Speech to Text and Some Interesting Videos

Google Read and Write

Today we looked at the features on Google Read and Write. If you go on their website and put in the search engine, “ free for teachers”, you can sign up for a year subscription. Most school boards in Nova Scotia have access to the group discount price, but you have to put in a request to have the extension added for certain students. This extension would be great for many students but it is still too costly to purchase for all students, so it is usually given priority to students with a learning disability diagnosis. We have to be careful though, because one of the features is speech to text, and we should not make the assumption that all students can use speech to text successfully. More often than not, teachers assume this can be a quick fix for a student struggling with the writing process. Students need certain skills to use speech to text successfully, and we cannot make the assumption that students just have to talk to the computer. Students need consistency in enunciation, volume and pitch. The ability to inhibit “ums” and ahhs”. Students should have the  ability to express ideas verbally, have attention to auditory and visual details, the ability to multitask, edit and problem solve. Students also need to self monitor and regulate their emotions and they should have motivation to use technology. Some of the skills can be taught but for some students speech to text is not the best fit.

All of the features on Google Read and Write were user friendly. There are similar features for Google docs, PDF and browsing the web, with a few differences on each of these platforms. The picture dictionary lets you highlight words you don’t know and then a definition using pictures is created. This is a good option for younger students with simple words, it would not be as user friendly for higher grades with more difficult words because it would be hard to interpret the picture. There is also a vocabulary list which gives you a definition and picture in table form. This would be helpful for the older students who may have difficulty with some of text. It gives them a quick simple table. The speech to text option works well but students need to be taught how to annotate. They need to speak clearly and put in grammar. The voice is quite clear and easy to understand, so students cannot complain of a robotic voice. You can also have text read to you from the three platforms mentioned. You can even highlight small sections and have just that part read to you. This would be great for students who struggle with attention issues. You can leave annotated notes on a document for students who may need detailed direction on an assignment. This feature lets students review your comments at their leisure. They could also use it in collaboration with a partner on a group assignment. The word prediction feature works well and you can change the number of words that come up in the settings. This would be great for students who may be overwhelmed with a large number of words on a list. As mentioned, Google Read and Write is very user friendly and students could be become quite efficient after a couple of times using it.

Videos Showing Amazing Accomplishments 

This video shows how you can use a computer with a head mouse. You do not need to use of your hands to get the computer to communicate for you. This man is able to live by himself because of the ability to communicate through the computer. He says his life would be completely different if it wasn't for the computer.

This little girl named Ruby uses Proloquo2Go.It has given her a voice and people that work with her say there has been a dramatic decrease in aggressive behaviour because she no longer gets frustrated because she has a tool to communicate with.

This video shows a product that translates sign language. This opens up a world of communication for those who use sign language and those who do not. People who sign can now communicate with everyone using this product. Amazing!

How a father with ALS communicates with his son. Incredible and get out the kleenex. :)

Video showing how the Neuroswitch works. This is the technology used by the father in the previous video. Life changing!

Inspiring video. This young women talks about her struggles in school having a learning disability and how assertive technology changed all that. 

This video shows how a person visually impaired uses the computer. He has his own You Tube channel.