By Dayo Adesulu
A pen to help children with learning  disorders has been discovered. It was among the learning tools and methods which received the attention of education stakeholders at the just-concluded World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), hosted by Qatar Foundation.

The innovator of the technology, Dr P. V. Majeed  said that the technology will assist children suffering from learning disorders and also cater for the needs of  visually challenged students, asserting that the Multimedia Printer Reader (MRP) Talking pen and specially designed book for learning will boost students learning in this 21st century.

Dr Majeed who has been involved in vocational and community oriented programmes in education in rural India for more than two decades noted that it is a  technology having the potential to convert any printed materials into a multi-media printer reader technology-enabled book.

According to Majeed, the technology would help people to read the specially-designed printed books using a unique reading pen, designed under the multimedia printer reader technology.

Dr Majeed, a practicing physician and educationist from southern Indian State of Kerala, who made the presentation of the equipment at the conference said: “It would considerably ease the burden of children suffering from dyslexia (learning disorders) in a big way and the tool will also cater for the needs of the visually challenged people.”

Dr P V Majeed

Explaining MPR Talking Pen, he reiterated that it is an electronic device, which recognises (scans) the invisible codes printed in the specially developed book as any book could be printed in MPR format using printers incorporating voice codes supplied by his company.

MPR technology, he maintained could be useful for any students starting from KG to PG adding that
it could be effectively implemented as a tool in the English Language Teaching (ELT). “The product helps not only the teachers but also the students to learn and speak using correct pronunciation and enunciation. “It can also be implemented to teach regional languages, even without learning the alphabets. In short, it is a programme used to making a language more popular and up to date with the technology.”

Dr Majeed stated that the successful tests  he carried out in libraries proved that it is a perfect tool for learners stressing that it requires no additional overheads and the tool can be effectively used by a single person.

His words: “The tool could be implemented even in those places where there are difficulties in getting teachers because it enhances self-learning and  would also be beneficial for those families where the parents cannot read and write.

Moreover, among the positives of the technology,  is its ability to aid the young and old readers to enjoy literature, improve the learning abilities of neo-literates, helping promote literacy in any language, enhancing expertise of trained teachers, serving the purpose of being a story teller to a child, powerful tool for language studies and setting an interactive learning environment.

The entrepreneur has evinced interest in developing a wholly independent education programme, using the same technology, to be introduced in educational institutions in Qatar. Majeed, also made it clear that the technology is not meant for educational institution in Qatar or India alone but any other country who can afford it.