I recently became familiar with Dragon Dictation, voice-to-text (also known as voice recognition) software, when my husband’s speech therapist used it to assist him after his recent stroke. He could speak words, phrases, and sentences, and it would accurately type on the screen what it heard, thus giving him feedback on his pronunciation.
Immediately I saw it as an educational tool that could remove barriers that prevent some students from reaching their potential. First in my thoughts was Jonathan, an AP student I had years ago whose clear and insightful comments inspired class discussions, but who was unable to express that same quality thinking in a coherent essay. After struggling with this composition problem into his senior year in high school, a reading teacher realized that his thinking was by far faster than his ability to hand write or type his ideas. He turned into an outstanding writer once we had him dictate his essays into a tape recorder and then transcribe them on paper. Not only was he able to express himself clearly and fully, but he no longer felt the frustration and anxiety of slowing down his thinking in order to express pieces of his ideas. And no longer did he submit papers unworthy of his critical and creative mind. I hope he has discovered voice recognition software because it will transcribe his words directly from his speech.
Students with dyslexia can also benefit from voice recognition software. While usually considered a reading disability, dyslexia also affects students’ ability to express themselves in writing. Frustrated that they cannot write the same discerning, complex ideas that they are thinking, they find their competence questioned by others and even themselves.
Dyslexic students have difficulty progressing beyond merely decoding their thoughts as individual words. They focus on spelling and forming letters correctly while simultaneously trying to remember what they want to say. Often they resort to simple vocabulary and less developed compositions than they would express in speech. Because their typing is slow and laborious, they often diminish the intellectual level of their content and analysis. Thus, their readers never realize the significance of their thoughts in writing.
Note taking can also be difficult for dyslexic students because they are unable to write usable notes fluently while learning the material. Often they are provided with a dedicated scribe to help them with class notes and homework assignments.
Voice recognition software avoids this bottle neck to the thinking process because dyslexic students do not have to deal with putting words, misspelled or otherwise, on paper, painfully, one at a time. They can become independent, fluent writers who demonstrate their true proficiencies.
Many iPhone users have discovered the convenience of Siri voice recognition software, which lets them dictate messages, notes, and more, in order to convert the spoken words to typed words. For anyone challenged with dyslexia, voice recognition software can be empowering, not merely a convenience.
Software suggested by members of The International Dyslexia Association, Dragon Dictation is available for purchase on a computer or as a free download on iPads and Android tablets. Apple’s most recent OS X Mountain Lion operating system has built in comparable voice recognition capabilities. To make speech to text easy with the current software, merely insert the curser into any text editor or word processing page or textbox where you want the text to appear and either type or speak it in.
This method can be especially helpful for students doing research for a paper. In the struggle to take notes from research sources, students can mistakenly copy from sources and submit plagiarized papers. As students take notes and document sources, they can dictate information into software like PaperToolsPro to record their notes and bibliography entries as quickly as they can say it. When the output can approximate their thinking process, students can focus on the ideas they are reading and recording, on the connections between what they know and what they have just learned, and on the significance and value of new information—not on their frustration at typing words correctly. As a result, students can produce papers that reflect their best understanding and that avoid plagiarism.
Dictation software levels the learning field for students with certain writing challenges. They now have the potential to express themselves as fluently as other students.
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