Scanning Technology Helps Students Learn, Retain Knowledge
The University of Denver has built a reputation for offering unique learning effectiveness programs for students with learning disabilities.
With assistance from D2Xchange, DU offers students with disabilities digitized textbooks. The service not only helps students succeed in the classroom, it also helps the University meet its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to Michele McCandless, Associate Director of Disability Services at the University of Denver, approximately 6% of the university’s student population has a physical, mental or learning disability.
“Of the 600 students we currently assist, the vast majority – maybe as many as 400 – have a learning disability,” says McCandless. “Research confirms that these students learn best when they can simultaneously see and hear the words in a textbook.”[1]
D2Xchange works with DU to provide students digitized college textbooks. Incorporating Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, D2Xchange scans and indexes the textbooks students need to complete their coursework. OCR transforms the static image into image plus text. Once captured, the text can be manipulated, searched and/or loaded into other software applications.
“Our students simply pop a CD into their laptop or personal computer and click “Read.” They can then view the pages of their book as software that transforms text into speech allows the student to hear each printed word.”
Unlike books on tape, students can view digitized textbooks in their original format – seeing all the pictures, graphs, charts and illustrations that facilitate comprehension and retention. Indexing makes it easy for students to quickly locate specific chapters and text.
Another benefit? Digitized textbooks can be created quickly so students don’t fall behind in the coursework.
“It’s not unusual for students to wait until their first day of classes to receive a list of required textbooks,” McCandless says. “Books can be scanned in far less time, and we don’t have to devote resources to recruiting text readers or making copies of tape recordings.”
“Digitized textbooks,” McCandless says, “are the wave of the future.”
[1] A research study conducted by The John Hopkins University found that students with learning disabilities who used audio textbooks increased content comprehension by as much as 38 percent.