Debate is Over when it comes to Freedom of Text

The debate has been around for a few years about using a Smart phone or Smart watch when taking a test, but now the debate is over, because they are not allowed. What is allowed is a device that has no connection to the Internet and no storage to save which represents a “Closed Environment”? Closed Environment is a tech term which refers to a testing environment in which there is no way to cheat because electronic devices are not allowed. The ACT Test sets the 5-Star standard and it is:

? You may not handle or access a cell phone or electronic device at any time in the testing room or during break times. This includes smart watches, fitness bands, and any other devices with recording, internet, or communication capabilities.

? All devices, including cell phones and wearable devices, must be turned off and placed out of sight.

? If you access your device or if your device activates while in the testing room or during break times, you will be dismissed, your test will not be scored, and your phone or device may be taken away.

The Freedom Of Text states "ALL TEXT IS CREATED EQUAL, AND DESERVES TO BE READ BY EVERYBODY". Freedom Of Text advocates for everybody who is print-impaired to have access to read text using the latest Intelligent Technology.

According to the facts, there are 7.1 million, or 14 percent of all public school students with Learning disabilities (According to (IDEA) Individuals with Disability Education Act)). Among students receiving special education services, 22 percent had specific learning disabilities. One last fact is that the International Dyslexia Association estimates that 85% of students who have a diagnosed disability have Dyslexia. Not being able to read print is the number one cause and those students are referred to as print-impaired.

A student that is print-impaired is a person that is prevented from gaining information from printed material in the standard way, and requires them to utilize alternative methods to access that information. If you are print-impaired because you have Dyslexia or another reading disability than you know taking a test requires that someone read for you. While there are scan and read devices that provide OCR and text to speech, most of these devices are the size of a boat anchor and sit on a table taking up space, and these devices are illegal to use to take a test, because they store information. “This is a key specification that makes them illegal to use”, says Patrick J. founder Reading Helpers?.

Thanks to OrCam, who invented the OrCam Read which combines Artificial Intelligence, a mono-camera, OCR and text to speech in one simple device, now students who are print-impaired have technology to use when taking a test. Teachers approve of this new technology introduced in 2020, because it does not store information and it does not connect to the Internet to research and read. In other words, there is no way to cheat! OrCam Read will go down in the 2020 history books as changing how children who are print-impaired read print.

Teachers have been asking for a technology device that can be used in the closed environment for taking a test. This device is now available and it is called OrCam Read which provides the highest level of Artificial Intelligence, OCR and Text to Speech technology ever put into a technology device. The device is no boat anchor like a smart phone, but instead it is a small device the size of a highlighter. Here are its dimensions:

Dimensions 4.8 x 0.98 x 0.51 inches. 

Weight Device: 1.57 oz 

Built-in rechargeable Battery 

4-hours (active use)

13 megapixel Camera

You can purchase the OrCam Read at Reading Helpers - BUY NOW CLICK HERE

Several teachers have asked me if a device like this will replace the need for a paraprofessional to read for a student. The answer is, yes, but in addition, it will free up the paraprofessional to do other things that are needed. In essence, it’ll make the paraprofessional more nimble and efficient. But the bigger benefit it does, which is most important, is it gives the student the total freedom to read text whenever they want. “Freedom of Text is a required solution to take a test”, says Patrick J.

It is very important to understand that OrCam Read is made by the company OrCam which was jointly founded in 2010 by Professor Amnon Shashua and Mr. Ziv Aviram. 

Professor Amnon Shashua and Mr. Ziv Aviram are also the co-founders of Mobileye, the collision avoidance system leader and autonomous driving innovator. Mobileye is an Israel subsidiary of Intel corporation that develops vision-based Self-driving car and Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) providing warnings for collision prevention and mitigation. Mobileye headquarters and main R&D Centre is located in Jerusalem operating under the company name Mobileye Vision Technology Ltd.

Professor Amnon Shashua is a genius and here is what he has to say about Mobileye. Quote found on Mobileye website at: https://www.mobileye.com/about/

“The Mobileye mono-camera was inspired by human vision, which only uses both eyes to obtain depth perception for very short distances,” says Amnon Shashua, co-founder, chairman and CTO of Mobileye. “Therefore, the added benefit of a second camera lens is only relevant for short distances. Driving-scene interpretation is based on much longer distances. All depth-perception cues for farther distances – such as perspective, shading, texture, and motion cues, that the human visual system uses in order to understand the visual world – are interpreted by a single eye. Therefore, Mobileye understood that a single-lens camera could be the primary sensor to enable autonomous driving.” 

"The OrCam Read is a single-lens camera with Artificial Intelligence making it the perfect device that every student who is print impaired should own", says Patrick J. “Parents, make sure and get this added to your child’s IEP”.

Please watch the video below and for further information about the OrCam Read:

https://explore.orcam.com/en/b2b/orcam-read-making-reading-possible-for-people-who-are-visually-impaired-b2b-us/

Interested in learning more? Contact us at Reading Helpers? where we are dedicated to providing technology solutions to help persons with Dyslexia and other reading disabilities. Reading Helpers sells OrCam Read, and designs computer systems running Kurzweil 3000 which runs on Microsoft Windows 10 or Apple MAC OS. Teachers love OrCam Read and Kurzweil 3000 because it provides students the ability to achieve Freedom of Text. Freedom of Text’s motto is “All Text is Created Equal, and Deserves to be Read by Everybody", and no child, and no student, should be denied the ability to read text in any Closed Environment.