Hi,
I have some experience with Dragon Naturally Speaking, wanted to add a
couple things to what Terry said. If a person can use the keyboard but has
never learned touch typing and now has a visual impairment, they have a
couple of choices. First they could bite the bullet and learn touch typing,
and actually it doesn't hurt even if a person is going to use Dragon that
they have at least some knowledge of the keyboard, as using Dragon
effectively does take significant time and effort and practice; the user
actually trains the computer to recognize his/her voice. Some people seem to
think using Dragon is just going to be a matter of loading the program and
start talking-wow how easy that would be, but that's usually not the case It
depends on the person too, as some people have to do alot of training with
Dragon in order to get it to work at all fluently, as there is something
about their voice that Dragon has a harder time with, although it may still
be able to learn to recognize their voice. Other people seem to have an
easier time of it, although you still must learn the commands for moving
through menus, making corrections etc, that the computer recognizes, you
can't just give commands any old way. Recently I tried using Dragon
naturally speaking(DNS) professional version with a Screen magnification
program, Zoomtext, and it seemed to work alright, although I needed to load
Dragon first, then Zoomtext. If the person is going to use Dragon with the
screenreader JAWS, my understanding is that you must use it with DNS
Professional, and that this requires a third program called Jawbone to get
them all to work together properly. This can take significant tweaking by a
Assistive Technology Technician, so if the person does not have access to a
person with this experience it might not work out so well. If you have a
blindness agency that is familiar with combining Dragon with JAWS and has
the Staff to do that, or even if the person just needs a Staff person to
help them get Dragon trained you could check into that. Again, sometimes,
as Terry says, if it's just something that a person would like to have but
doesn't really need, they should ask themselves the following before going
and buying Dragon:
1) What version of Dragon do I need to work with my computer and with which
Screen Mag/screenreader; also do I need any other software(like Jawbone)?
2) What will everything I need cost, and am I willing and able to pay that?
3)What kind of time am I willing to put in if Dragon takes a long time for
me to train?
4) Is there an agency that has Dragon that would let me try it on their
machine before purchasing and that would help me with the training process?
Just some thoughts, hope they help.
Patty Arnold
Arizona Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired
>
> It is true that the premiere speech to text or voice recognition software is
> Dragon naturally speaking. However unless a blind person has another
> disability that limits their ability to use a keyboard be it standard or
> specialized keyboard, voice recognition is not a practical alternative.
> First the training portion is displayed on the screen, though there are work
> arounds to this problem. Second, as you speak into the microphone your words
> are displayed on the screen so you can make any corrections. Of course it is
> important to make these corrections using the voice recognition since this
> is in effect continued training for the software to improve the accuracy
> rate. From what I've seen and read that even if a blind person uses sticky
> keys or a one-handed keyboard, they are more proficient then with voice
> recognition.
>
>
>
> Terri Hedgpeth
> Student Support Specialist Sr.
> Disability Resources for Students
> Matthews Center box 87-3202
> Arizona State University
> (480) 965-1232 (v)
> (480) 965-0441 (fax)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 6:19 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Text-To-Speech and Speech-To-Text Software
>
> --part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
>
> Mary and all
>
> According to a technology consultant at our local Dept of Services for the
> Blind, the top product of the type you are looking for is Dragon Naturally
> Speaking, available through the website below. I have no experience with it,
> but
> the website mentions that is it heavily used in fields such as medicine and
> law
> that involve a lot of transcription.--I actually want to try it.
>
> <A HREF="http://www.ngtvoice.com/">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A>
>
> I know someone else who uses two other products whose names I do not
> remember. His wife says both are idiosyncratic.
>
> Best
>
> Dorene Cornwell
>
> --part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary
> Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
>
> <HTML><FONT FACE=3Darial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3D3 FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF"
> FACE=
> =3D"Arial" LANG=3D"0">Mary and all<BR>
> <BR>
> According to a technology consultant at our local Dept of Services for the
> B=
> lind, the top product of the type you are looking for is Dragon Naturally
> Sp=
> eaking, available through the website below. I have no experience with it,
> b=
> ut the website mentions that is it heavily used in fields such as medicine
> a=
> nd law that involve a lot of transcription.--I actually want to try it.<BR>
> <BR>
> <A HREF=3D"http://www.ngtvoice.com/">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A><BR>
> <BR>
> I know someone else who uses two other products whose names I do not
> remembe=
> r. His wife says both are idiosyncratic.<BR>
> <BR>
> Best<BR>
> <BR>
> Dorene Cornwell</FONT></HTML>
>
> --part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary--
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
> To join or leave the list, send a message to
> [log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
> "subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
> VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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>
> --Boundary_(ID_BBgu4Mg26gWT0HUuRCnpzg)
> Content-type: text/html
> Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable
>
> <!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
> <HTML>
> <HEAD>
> <META HTTP-EQUIV=3D"Content-Type" CONTENT=3D"text/html; =
> charset=3Dus-ascii">
> <META NAME=3D"Generator" CONTENT=3D"MS Exchange Server version =
> 5.5.2655.35">
> <TITLE>RE: Text-To-Speech and Speech-To-Text Software</TITLE>
> </HEAD>
> <BODY>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>It is true that the premiere speech to text or voice =
> recognition software is Dragon naturally speaking. However unless a =
> blind person has another disability that limits their ability to use a =
> keyboard be it standard or specialized keyboard, voice recognition is =
> not a practical alternative. First the training portion is displayed on =
> the screen, though there are work arounds to this problem. Second, as =
> you speak into the microphone your words are displayed on the screen so =
> you can make any corrections. Of course it is important to make these =
> corrections using the voice recognition since this is in effect =
> continued training for the software to improve the accuracy rate. From =
> what I've seen and read that even if a blind person uses sticky keys or =
> a one-handed keyboard, they are more proficient then with voice =
> recognition.</FONT></P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2> </FONT>
> </P>
> <BR>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Terri Hedgpeth</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Student Support Specialist Sr.</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Disability Resources for Students</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Matthews Center box 87-3202</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Arizona State University</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>(480) 965-1232 (v)</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>(480) 965-0441 (fax)</FONT>
> </P>
> <BR>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>-----Original Message-----</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>From: [log in to unmask] [<A =
> HREF=3D"mailto:[log in to unmask]">mailto:[log in to unmask]</A>] </FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Sent: Sunday, August 31, 2003 6:19 AM</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>To: [log in to unmask]</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Subject: Re: Text-To-Speech and Speech-To-Text =
> Software</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>--part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Content-Type: text/plain; =
> charset=3D"US-ASCII"</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Mary and all</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>According to a technology consultant at our local =
> Dept of Services for the</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Blind, the top product of the type you are looking =
> for is Dragon Naturally</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Speaking, available through the website below. I =
> have no experience with it, but</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>the website mentions that is it heavily used in =
> fields such as medicine and law</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>that involve a lot of transcription.--I actually =
> want to try it.</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2><A HREF=3D"<A =
> HREF=3D"http://www.ngtvoice.com/" =
> TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A>"><A =
> HREF=3D"http://www.ngtvoice.com/" =
> TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A></A></FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>I know someone else who uses two other products whose =
> names I do not</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>remember. His wife says both are =
> idiosyncratic.</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Best</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dorene Cornwell</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>--part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Content-Type: text/html; =
> charset=3D"US-ASCII"</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable</FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2><HTML><FONT =
> FACE=3D3Darial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=3D3D3 =
> FAMILY=3D3D"SANSSERIF" FACE=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>=3D3D"Arial" =
> LANG=3D3D"0">Mary and all<BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>According to a technology consultant at our local =
> Dept of Services for the B=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>lind, the top product of the type you are looking =
> for is Dragon Naturally Sp=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>eaking, available through the website below. I have =
> no experience with it, b=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>ut the website mentions that is it heavily used in =
> fields such as medicine a=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>nd law that involve a lot of transcription.--I =
> actually want to try it.<BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><A HREF=3D3D"<A =
> HREF=3D"http://www.ngtvoice.com/" =
> TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A>"><A =
> HREF=3D"http://www.ngtvoice.com/" =
> TARGET=3D"_blank">http://www.ngtvoice.com/</A></A><BR></FONT=
>>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>I know someone else who uses two other products =
> whose names I do not remembe=3D</FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>r. His wife says both are =
> idiosyncratic.<BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Best<BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2><BR></FONT>
> <BR><FONT SIZE=3D2>Dorene Cornwell</FONT></HTML></FONT>
> </P>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>--part1_12a.30a48de6.2c834fa6_boundary--</FONT>
> </P>
> <BR>
>
> <P><FONT SIZE=3D2>VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group =
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>
> </BODY>
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>
> --Boundary_(ID_BBgu4Mg26gWT0HUuRCnpzg)--
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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>
VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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