Special Features
Premier learning tools are designed to be practical, meaningful tools that allow users to transition seamlessly from home to school to work. The ease of use users have come to expect from Premier products is supported by powerful technologies and passionate ideologies. Additional information about some of the Premier special features is detailed below.
Each and every Premier product, idea and concept is rooted in a belief that Universal Design for Learning is an attainable goal. As a bilingual country with two official languages, the elements of Universal Design for Learning should reflect our lingual diversity. Toward this pursuit, Premier Literacy continues to incorporate French into Premier products. With such features as spell-check, word prediction, full scanning and auto-summarization offered in French, Premier is enhancing Universal Design for Learning through increased support for French.
The French Talking Dictionary is the flagship of Premier's French products. The FTD allows the user to spell-check words in French as well as hear the definition spoken aloud which benefits both English and French students. It allows the user to search for words without knowing the exact spelling and it provides derivatives of the words being searched.
The Talking Word Processor offers a full selectable French spell-check and auto-summarization in French. Universal Reader Plus, E-Text Reader and the French Talking Dictionary offer a selectable French interface and are supported by French training videos. Additionally, all Premier portable products, the Literacy Productivity Pack and the Mac Pack come loaded with both an English voice and a French voice.
The true spirit of Universal Design for Learning is to create an environment that provides equal access to all students, regardless of their primary language, learning styles or literacy challenges. Premier products and the ongoing expansion of French features recognizes that students learn differently; and, because of these differences, how information is presented and structured are key components to a successful learning experience.
Auditory Highlighting is an exciting new concept designed by Premier to assist students in distinguishing the most relevant parts of a document through audible changes in the way it is read. A student using a Premier learning tool to read a document can hear highlighted portions of text read aloud in a different voice. It breaks up the monotony of Text-to-Speech engine pauses by switching to a different voice chosen by the user. The pausing and switching of the voices provides enough variation to jar the brain awake again. The audible change in reading serves as a stimulus to re-engage the reader’s attention.
Auditory Highlighting works in conjunction with the Premier award-winning Language Model Information Summary “LMIS” technology and combines it with an information extraction engine. Premier LMIS summarization technology works using weighted language principles and assumes that all words vary in importance and not every paragraph contains information that should be included in a summary. The LMIS technology is used to read and identify the most important parts of a document.
Auditory Highlighting is now available is now available on Scan and Read Pro, E-Text Reader and Talking Word Processor.
Efficient, effective readers rarely read each and every word of a given document or book. They read strategically; they count on prior knowledge; they identify and organize important information within the text; and they filter less important details. These skills allow them to read efficiently.
LMIS summarization is a unique information summarization technology. Constructed using language model algorithms, it is can be dynamically adjusted to meet the variable needs of the user. These language model algorithms allow users to summarize written material in a way that is based on language.
LMIS summarization is a valuable tool for creating independent and successful readers and writers. The “information summarization” features are also integrated into other proven Premier reading technologies, including the Universal Reader, E-Text Reader, Talking Word Processor, PDF Equalizer Scan and Read Pro as well as the Premier Internet Toolbar. LMIS Summarization is available in both French and English making it a valuable tool for students studying French as well as ESL students.
In the digital age, the amount of printed information is increasing exponentially. Technology that enables people to quickly and efficiently digest large volumes of text-based content is a powerful thing.
Students for whom English is a second language are a growing segment of the Canadian school population. ESL services should be provided in a manner that respects students’ language and culture of origin and builds on students’ existing abilities. Premier tools provide a student-centered approach to learning and include features that support students who are learning English.
ESL students are defined as those whose primary language(s) or language(s) of the home, is other than English and who may therefore require additional services in order to develop their individual potential within the school system. There are no typical ESL students. They come from many linguistic and cultural backgrounds and have had a wide variety of life experiences and attributes. AS such, it is impossible to apply a “one size fits all solution. Premier tools are designed to support online and digital content. They include tools that will read aloud from virtually any file format as well as from internet sources. These same tools can provide translation features in a number of different languages, which include English, French and Spanish.