Editors' Pick: ReadingPen II

  • 08/01/02

WizCom Technologies Inc., (888) 777-0552, www.wizcomtech.com

The ReadingPen II from WizCom Technologies Inc. is a portable assistive reading tool that helps students who have difficulty recognizing or understanding words by reading scanned words aloud via its text-to-speech technology. The ReadingPen II is ideal for ESL students, as well as students with learning disabilities and reading difficulties. It is also useful for educators who enjoy having an English dictionary immediately accessible.

When students are reading and come to an unrecognized or difficult word they scan the word or line of text, which is then displayed and read aloud within seconds through the ReadingPen's built-in speaker. The ReadingPen II also provides students with a definition of the scanned word or line of text, which can be read aloud as well. In addition, students have the option of plugging in earphones to the pocket-sized reading tool's output socket for private listening. Individual words are enlarged on the ReadingPen's easy-to-read LCD window, and can be spelled out or broken down into syllables. The tool's optical head recognizes a variety of styles, as well as font sizes from 6-22 points. It also keeps a history of the last 80 words scanned, and is adjustable for left- or right-handed users. The ergonomic ReadingPen II is 6" in length and weighs 3 oz. The tool also contains the entire American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition and comes with an Opticard that lets users manually input text.

Featured

  • elementary school building with children outside, overlaid by a glowing data network and transparent graphs

    Toward a Holistic Approach to Data-Informed Decision-Making in Education

    With increasing access to data and powerful analytic tools, the temptation to reduce educational outcomes to mere numbers is strong. However, educational leadership demands a more holistic and thoughtful approach.

  • tutor and student working together at a laptop

    You've Paid for Tutoring. Here's How to Make Sure It Works.

    As districts and states nationwide invest in tutoring, it remains one of the best tools in our educational toolkit, yielding positive impacts on student learning at scale. But to maximize return on investment, both financially and academically, we must focus on improving implementation.

  • computer science classroom featuring a desktop setup with code on the screen, a large wall display with charts, and a labeled book on a clean desk

    McGraw Hill Expands CTE Offerings

    Education company McGraw Hill has announced a host of new career and technical education courses, designed to help learners gain professional, technical, and academic skills for workforce success.

  • young educators collaborate with AI tools on laptops and tablets

    Survey: Younger Educators More Likely to Embrace AI Tools

    While educators across the United States agree that AI has enhanced classroom engagement, enthusiasm for AI's benefits is strongest among young teachers, according to a recent survey from learning technology company D2L.