Assistive Technology Archives - The Accessibility Guy

Using Kurzweil 3000 Automator: A Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction

Are you looking to simplify the conversion of multiple PDF files at once? Today, I’m going to guide you through using the Kurzweil 3000 Automator, a vital tool for this process. Let’s explore how easy it can be.

Video Overview

Converting Multiple PDF Files Using Kurzweil 3000 Automator: Preparing Your Files

I’ve got 10 PDF files ready for conversion, placed in my starred folder, aptly named ‘in.’ The Kurzweil 3000 Automator (K 3000) is about to make this task seamless. First, move the files you want to convert into your chosen folder. After launching K 3000, select the start file you want to use. In my case, I have a folder on my desktop named ‘in,’ and my destination folder for the processed files is ‘out.’

The Conversion Process: Step by Step

Once the folders are set up, Kurzweil will begin to perform OCR on the files. You can watch the progress as the page count shifts through each one of the pages in the bottom right corner of the screen.

As each file completes, they’ll land inside the ‘out’ folder. Kurzweil then relaunches the program to continue converting the files. Just let it run, and soon, all your files will be ready in the output folder.

Handling Errors

Keep in mind, hundreds of files can be processed, but occasionally an error may occur. If an error stops the program, you’ll have to address it before proceeding. Typically this includes deleting the .dat file in the output folder.

Conclusion: More on Assistive Technology

For more tips on useful Assistive Technology like Kurzweil and others, feel free to explore other content. As always, I can be your personal accessibility expert. Thank you for joining me today.

Enhance Your Reading Experience with Microsoft Immersive Reader in Canvas

Microsoft Immersive Reader is a powerful tool that can help students engage with written text. In this blog post, we’ll explore how to use the Immersive Reader within Canvas to read Canvas pages, and how to customize the reader’s features to enhance your reading experience.

Video Overview | View on YouTube

Step 1:

Access the Immersive Reader within Canvas To access the Immersive Reader, you need to have a Canvas page open. Once you have the page open, select the “Immersive Reader” button located in the top right corner of the page. This will launch the Immersive Reader interface, which reformats the page for easy reading and highlights individual words as it goes.

Step 2:

Customize Your Reading Experience Once you’ve accessed the Immersive Reader, you can customize your reading experience to suit your needs. You can change the voice settings to determine how fast you want the reader to read, and choose a male or female voice. You can also change the text size, font style, and color contrast themes to make the text more readable. Additionally, you can choose to highlight different components of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs within the text itself. This is particularly helpful for ESL learners and those studying complex subjects. Furthermore, you can use the align focus feature to have the reader read one sentence at a time, which is beneficial for people with cognitive disabilities.

Step 3:

Utilize Additional Features In addition to customizing the reading experience, there are other features available in the Immersive Reader that can be useful. You can select a different language to translate the content into, and there’s a built-in picture dictionary that can play words out loud or provide images of what a word means. This is helpful for people with cognitive disabilities or those who are ESL.

However, it’s important to note that the Immersive Reader has some limitations. It only works on Canvas pages and not within assignments or quizzes, and it doesn’t engage with videos, links, or third-party content. Additionally, you have to exit the reader to change pages within Canvas.

In conclusion, the Microsoft Immersive Reader within Canvas is a valuable tool that can help students engage with written text and improve their reading skills. By customizing the reading experience and utilizing additional features, students can make the most of the tool and enhance their learning.

Canvas LMS — How do I make my Canvas page accessible?

Notetaking with Otter AI

This post will explore features of notetaking with Otter AI. The video below is a little over 7 minutes long.

Some takeaways Notetaking with Otter AI

Welcome to the Accessibility Guy channel. In this video, we will be discussing how Otter AI can be used for note-taking. Our focus will be on the basic features that come with the free version of Otter AI, although we should note that we are using a paid account.

To get started, we will first need to access the Otter AI website. We can do this by simply typing in Otter.ai into our web browser. Once we have reached the Otter AI homepage, we can click on the record button to begin the transcription process.

Need some other content on Otter.AI? Check out these posts

It is important to note that Otter AI can also be used in the background to record everything that is said in a meeting or class. This is particularly useful for individuals who want to have a record of important information that was discussed during a session.

One of the standout features of Otter AI is the ability to share recordings with other individuals. This can be done by hitting the share button and typing in the email address of the individual you would like to share the recording with. It is a great way to collaborate with colleagues and classmates.

Let’s take a moment to talk about how Otter AI can be used for video recordings. We can easily take notes from a YouTube video by launching the video and recording our notes using Otter AI. This is an effective way to capture important information from lectures and webinars.

It is worth noting that while Otter AI is an excellent tool for note-taking, it is important to ensure that the tool is used properly. This means being mindful of background noise and ensuring that the speaker’s voice is clear and audible.

In conclusion, Otter AI is a fantastic tool for individuals who want to take notes effectively and efficiently. The free version of the tool is a great starting point, although users can always upgrade to a paid version to access additional features.