If you struggle with
typing/writing your essays, you should check out a great computer program known
as a "speech to text" program. I asked an assistive technology expert
how it all works, what it costs, and other stuff, and here are the answers.
Ben, in simple terms,
what IS this program?
This software program,
called Dragon Naturally Speaking or “Dragon.” will type what you say, almost
like your personal secretary.
How do I start?
You sit at the computer
with a headset and microphone on, much like the people who work the drive-thru
at either Dunkin Donuts or Mc Donalds would wear. The computer program asks you
to read aloud a story. You choose from an easy story written by children to an
advanced speech from President Robert F. Kennedy, it's up to you. The computer
will “learn” the sound of your voice and adapt to you. When you're finished,
the computer is trained to your voice and can type what you say fairly
accurately.
Ben, you see people using
this program all the time, what are your best tips?
The Dragon program works
very well for those who aren't great at typing. The big limitation is that you
should know beforehand what you want to say. -Otherwise you may be tongue-tied
or waste time saying "ummm". It's best if you have notes, or the
whole essay, jotted down for yourself when you begin.
How much is it?
The Dragon Naturally
Speaking program isn't expensive. There is a version available from Best Buy
for under $50. It's in most computer stores and the most expensive versions are
still under $300.
Which students get most
use out of this?
The ones who come
prepared, with notes jotted down, and stick with it for a few hours until they
really get the hang of it. Once you have done the initial training you can work
fast but the training part, even though it's really only an hour or two, can
put off some students.
When you say training, is
that the part where you read the story?
Yes. You can read one
story or more if you want to. You can read one story and then start with your
own work straight away. The point is that the more the computer hears of your
voice, the more accurate it gets at writing up what you say. Oh, and you can
take breaks of course.
Can you fix mistakes in
the print, say, for example, you say "patch" and the computer writes
"pinch"?
Yes. The print goes into
a word document so you can edit it as you would any other regular word
document.
Ben Lim works at Bunker
Hill Community College, Boston. Thanks Ben!
