Kurzweil Educational Systems
Encyclopedia
Kurzweil Educational Systems, Inc. is an American
based company that specializes in providing reading and writing software to assist people who are blind
or partially sighted
, or who have learning disabilities, such as dyslexia
and Attention Deficit Disorder. Founded in 1996, the company has pioneered the development of computer
ized assistive technology
, and achieved worldwide recognition for its work. Kurzweil Educational Systems has also won several excellence awards within its industry. Its headquarters are based in Bedford, Massachusetts
.
The company supplies two principal software products to its customers - Kurzweil 1000 and Kurzweil 3000. Kurzweil 1000 is a package which enables a visually impaired user to gain access to both electronic and printed material by speaking aloud text which has been scanned or copied; while Kurzweil 3000 is a tiered assistive reading, writing and learning medium aimed at students with learning disabilities or other disabilities that make reading or writing difficult.
Though the company was formed in 1996, text to speech software is actually something that dates back to the 1970s, when Dr Raymond Kurzweil
developed his first Kurzweil Reading Machine, a device which could scan and speak text.
In 2005, Kurzweil Educational Systems was acquired by Cambium Learning Technologies
. Cambium owns a number of other similarly related companies.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
based company that specializes in providing reading and writing software to assist people who are blind
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
or partially sighted
Visual impairment
Visual impairment is vision loss to such a degree as to qualify as an additional support need through a significant limitation of visual capability resulting from either disease, trauma, or congenital or degenerative conditions that cannot be corrected by conventional means, such as refractive...
, or who have learning disabilities, such as dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
and Attention Deficit Disorder. Founded in 1996, the company has pioneered the development of computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
ized assistive technology
Assistive technology
Assistive technology or adaptive technology is an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process used in selecting, locating, and using them...
, and achieved worldwide recognition for its work. Kurzweil Educational Systems has also won several excellence awards within its industry. Its headquarters are based in Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford, Massachusetts
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 13,320 at the 2010 census.- History :...
.
The company supplies two principal software products to its customers - Kurzweil 1000 and Kurzweil 3000. Kurzweil 1000 is a package which enables a visually impaired user to gain access to both electronic and printed material by speaking aloud text which has been scanned or copied; while Kurzweil 3000 is a tiered assistive reading, writing and learning medium aimed at students with learning disabilities or other disabilities that make reading or writing difficult.
Though the company was formed in 1996, text to speech software is actually something that dates back to the 1970s, when Dr Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond Kurzweil
Raymond "Ray" Kurzweil is an American author, inventor and futurist. He is involved in fields such as optical character recognition , text-to-speech synthesis, speech recognition technology, and electronic keyboard instruments...
developed his first Kurzweil Reading Machine, a device which could scan and speak text.
In 2005, Kurzweil Educational Systems was acquired by Cambium Learning Technologies
Cambium Learning Technologies
Cambium Learning Group is an American company which creates computer software and hardware products serving students ranging from pre-kindergarten to adult; and enabling educators who help them learn....
. Cambium owns a number of other similarly related companies.