Managing a university workload is tough. A 2019 study by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) found that 63% of uni students reported feeling high levels of stress due to their course’s academic workload and deadlines, and things are getting tougher: as the cost of living goes up, more and more students are having to juggle learning with working to pay the bills, and contact time is on the rise too.
That’s bad news for anybody who doesn’t read as quickly or as confidently as their peers. As contact time goes up and student bandwidth gets squeezed, the pressure is on and workloads can start to feel daunting. And that’s why it’s important to make sure that everybody who needs support has access to it.
Introducing the ultimate independent study companion
C-Pen Reader 2 is our bestselling text-to-speech reading support for university learners for a reason: it makes handling a growing university workload far easier for everyone. Whether they’re a less than confident reader who needs support, still exploring which dyslexia solutions work for them or even just studying English when they’re from another language background, it’s information intake on easy mode. Just move the tip of the pen across any text to hear the words on the page!
It’s also discreet and customisable: whether students need longer pauses between words, different speaking speeds or even different languages, it really is as easy as scan, listen and understand. It’s the ultimate companion for late-night library sessions and coffee-shop revision days. And although it’s a device that younger learners can pick up and use with ease, that doesn’t mean that it’s only designed for the basics: it can cope as easily with medical textbooks as it can with Dr. Seuss.
• Support struggling readers
• Support those with English as an Additional Language
• Resource-effective reading support on a budget
• Define words easily with built-in dictionary mode
• Read anywhere, anytime: no need for Wi-Fi!
• Read for an 8+ hour day on a single charge
• Customise word pause and playback speed
• Customise language and accent options
• Scan to file and record voice memos
…So how does managing your university workload feel different when you’ve got the right reading support for the job?
One week with the C-Pen Reader 2
To put our flagship reading support to the test, we’ve taken an average week, an average university workload and an average student with reading needs in a UK university, and explored just how the C-Pen Reader 2 can help learners on all kinds of courses take control of their university workload, beat the pressure, and take on the task at hand.
From now on, you’re not you: you’re Ashley, a third-year biology student with dyslexia at a Russell Group university somewhere in the North of England. Let’s see how your week has been so far…
MONDAY: A curveball to start the week.
It looked like a nice, normal Monday from the outset.
And you know the score by now. You attend the lecture, do the reading (something you might have avoided earlier in your education, so that’s progress) and then it gets discussed in depth over the course of your Monday seminar. It’s a nice, safe format because you’re never really faced with anything new in front of people, so nobody has to know that you’re not the most confident of readers.
Except for today, that is, when your lecturer suddenly brings out a folder full of photocopies from a textbook you’ve never even seen on the reading list before. And you’re going to go through and analyse them as a group? Fab. Thankfully, you’ve got your C-Pen Reader 2 and headphones with you, so that you can discreetly get to grips with the text on the fly and properly participate in the discussion.
TUESDAY: Reading, but on easy mode.
And at least you don’t have to brave the public transport into campus today! But that’s not to say you don’t have anything to do. At the end of the seminar yesterday, you were assigned a good chunk of reading from one of your regular coursebooks, and you know from experience that if you don’t get started early, then the real university workload stress starts to set in.
So, you head to the kitchen for some snacks, make a tea you’re absolutely going to forget about in five minutes, and get started on scanning. It’s just so much easier to understand when you can hear the words as well as read them, and being able to do it all in the comfort of your halls room instead of waiting for a reader in the resource centre? Ideal.
WEDNESDAY: Back-to-back labs and lectures? No problem.
It wasn’t so bad at half past nine: you were switched-on, ready to work and mine the very depths of academia for something groundbreaking.
Unfortunately, by three in the afternoon, you’re exhausted and no amount of overpriced campus coffee is going to fix the way your eyes have started drooping. You can see the quality of the notes you’re taking has taken a dive between this morning and now. It’d be so nice to just be able to listen to the lecturer instead of trying to take down every single thing she’s saying, too, but what if you end up forgetting, and then your revision is missing something important?
If only you had a voice recorder to put on the lectern so that you could take away a full copy of the spoken element for when you need it. Oh, wait, you have!
THURSDAY: At last, a rest!
You haven’t got anything to do today! Or at least, nothing that can’t wait until tomorrow. Because it’s the third year, no day is ever really a free day anymore. You’ve still got a good amount of your weekly university workload to be getting on with, but you know it’s important to let your brain rest.
You’ve been meaning to get to that book you picked up at the station for a while now…
FRIDAY: Dissertation time…
Manging your university workload would actually be fine apart from the dissertation. But unfortunately, it’s a vital part of the process: a huge, data-heavy extended report that brings in everything from your own lab findings to decades-old research and requires a ton of reading.
You’re not entirely sure how it would have played out if student services hadn’t got you sorted with a reading pen back in first year. The language these books use is completely impenetrable sometimes, and it’s lucky that you’ve got support on hand with a built-in dictionary and the ability to slow down the playback.
SATURDAY: Reading on the go.
You’re rota’ed in for a full day at work, and it’s so busy, possibly just to spite you. But you do get a lunch hour, which is the perfect opportunity to finish reading through the chapter you didn’t finish yesterday. It’d be nice if you could just put your feet up, but… that’s a third-year university workload for you.
The staffroom is some kind of Wi-Fi blackspot, so you can’t even really get distracted by your phone, and luckily, C-Pen Reader 2 doesn’t need a Wi-Fi connection to work. It’s a good day.
Supporting the real university workload
(You can stop being Ashley now!)
The above version of events is oversimplified by far: many students deal with each of these tasks daily, work far more than a few weekend shifts, and some are learning in an entirely different language than they speak at home. Everybody’s dyslexia is different, and not everyone with reading needs has dyslexia. Some students are juggling childcare responsibilities, independent living, retakes and long commutes, and most are dealing with more reading than they’ve ever experienced before.
Having support that makes them able to read with confidence matters.
And when more and more of Gen Z are identifying as neurodivergent and heading to university aware of educational and reading needs, that puts a strain on uni support budgets too. Getting it right on a large scale is complicated and can be expensive… and that’s why more and more universities are turning to C-Pen Reader 2 to support students whenever and wherever they need it.
You can find out more about C-Pen Reader 2 at Scanning Pens.
Higher Education institutions can also claim a FREE trial of C-Pen Reader 2 so that their learners can experience the freedom to read and learn on their terms for themselves… and don’t forget to check out our Universities Hub for more advice and guidance on supporting reading in busy HE settings.
