Updated ALL Scotland CCommunication, Access, Literacy and Learning June 2008 Speech Recognition in Schools Using NaturallySpeaking V 9 By Paul Nisbet, Allan Wilson & Fionna Balfour Speech Recognition in Schools: Using NaturallySpeaking Version 9 Paul Nisbet, Allan Wilson & Fionna Balfour Introducing Speech Recognition in Schools Dragon NaturallySpeaking v.9 CALL Scotland Introducing Speech Recognition in Schools: using Dragon NaturallySpeaking 2nd Edition, June 2008 Paul Nisbet, Allan Wilson & Fionna Balfour. ISBN 1 898042 28 0 Published by CALL Scotland, University of Edinburgh, Paterson’s Land, Holyrood Road, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ. © CALL Scotland, The University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright is acknowledged on all company and product names mentioned in this book. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this book, but readers are advised to check details with suppliers prior to purchase. We are grateful to: • the teachers and students who took part in our project and made comments and suggestions about this book; • the Scottish Government, for funding the original project; • staff in local authorities who supported the project; • IANSYST and Words World Wide for technical support; • IBM and Nuance, for permission to print extracts from the training scripts. Thanks to Sheila Siwo and Murray Stewart for permission to use the photograph on the front cover. ii Introducing Speech Recognition in Schools Dragon NaturallySpeaking v.9 CALL Scotland Contents CONTENTS ............................................................................................... III FOREWORD ................................................................................................. I ABOUT THE PACK ......................................................................................... 3 Feedback on the Pack .................................................................................................................. 4 HOW TO USE THE PACK ................................................................................. 5 How long does it take to do the training?.................................................................................. 6 Which students might benefit from using speech recognition? ............................................... 7 Word processing and IT skills .................................................................................................. 8 Motivation ................................................................................................................................. 8 Perseverance and ability to work independently.................................................................... 8 Oral communication.................................................................................................................. 9 Reading and literacy skills ........................................................................................................ 9 What support is needed? ...........................................................................................................10 What do students use speech recognition for? .......................................................................12 Can young children use speech recognition? ...........................................................................12 What happens if a student’s voice changes? ...........................................................................13 Can the program understand strong local accents? ................................................................13 Will using speech recognition make students lazy and less able to write or type? ..............13 Which speech recognition program is best?.............................................................................14 Windows ..................................................................................................................................14 MacOS......................................................................................................................................15 Where should I buy a speech recognition program? ................................................................15 What sort of computer is needed? ...........................................................................................15 Can the program work on a networked computer? .................................................................16 Microphones and Soundcards ....................................................................................................16 Do you REALLY want to do this? ..............................................................................................17 TEACHER’S TUTORIAL ................................................................................. 19 TEACHER’S TUTORIAL ................................................................................. 21 You will need: ..............................................................................................................................21 In this tutorial you will learn how to:.........................................................................................21 Install the program .................................................................................................................22 Get started..............................................................................................................................22 Train Dragon NaturallySpeaking.............................................................................................24 Set up user options ................................................................................................................25 Open Dragon Pad....................................................................................................................26 Dictate some text...................................................................................................................26 Correct errors with PlayBack and Computer Speech ...........................................................27 Voice commands ....................................................................................................................28 Add new words to the dictionary..........................................................................................29 Try an example .......................................................................................................................31 Check accuracy.......................................................................................................................31 Finish .......................................................................................................................................31 After the training session and before the first session with the student you should:..........32 STUDENT SESSIONS .................................................................................... 33 SESSION 1 TRAIN THE PROGRAM ................................................................ 35 In Session 1 the student will learn to:.......................................................................................35 Before the student arrives:....................................................................................................35 iii Introducing Speech Recognition in Schools Dragon NaturallySpeaking v.9 CALL Scotland Connect the microphone............................................................................................................35 Start NaturallySpeaking..............................................................................................................35 Demonstrate NaturallySpeaking ................................................................................................35 Create a new user speech file....................................................................................................36 Microphone and Audio Setup.....................................................................................................37 Adjust the microphone volume .............................................................................................37 Check audio quality ................................................................................................................38 Train NaturallySpeaking to recognise the user’s voice ............................................................39 Helping the student get through training.............................................................................39 Finish............................................................................................................................................41 Talking to Your Computer training text ....................................................................................42 SESSION 2 DICTATE AND CORRECT ............................................................ 45 In Session 2 the student will learn to:.......................................................................................45 Review .........................................................................................................................................45 Start NaturallySpeaking..............................................................................................................45 Set up the NaturallySpeaking Options ......................................................................................46