user interface, Kurzweil 1000 converts the printed text into speech that can be read aloud. Users can scan in a variety of resources, from textbooks to articles, on a scanner so they can quickly available for reading and editing. In addition, the text can be saved in Kurzweil's accessible format for future reference and modification.

Users have easy and convenient control over how they manage the information they access due to the abundance of tools to assist them in mastering it. For example, they can choose from different reading voices are available based on preference, set the reading speed and pitch, skim and search for keywords, summarize, increase their vocabulary using a built in 40,000 word electronic dictionary, create and edit new documents, check for spelling errors, bookmark any important information, and utilize e-mail applications.


    Opening an Existing Document

    We will be opening the first chapter of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. This is a text file on the Kurzweil Classic Literature CD. This example is similar to the way any available book file can be opened from a disk or after being downloaded from the internet.

    1. Press Ctrl.-O to go to the open dialog box.

    2. Use Shift-Tab to highlight the folders list.

    3. Press the Left Arrow until the drive letters appear.

    4. Use the Up or Downs Arrow to highlight the CD ROM drive. Then press Enter to select.

    5. Press Enter again to select the Classis Literature folder.

    6. Press the letter V to skip down the list. Then use the Down Arrow until Verne is highlighted.

    7. Press Enter to select Jules Verne. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is the first on the list so it is already highlighted. Press Enter to select 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

    8. Use the Tab key to move to the chapter list. Use the Down Arrow key to highlight the 1st chapter (PART1CO1.TXT).

    9. Press Enter to open.

    10. K 1000 opens the file and begins to read.

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    Reading a Document Using the Keypad

    keypad of Kurzweil 1000 Controls

    1. Press the Start and Stop Reading key a few times to practice. Finish with the reading stopped.

    2. Start reading again and use the Volume Up and Volume Down keys to adjust to a comfortable level.

    3. Use the Speed Up or Speed Down keys to find a good reading speed.

    4. Stop reading and use the Rewind or Fast Forward keys to move around by words.

    5. Hold down the Rewind or Fast Forward keys and listen for the beep. Notice that K 1000 now moves by a sentence. If you continue to hold down the keys, K 1000 will move by pages.

    6. Use the Rewind or Fast Forward keys to move to a difficult vocabulary word.

    7. Press the Spell key to hear the word and to hear the spelling.

    8. Press the Dictionary key to hear the first definition. If there is more than one definition, use the Rewind or Fast Forward keys to listen to them.
    9. Press the Go To Page key then type a number. Press the Accept key to jump to the indicated page.

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    Navigating a Document Using Standard Windows Short Cut Keys

    1. Use the Left or Right Arrow keys to move letter by letter.
    2. Use the Up or Down Arrow keys to move line by line.
    3. Try Ctrl.-Left Arrow or Ctrl.-Right Arrow to move by words.
    4. Try Ctrl.-Up Arrow or Ctrl.-Down Arrow to move by paragraphs.

    5. Use End and Home keys to move to the beginning and end of a line.

    6. Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to move by pages.

    7. Finally, try Ctrl.-Home and Ctrl.-End to move to the beginning and end of the document.

    8. Use the navigation keys (keypad or Windows shortcuts) to move to important points in the document.
    9. At each important point press Ctrl.-B to set a bookmark. Set 3 or 4 bookmarks.
    10. Press Ctrl.-R to move to the Bookmark list. Use the arrow keys to navigate the list and press Enter to jump to a bookmark.
    11. To delete a bookmark press Ctrl.-R and use the arrow keys to highlight the bookmark to be deleted. Press Tab until the Delete button is highlighted. Press the Space bar to select.

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    Using the Find Command

    1. Press Ctrl.-F to open the Find dialog box.
    2. Type Scotia to jump to mention of the ship. Press Enter to go to the first use of the word Scotia.
    3. Use F3 to jump to each subsequent usage of the word.

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    Using the Help Keypad and Menu

      Using the Keypad Help
    1. Press the Help key on the keypad.
    2. Press any other keypad key to hear what it does.
    3. Press the Help key again and then hold down any other keypad key to hear detailed instructions.

      4. Using the Help Menu
    4. Use Alt.-H to enter the Help menu. Use the Down Arrow key to move to the Manual or to Quick Reference. Press Enter to select.
    5. Use Ctrl.-R to open the bookmark list for the help file.
    6. Use the Up or Down Arrow keys to navigate the list.
    7. Press the Enter key when you reach the desired topic. Use the standard reading or navigation keys to move around the document.
    8. F4 will close the document and return to the previous document.

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    Directly Downloading a Document From the Internet.

      We will be using Kurzweil 1000 to help search the Internet for books that are in a format Kurweil can read.
    1. Press Alt. to go to the menus. Press the Right Arrow key until you reach the Online menu. When Search for Books is highlighted, press enter.
    2. Tab to the Contains: box and type in Little Women.
    3. Tab to the sites box and use the Down Arrow to go to the line that says Bookshare.org. Press the Space Bar to uncheck (Bookshare.org requires registration).
    4. Tab to Ok and press the Space Bar.
    5. In the next dialog box, Tab to the titles and select Little Women using the Arrow Keys and the Space Bar.
    6. Select the OK button.
    7. Use Ctrl.-O to open a document. Tell K-1000 to open the recently downloaded document.

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    Scanning and Saving with Kurzweil 1000

    1. At the scanning station place an article on the scanner.
    2. Press the Start And Stop Scanning key.
    3. When the page is finished scanning, place another page on the scanner and press the Start And Stop Scanning key.
    4. Begin reading the document. Stop the reading.
    5. Use Ctrl.-S to open the save document dialog box.
    6. Type the name Article. Press Tab until the folder names are highlighted and use the Arrow keys to highlight Article. Press Enter to save in the file.
    7. Press F4 to close the file.

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    Using K1000 as a Braille Translation Program Where Duxbury or Megadots are not Available

      Before using, the embosser must be set up with Windows as a Generic/Text printer.
    1. Use Ctrl.-P to open the print dialog.
    2. Use Tab to move to the printer box and the Up or Down Arrow keys to choose the embosser (for this exercise, choose the classroom printer and print only a selection of the document).
    3. Tab to the Braille Conversion box and use the Arrow keys to choose grade 1 or grade 2 Braille.
    4. Press Enter to emboss.
      This should only be considered to convert to Braille for non-textbook applications where a full Braille translation program is not available. The primary use of K 1000 is to scan and read text.

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    Using K1000 to Provide Enlarged Text Where ZoomText or Magic are not Available

    1. Open or scan a document.
    2. Press Alt.-T to access the Settings menu.
    3. Use the Arrow keys to highlight Display and then press Enter.
    4. Tab down to Magnification and type a number. Press Enter to accept.
    5. Changes in font and background colors and setting highlighting of text can also been done in the Display dialog.
    6. The Print dialog Properties can also be used to print an enlarged copy of a document.

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    Other Important Information

    1. Illegible characters can be assigned a symbol to simplify the identification of mistakes.
    2. Items being scanned can be placed upside down on the scanner and still be recognized.
    3. K 1000 will handle columns or tables if the correct setting is chosen.
    4. Sheet fed scanners can be used to quickly scan books or articles in the two page mode.
    5. K 1000 does allow editing of documents.
    6. Spell check is accessed using Ctrl.-K.
    7. The time and date are accessed using Ctrl.-T.
    8. Currency recognition is accessed using Shift-F9. The bill must be placed lengthwise at the top of a flat bed scanner.

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adapted from the George Project for Assistive Technology