Speech to Text Overview

     Typing with speed and accuracy is a valuable skill that many people struggle to master. Some lack hand eye coordination, others may have arthritic joints or visual impairments that prevent them from being efficient typists. Luckily with advancements in technology there exist programs that allow the computer to translate your speech and verbal cues into written documents. Several types of these programs exist but one in particular, Dragon Naturally Speaking, seems to have the best accuracy and ease of use.

                                        The user installs the software, read the directions, hooks up the microphone headset and talks. Your speech is recorded as text directly into the word processing program of your choice. Different versions are available at different price ranges. The most basic programs translate only the words spoken and you are later required to add in punctuation. There are some more advanced types of this application that will add in punctuation and text alterations as you state your need into the mic. The accuracy in dictation of such programs is 90%/ 99% on average.

Learn more and investigate Speech to Text: The following are links to sites about the technology, it's applications, and how to attain it for use in your lessons.

http://www.nuance.com/talk/

http://atmac.org/speech-to-text-dictation-software-for-os-x

http://www.pcworld.com/article/138262/from_speech_to_text.html

http://www.brothersoft.com/downloads/speech-to-text.html

http://gazette.jhu.edu/2010/09/20/frederick-jelinek-77-pioneer-in-speech-and-text-understanding-technology/

Speech to Text Documenting History                 

     Primary sources can be some of the most enriching means of acquiring knowledge of the past. Having the ability to speak with a person directly who experienced a historical event can bring the past to vivid life for a learner. Of course such opportunities are not always readily available. While listening to a speaker is often an engaging and entertaining experience there is much information that can fall through the cracks of one’s memory after their voice falls silent. This is where Speech to Text can play a vital role in the preservation and documentation of history. As a presenter speaks or an interview is conducted they can speak into a speech to text application and an instant transcript is produced. This will allow students to investigate what they said for further study, provide accurate quotes, and allow a onetime speech or dialogue to be shared with many others for years to come. This application makes documentation and preservation of personal reflections an attainable goal.

Speech to Text History project    

      Connections and relevance are very important for engaging learners in the study of history. A speech to text application would facilitate students in undertaking a project documenting their family history. Their family members being an easily accessible resource could participate in interviews using the speech to text program. The student would then have a variety of primary documents with which to construct a detailed and insightful personal history. This would be great as a class project to show students exactly how the past influences their lives. Having the interviews documented will allow them to more thoroughly evaluate and notice the important and enriching elements of each interview.

This will also be a great lesson on historical perspectives as most students will probably hear different variations on the same stories from different relatives. With concrete documents in hand after the project is completed Speech to Text could encourage them to start a hobby of genealogy or develop an interest in public history.

Self Monitoring with Speech to Text                      

     Learning how to participate in a debate incorporating data and historical evidence can be quite a challenge for some students. Often, it is easy to get distracted by a point you are working towards in an argument and forget the importance of the information and support one delivers while getting there.

     Students can practice conducting debates with speech to text. First they each record their individual arguments and rebuttals into the tool. Next each student is given a rubric that specifies what topics need to be addressed, proper grammar, and flow of the speech. Certain words and verbal cues are specified as harmful to the quality of the debate, (UHHH... Like... OK, used repetitiously). With the transcript of what each person said they can go through the rubric and gauge the quality and effectiveness of their own argument and adjust it so it sounds more clear and professional.

     TEACHER APPLICATION: As a teacher a significant amount of time is spent talking and it is not always easy to pay attention to exactly what you are saying. You may complete a lecture and feel confident that it was informative and engaging but when you ask for suggestions you may be suprised to find that the audience thought you focused too much on a couple of minor details or certain aspects were too brief.

     When conducting a lecture particularly on a new subject, Speech to Text can be useful for you to record the lecture and break it down into specific categories of information. You can take the different parts of the lecture and compare them to the standards and objectives the lesson is trying to meet. With the content you presented in black and white it can be much easier to effectively add or subtract portions of the lecture to provide for the maximum educational benefit for all your students. Monitoring yourself will make you a better teacher and technological tools such as Speech to Text can facilitate this.

    Applications for Adaptations             

     Many students struggle with both listening and writing for a variety of reasons. History class is a prime example of a place where both these activities occur frequently. It is common for history teachers to use lecture as a common method of delivery for a lesson. It is equally as common for a student to be distracted or disengaged while this is occuring. Learners with linguistic challenges, auditory difficulties or even ADD can have many difficulties meeting their full potential from this kind of instruction. Speech to Text will allow the teacher to provide them with transcripts of the lecture ensuring that they have access to some valuable points that they may have missed during class.

     This technology can be a huge time saver for students with poor motor skills. It allows them to speak the content they want to put in to answering a question in a fraction of the time it would have taken them to write and allows them to keep up with their peers in the learning process. Saving time in this way will allow the students to put more thought and effort into the content of their ideas and sacrifice less actual learning time to mechanical functions. 

Further Educational Applications: The following are links to sites that implement the Speech to text technology for other educational uses.

http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/2010/05/15/its-free-its-ipadio-cell-phones-phlogs-speech-to-text-geotagging/

http://www.suite101.com/content/technology-for-hearing-impaired-a16539

http://web.utk.edu/~bobannon/preparing/chapter6.shtml

http://mconn.doe.state.la.us/lessonplans.php?task=LP_view&lesson_id=1502&dispPage=3

http://www.brianne-thompson.com/eportfolio/my_pages/541_Final/assist_tech.html