Classrooms have changed significantly in the last twenty years. Those old enough will remember the days of chalkboards and fountain pens, of wooden desks and paper workbooks. The advent of the digital age has transformed classrooms the world over.
Today access to the internet, laptops and tablets has revolutionised traditional teaching methods, boosting student productivity and engagement, and accelerated learning.
Perhaps more notably, students have access to a wealth of assisted learning tools with foundational technology rooted in OCR innovation. Optimal character recognition technology provides efficient and accurate document processing, converting paper or image documents to editable digital formats with ease. Below are just four examples of how OCR scanning is imperative in assisted student learning tools.
Visually-Impaired Students Can Read Mail and Complete Forms Independently
For those with visual impairments, the ability to read independently in a classroom environment is vital to their ongoing education. Text-to-speech solutions are pivotal in helping students to understand every element of a lesson.
Without technology capable to accurately completing an OCR check of paper documents and convert the contents to digital speech which can then be understood and communicated, it would be impossible for students to learn what they need to within a classroom environment.
OCR software can be integrated into any laptop’s screen reading software and run with an X-keys strip (a programmable macro keyboard.) This simplified OCR scanning, conversion and document reading software enables visually-impaired students to perform operations with a simple keystroke.
Supporting Students with Dyslexia and ADHD and Helping them Reach Their Reading Challenges
Open LORE reading software supports students with reading disabilities with assistive technology which translates text-to-speech in a clear and meticulous manner. With Open LORE having integrated OCR check software into its product printed documents are now easily accessible to users.
Helping students with dyslexia and ADHD process electronic text and e-books, Open LORE has several features, including text tracking tools, that promote the most meticulous and efficient text-speech conversion of any software of its kind.
Moreover, Open LORE includes a user-configurable library, dictionary, highlighting, adjustable word sentence tracking colours and customisable background creating an experience that emboldens students with dyslexia and motivates them to learn and grow.
Learning Resources and Organization
Leading education proponents of OCR describe the technology as an essential classroom tool that has eradicated timely and inefficient processes, allowing teachers to focus more attention on their students.
OCR software allows teachers to digitize and streamline classroom organization and reporting functions, including creating lesson plans, homework study guides, test marking and report writing. Photocopying resources, gathering and retyping material is incredibly time-consuming. An OCR check is an incredibly efficient way of collating material into a single, easily accessible document.
Visually-Impaired Students Can Be Granted Access to Image-Based PDFs with Text-To-Speech Technology
Traditionally, image-based PDFs were incompatible with text-to-speech technology. This denied visually-impaired people access to much-needed content. Software package, Accessibil-IT converts image-only PDFs to documents whose content is available through adaptive technologies.
Accessibil-IT has fully automated its PDF scanning and claims to be able to achieve 100% accuracy with the help of OCR software. Eliminating the costly and time-consuming manual correction of PDFs, Accessibil-IT has lowered costs and increased their output thirty-fold.
This has allowed visually-impaired students the chance to form a picture of image-based PDFs in their mind and not misunderstand vital classroom resources. These are just four examples of how OCR check scanner API technology is benefiting learning. With such clear benefits, it won’t be too long for OCR technology is ubiquitous in classrooms the world over!