Accessible Software
What is one speech recognition software that is used by many people with or without a disability?
Dragon Naturally Speaking is one speech recognition software that is used by many people with or without a disability. I had a good friend in law school who was near the top of the class and was not disabled, but couldn't type to save his life. He used this daily, and it got him through to graduation.
Parrish,
This can be also useful for anyone in the community like my father who can't type at all!
Renee Shaffer
Yes… Dragon NaturallySpeaking is probably the most widely used speech to text conversion utility… And it has come way down in price in recent years… To the point where it is now available to students for anywhere from $99 $199. Thank you. Mike Crowley
Michael,
Boy, I remember when Dragon Naturally Speaking was out of the price range of most people. Thank goodness the prices have come down and many people in the "mainstream" society (elderly, etc) can use it also.
Renee Shaffer
I use Dragon Speak. It takes some time to train the dragon but it' works. I recently got a new iMac and it has built in speech to text
In the medical arena, I have worked with dragon product which I have found to be easy and adaptable to people with all disabilities as well as for the physicians which have used this for dictation to the EMR systems. Once the program is adapted to the individual they are able to operate this program with ease.
Claire,
yes, I heard that the new iMac is really cool that way.
Renee Shaffer
Cyndy,
yes, this has been a great tool of physicians!
Renee Shaffer
Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech recognition software that faculty at the institution I teach at have received training on. It's an optional tool, and one I haven't used myself. However, from the description, it enables faculty members to prepare and record short presentations that can be used repeatedly, or emailed to students who are having difficulties with a particular topic, whether the instructor or the student is disabled or not.
Mara,
Maybe you can try Dragon Naturally Speaking sometime in the near future and see how it works for you.
Renee Shaffer
Dragon Naturally Speaking is speech-recognition software that is used by many, with or without a disability. As their advertisements suggest, many individuals with something to say but seldom something to write can more easily translate their thoughts into the written word with this program. For those individuals with physical disabilities that prevent them from typing, this program is an indispensable resource in this technological age - even beyond the classroom.
I am hoping to eventually integrate software like Dragon Naturally Speaking into my live chat sessions. I speak during these sessions in order to cover the necessary material in an hour, but students often have difficulty hearing me - either due to technical issues like connection speed or perhaps due to a disability. If Dragon Naturally Speaking could add my lecture during the session to text in the Chat pod for the sake of a running and then archived transcript, then we'd be cooking with gas! :-)
Trista,
Yes, Dragon Naturally Speaking can be of assistance to anyone, those with disabilities and those without disabilities.
Renee Shaffer
As everyone has already said, Dragon is a voice recognition software. Others include Text Speaker, Speakonia, Dictation Pro, and e-Speaking. I believe that the biggest advantage of using any of these software is the ability to do hands-free computing. If a task for a student with disabilities requires that he/she jump back and forth from your computer to other tasks, any of these software type can allow him/her to do both things at once. It is also a huge benefit to those with limited mobility or some other kind of disability that makes it difficult to use a keyboard and mouse.
Trista
That is an interesting idea! In my class we record our lectures so the students that can't make the live chats can at least get the lecture. Having a running transcript is a really cool idea! The students would be able to see that on the recording as well. What would be even better is if they can download the transcript for their use.
Dragon Naturally Speaking. Its great for those that preferred dictating rather than writing or who want to avoid carpal tunnel issues with too much writing.
I have Dragon Speaking Naturally, although, I must confess that I haven't used it a whole lot. I originally bought it to help with the grading process...typing all the comments in the grading comment area. Then we went more rubric based, so I found using the software more cumbersome. At this point, I just need to play around with it some more and see how it might be help me in my work. It certainly gave me a new perspective and appreciation for people who perhaps can't type well, or at all, and need to use this type of software. :-)
Dragon Naturally Speaking is considered one of the major software tools for speech recognition. I have seen the late night commercials; however I did not associate it with assistive tools for those in need of ADA accommodations. At the time I thought I could really use it as a tool to cut my grading time and make it more precise. I would be able to review the students’ assignment and determine their grade faster. Now, I see it is an awesome tool that students can use to type their assignment and improve their grades.
Charlene,
Dragon is seen as an universal design tool which means that it is useful for all people! It is a great tool.
Renee Shaffer
