readpen

The Quicktonary Reading Pen.
This is a revolutionary new device; it is about the size of a small remote control for a TV. By running the head over a printed word it is scanned and then read out loud to the user. The psychology team I work for bought one of these devices and so the following is an impartial review of the product, untainted by connections or links with the manufacturer or retailer.

The reading pen was firstly given to a group of children aged between 7 and ten. The children were shown the video that comes with the pen and then left to play with the device and get used to it. All the children were good readers and had no noticeable problems with motor skills. The younger children in the group were a bit reluctant to engage but the ten year old children very quickly found out how to use the reading pen and became accomplished in it’s use within an hour. They were very soon experimenting with it to see if it could recognize handwriting as well as printed text. There was great disappointment when the reading pen was taken back to the office, as they had grown quite fond of it.

We were fortunate enough to have an educational psychologist in training working with us. She took the pen into schools and lent it to a number of children within the top primary to secondary age range. These children were again encouraged to watch the video and learn how to use the pen by playing with it and learning via non pressurized use. The children then began to use it in lessons. We thought that the children would find it a bit slow. However, this was not the case. A child who can’t read a word on a work sheet or in a book has a problem. The reading pen provided a solution. It did not have the emotional attachments that asking for help does and the children did not perceive it to be slow. We hypothesized that the pen was no doubt quicker than asking the teacher, less embarrassing than asking a peer and allowed the student a greater measure of independent learning. On the whole all the children who used it found it useful and were enthusiastic to have their own one.

At £200 each this is a substantial investment. The tip where the laser and scanning takes place looks well built but would need to be looked after, as it could be vulnerable to damage. Age ten seems to be around the right age to start using this device but some children may be able to engage with it somewhat earlier. Children chosen to use it will need to have reasonable motor skills. The general feeling amongst the psychologists in our office was that it was too fragile and easily lost or damaged to be provided by the local authority. If provided by parents it was much more likely to be looked after. If looked after we could see no reason why this device couldn’t provide a long and reliable service.

On the whole the reading pen looks to be a valuable addition to the technological solutions available to help children who have difficulty with reading. As with any technological aid, it would be best to try out the device first. Experience has shown that however appropriate a parent or educator may feel a technological solution is for a child we are often wrong. Only by being able to offer children an array of aids and solutions to try will they be able to decide upon the best solution for them. It would probably be useful for schools to buy one of these pens to enable children to try it out. If they found it of use then it would be best if a personal reading pen were bought by the parents for the child. Obviously this does assume that the parents could afford it. An alternative would be for a local education authority or cluster of schools to buy one device for trailing purposes by pupils.

To see an example and contact a supplier of the reading pen try: http://www.dyslexic.com/rp.htm
or
http://www.scanningpens.co.uk/

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