Kurzweil 3000-firefly Literacy Software Adds Tools for Struggling Learners
Kurzweil Education has released an expanded version of its literacy tool, Kurzweil 3000-firefly, adding in new features for students with dyslexia and students who are English language learners, among several other enhancements.
Kurzweil 3000-firefly is reading and comprehension software that can be run on OS X, iOS and Windows systems and can be accessed online on other platforms through common Web browsers. The software reads text aloud to students at their chosen pace while text is highlighted on the screen. It includes built-in writing tools and organization tools and provides a cloud-based library of resources and reporting tools.
The latest version offers more than 40 new features, including:
- New "Acapela" text-to-speech voices;
- Support for the OpenDyslexic font;
- Support for ePUB files;
- New OCR capabilities;
- Updated American Heritage dictionaries;
- Improved word prediction in the writing tools;
- New study guides and word lists;
- Updated writing templates;
- Improved reporting and user management via the cloud Universal Library;
- A new Common Core lesson plan; and
- New teacher templates.
The enhanced version will be available to current customers at no additional charge. Additional details can be found on Kurzweil's site.