Support Solutions / Answers

Kurzweil 3000 Availability

Kurzweil 3000 is available in all ITaP PC computer labs.

Starting the Kurzweil 3000 in an ITaP Computer Lab

The Kurzweil 3000 is a reading and study aid for students who have learning disabilities. The software can be launched as follows:

1. Select the Start Menu
2. In the search Box, type 3000.
3. Press Enter
4. When the Kurzweil 3000 Server Login screen appears, select the License Type of Kurzweil 3000 you would like to use.

   

• Kurzweil 3000 LearnStation 9.0 allows reading of Kurzweil 3000 documents and allows the use of the Kurzweil 3000 editor.
• Kurzweil 3000 B/W Professional 9.0 allows scanning, reading, and editing of documents.
• Kurzweil 3000 Color Professional 9.0 is currently not available.
5. Type your Login Name into the UserName box.



6. Select OK.

Kurzweil 3000 Tutorials

• Reading a Document
• Reading Tools
• Changing Speech Options
• Kurzweil 3000 Toolbars
• Scanning a Document in Kurzweil 3000
• Using Kurzweil 3000 to Read a Web Page
• Accessing PDF (Portable Document Format) files
• Creating Audio Recordings from Kurzweil 3000 Files

Reading a Document

Open a file

Reading

Press the Read button to start speech output.

Kurzweil 3000 will start reading from the current location of the cursor. If you would like to read text from a different part of the page you can just:

1. Move the mouse to the desired location
2. Click the left mouse button
3. Press the Read button to start speech output.

This can be very helpful when Kurzweil 3000 is reading text from charts and graphs that you would like to skip.

Reading Tools

Changing the way Kurzweil 3000 Reads a Document

You can modify the way Kurzweil reads a document by changing the "Read Mode". By default Kurzweil 3000 reads continuously. This option can also be changed to be self-paced or word by word.

The "Reading Unit" option changes the size of the block of text which is highlighted when Kurzweil 3000 is reading. This also defines the amount of text which is read in between pauses in self-paced mode.

Finding the Definition of a Word

The definition of many words can be found by ensuring the cursor is on the desired word and selecting the Define icon. The resulting window can be read aloud by clicking on the Read icon.

Changing Speech Options

You can easily change the speed that Kurzweil 3000 reads to you by changing WPM in the reading toolbar.

More complex voice adjustments are available in the "Tools" menu under "Options." Voice options are in the "Reading" tab.

Kurzweil 3000 Toolbars

The primary functions for Kurzweil 3000 are located on the main toolbar. These functions include common file options such as: New, Open, Save, and Print. Kurzweil 3000 options such as Read, Define, and Synonyms are also located on this toolbar.

The reading toolbar contains options for changing the way that Kurzweil 3000 reads. These options include: changing the speed of reading; continuous, Word-by-word, or self-paced reading; size of reading chunk; and the page currently being read can also be specified using options on this toolbar.

The writing toolbar allows you to specify options when using Kurzweil 3000 for word processing. Many of these options are similar to those found in most word processors.

The study skills toolbar contains options that can assist you in understanding and reviewing what you have read. This toolbar will allow you to highlight important text, add electronic sticky notes, annotate the current text and create a study guide.

Scanning a Document in Kurzweil 3000

>Basic Scanning

1. Lift the lid and place the document that you would like to read face down on the glass portion of the scanner. It does not matter which direction the document is laid on the scanner but it should not be laid at an angle.
2. Click the "scan" button on the toolbar or press F9.
3. The scanner will now scan the page and the computer will process the information.
4. When the computer is finished processing, the "Read" button on the toolbar will turn black.
5. The document can now be removed from the scanner, if desired.
6. The document can now be read by clicking on the "Read" button or pressing F3.
7. Once the first page has been read a second page can be scanned.

Scanning Tips

There are a few things that you can do to improve the accuracy of your scans and decrease the amount of time you will need to spend scanning.

• Be careful not to put your fingers on the glass of the scanner. Fingerprints on the glass make the scan blurry and will reduce the accuracy of the scan.
• Close the lid of the scanner when scanning. This may not seem important; however, closing the lid will increase the accuracy of the scans. Kurzweil 3000 also has trouble dealing with wide variations in light intensity it can encounter when scanning with the lid open. This can cause Kurzweil 3000 to have errors and shut down.
• Books with small pages might be scanned two at one time by placing the book sideways on the scanner. From the "Scan" menu you can select "Two Page" mode to ensure Kurzweil 3000 will correctly divide the pages you will scan.
• You can select "Scan Repeatedly" from the "Scan" menu for scanning many pages. In this mode the scanner will automatically scan every few seconds without requiring you to press any buttons. The amount of time between scans can be set via the "Scanning" tab.

Using Kurzweil 3000 to Read a Web Page

Kurzweil 3000 can be used as a tool for reading web pages in Internet Explorer. From the "Read" menu select "Web". Kurzweil 3000 will run Internet Explorer with a Kurzweil 3000 reading toolbar at the bottom of the screen.>

Accessing PDF (Portable Document Format) Files

There are two methods for accessing PDF files with speech output. The decision on how to access a particular PDF will depend on the format of the PDF file and the features you will want to use when accessing the file.

Reading PDFs within Acrobat Reader (Does not require Kurzweil 3000)

Set Acrobat Reader to open PDFs in a separate Acrobat Reader window.

This only needs to be done once.

1. Launch Acrobat Reader.
2. Select the "Edit" menu and open the "Preferences" dialog box.
3. 
4. Select the "Internet" list item and ensure that "Display PDF in browser" is not selected.
5. Select OK and close Acrobat Reader.

Reading PDFs

The PDF reading options are in the "View" menu under "Read Out Loud."

Note:If the reading options are grayed out then you will need to use Kurzweil 3000 for reading the PDf document.

Note: Voice options can be located in the "reading" section of the "Preferences" dialog box.

Reading PDF documents with Kurzweil 3000 Scan/Read Only

1. Launch Kurzweil 3000.
2. Open the PDF document. The document can be opened up in the browser or in a separate instance of Acrobat Reader.
3. From the "File" menu select "Print."
4. Select "KESi Virtual Print" from the printing dialog box and select OK.

   

5. After a few minutes the document will appear in Kurzweil 3000.

Note: This will take a while since Kurzweil 3000 is scanning the file as if it was placed on a scanner.

Note: There may be recognition errors, similar to those with scanned documents, in the document since Kurzweil 3000 essentially scans the PDF.

Note: The PDF can also be opened directly in Kurzweil 3000.

Creating MP3 Recordings from Kurzweil 3000 Files

 

Initial Setup

Before you use Kurzweil 3000's MP3 creation feature for the first time you will need to do the following:

1. Select Start Menu
2. Select Control Panel
3. Select Sounds and Audio Devices
4. Select the Hardware tab in the Sounds and Audio Devices dialog box



5. Select Audio Codecs in the Devices list box
6. Select Properties
7. Select the Properties tab in the Audio Codecs Properties dialog box



8. Select the Windows Media Audio Codec from the Audio Compression Codecs list box
9. Select Properties
10. In the Change priority from drop down box select 1



11. Select OK
12. Select OK in the Audio Codecs Properties dialog box
13. Select OK in the Sounds and Audio Devices dialog box

The above process must only be completed once. The changes will be saved in your user profile.

 

Creating Audio files in Kurzweil 3000

1. Open the desired file in Kurzweil 3000.
2. Select the voice, pitch, and reading speed desired. Once the file is encoded into an audio format these settings can no longer be changed.
3. Select the File menu
4. Select Audio Files
5. Select Create Audio
6. Select the desired settings in the Create Audio dialog box



7. Select OK
8. The audio file will be created at: