New Learning Access Suite brings powerful access solutions to new audiences

Nuance, Claro and Microlink PC launch subscription offer

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A unique collaboration between major Assistive Software and Solution providers will offer new opportunities for students, teachers, administrators and home users, including students who are learning English as an additional language.

The Learning Access Suite ^TM from Nuance, Microlink PC and Claro Software includes a range of facilities to make reading, writing and studying so much easier. It has the ClaroRead literacy support tool, including text-to-speech features, Screenruler, Lightning magnifier and screenreader, ClaroView screen colour overlay tool, MindFull concept mapper, Microlink's Colour Explorer, ClaroLingo language assistant as well as Nuance's Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 speech recognition software.

"This is a very exciting collaboration which has the potential to transform the learning environment for thousands of students who could have been excluded from the main stream education because of their learning disabilities. We are proud to be able to work alongside the Claro and Nuance to help to create an inclusive learning environment for all children " says Dr Nasser Siabi, Managing Director of Microlink PC Ltd.

The Learning Access Suite can revolutionise paperwork. Teachers will find that they benefit from the powerful tools which speed up text production. Dragon NaturallySpeaking will help with lesson preparation and they can incorporate other Claro tools, such as the concept maps, into their lessons and use them with their interactive whiteboards. They will also appreciate the fact that these same tools can help them make short work of the mountains of administration which are now part and parcel of their job.

The Learning Access Suite will enable schools to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination (DDA) and other legislation and will provide universal access to information and text. This means that pupils who have poor literacy skills, where English is not their first language, or who have visual impairments will be able to access information, take notes, read web pages and write essays with greater ease.

Mark Green, Education Business Manager, Nuance "This is the very first time that Nuance has made Dragon available on a subscription basis. This will ensure that their speech recognition software can be used with an even wider range of pupils in UK schools."

Microlink PC, who are distributing and supporting the software solution are keen to ensure that users get the most from this powerful software suite. Microlink, the UK’s largest provider of disability solutions, are offering dedicated technical support and training, specialist peripherals and advice. They can also customise Learning Access Suite to meet individual needs.

As well as supporting learners who struggle with print, the suite is proving popular for teaching English as a second language. At any one time there are 150,000 overseas students studying at UK universities as well as many younger learners who are recent arrivals to the UK. The Learning Access Suite lets learners see the relationship between the spoken and written word as it offers both speech recognition and a facility to read back text.

The Learning Access Suite can be installed on a school network. To encourage pupils to use it outside school, there is a special deal for home use. Once a school has taken out a subscription, then parents are entitled to buy Dragon and the other tools at a specially discounted price.

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