Speech Recognition Valeska Gioia, Ed.S. Stacy Springer, MS, OTR/L, ATP Mark Daniels, MS Ed. SC Department of Education Assistive Technology Specialists Division of Standards and Learning Office of Exceptional Children Assistive Technology Services

What Exactly is Speech Recognition? Speech Recognition is the process of translating spoken words into text words on the computer. Through a speech recognition program/application, the computer is able to process words you say and turn them into text on the screen just as if you had typed them on the keyboard.

How Speech Recognition Can Benefit Students Dictation has the potential to improve the writing performance of students with learning disabilities by removing the barriers created by the difficulties with mechanics.

Speech Recognition To support quality of writing  Removes the motor demands of writing  Written Productivity Profile = difficulty with both writing & keyboarding  More restrictive  Requires quiet environment, consistency is more important than articulation  Typically not used for note taking, but for homework and independent written work

Speech Recognition To support access  For students who are not able to physically access the keyboard and mouse  Requires quiet environment, consistency is more important than articulation  Most likely require a program that provides full control of the computer (i.e. Dragon Naturally Speaking)

Benefits and Challenges Visual Motor Spelling Ergonomics Hands-free use Endurance Concentration and attention Reading and speech Pronunciation and articulation

Cognitive Skills Proficiency in the use of speech recognition requires good levels of concentration, memory and other cognitive skills. In order for a student to use speech recognition independently, good cognitive skills are essential for memorizing commands as well as making effective use of correction strategies.

Consistency of Speech Consistency of speech and pronunciation is one of the most important prerequisites for success in using speech recognition. As long as any user is able to say words and phrases in the same or similar manner each time, speech recognition programs can learn to recognize individual patterns of speech. way each time. The user's voice quality, such as volume and pitch, and breath control should also be taken into account. The bottom line in terms of speech, is that it should be intelligible and consistent, but it need not be perfect in terms of articulation, pronunciation and quality.

Reading and Writing Students who read at a third-grade level or higher, and who achieve scores of 1 on most of the items on the evaluation form, have extremely high potential for using speech recognition independently. In addition those students who are able to accurately isolate word recognition errors and make corrections/edit their work will do well with speech-recognition.

Student Evaluation Form - Free ms/evaluation_form_sample.htm

QIAT Resource Quality Indicators for Assistive Technology Services This document contains information from various sources on handwriting and/or keyboarding rates. esourcebank/hwriting_kybding_rate_info.pdf

Speech Recognition: MS Office 2003 Open MS Word→ Tools → Speech This enables the language bar for both speech-to-text and text-to-speech options You will be guided through training needed to create a user voice profile (15 minutes) You will need a microphone Can dictate directly into MS Office, not other applications

Built into the Operating System Open Speech Recognition by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking Ease of Access, and then clicking Speech Recognition. Click Set up microphone, follow the instructions in the wizard. Dictate into almost any application (i.e. word processing, internet). Speech Recognition – Vista and Windows 7

Denise DeCoste’s Written Productivity Profile es/assistive_tech_assess/ata_worksheets.pdf

Microsoft Speech Recognition – Windows 7

Dragon Naturally Speaking

Voice Recorder with Dragon Software Speaking/dp/B004M8SU0I/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid= &sr=1-2

Dragon Dictate for iPhone/iPad

Dragon Remote Microphone

Via Voice

Speak Q

Tazti Speech Recognition for Windows XP and Windows 7 Tazti (pronounced 'tasty') features include jot-a- note dictation, advanced voice search internet search sites, playing your favorite PC games, controlling iTunes, bookmark control, & web navigation. Create and use your own speech commands. Software-for-Windows-XP/ _ html

My Voice Controller My Voice Controller allows you to emulate mouse and keyboard inputs by using your voice. Common uses for this software are gaming and assistance for the disabled/injured. This software is free and is compatible with XP and Vista.

e-Speaking Voice and Speech Recognition Free Download of software Over 100 commands built-in Ability to add more commands Runs in Windows2000 and Windows XP Utilizes latest technologies from Microsoft Seamlessly integrate with Office Voice commands of Mouse events

Math Talk

Comparison Chart Dragon Naturally Speaking Speak Q Microsoft Accessibility Dictate (MAC Product)

Ways to Train Speech Recognition Programs Reading favorite books (consider various reading levels of students) Lyrics.com (clean versions) Poetry books Poetry.com

Easy to Read Dragon Scripts

Gregory

Success vs. Effort An extremely important point when considering the potential use of speech recognition by students with learning and physical challenges, is that speech recognition is not a plug-and-play technology, but a complex technological solution requiring extensive training, patience, perseverance and support.

Not Appropriate for Everyone Speech recognition will not work for all students, and it is important to go through an initial evaluation in order to determine if the student has the potential to cope. A positive note about the future of speech recognition, is that since it is becoming more accurate and the technology is improving, we will find that more and more students are able to use this program in the future.

Excellent Resource for Speech Recognition Programs

Resources Training videos for Dragon Naturally Speaking: for-pc/existing-customers/dragon-version-11-tools-and- tips/index.htm Features and possibilities of speech recognition: resources/features-and-demos/index.htm Worksheets: n.htm

Research Articles on Speech Recognition Koester, H.H. (2006). Factors that Influence the Performance of Experienced Speech Recognition Users. Assistive Technology, 18(1): Koester, H.H. (2004). Usage, Performance, and Satisfaction Outcomes for Experienced Users of Speech Recognition. Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 41(5): Koester, H.H. (2003). Abandonment of Speech Recognition Systems. by New Users. Proceedings of RESNA 2003 Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA. Arlington, VA: RESNA Press. Koester, H.H. (2002). User Performance with Speech Recognition Systems: A Literature Review. Assistive Technology, 13(2):

South Carolina Assistive Technology Program The South Carolina Assistive Technology Program (SCATP) is located in Columbia, SC: provides state-wide resources; demonstration lab for public; free trial loan of AT devices (pay only return shipping), and annual AT Expo.

SCCATN WIKI! SC Collaborative Assistive Technology Network Upcoming Vendor Links FAQ Best Practice in AT

SC Department of Education Assistive Technology Specialists (ATS) Mission The mission of Assistive Technology Services (ATS) is to provide assistive technology support, training, consultation, equipment, and technical assistance to educators who teach students at risk of academic failure and students with disabilities.

ATS SERVICES Professional Development Presentations, workshops, and trainings on assistive technology for districts and regions, both in person and online; Training on conducting assistive technology evaluations and assessments for local staff. Funding Assistance Identification of funding sources Research into grant opportunities Formation of funding networks among AT professionals

Additional ATS Services Technical Assistance Formation and support of AT teams within schools and districts Collaborative sessions with instructional technology specialists Recommendations on interventions for assisting students at risk of academic failure and students with disabilities ENEWS – AT Connect News on free software, scheduled trainings, and upcoming conferences

Assistive Technology Specialists Coastal Region Stacy Springer, MS, OTR/L, ATP Charleston, SC Midlands Region Valeska Gioia, Ed.S Columbia, SC Upstate Region Mark Daniels, MS, Ed. Greenville, SC