Dragon
Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a program that was designed to run a computer solely by speech recognition. It enables communication with the computer using voice instead of typing or using the mouse. Dragon NaturallySpeaking relies on two large sources of data: acoustic data and language data. This just means that this program has two ways of going about recognizing your speech, improving accuracy.
Tips for Talking to the Computer
- Speak naturally and continuously, but pronounce each word clearly.
- Avoid leaving out words and making extra sounds ("um", etc.).
- Speak at your normal pace. Don't slow down or speak too quickly.
- Speak in phrases, rather than one word at a time.
- Speak at your normal volume. Don't whisper or speak too loudly.
- Prevent vocal strain by taking occasional breaks from speaking and drinking plenty of water during dictation.
It's Getting All My Words Wrong!
There are ways to improve the accuracy of the speech recognition. If the program is not recognizing what you say to your satisfaction, you can do extra training by reading the text excerpts for longer periods of time.
Training the Computer
If the program continuously gets words wrong, you can train it to understand how you say that word so that in the future it will be interpreted correctly. You can also add words that are not in the dictionary and train the program to understand that word. (This works especially well for slang.)
Other Things You Can Do With Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Open a web browser. Make the computer read your dictation back you. Almost anything you can do with a mouse or a keyboard, you can do by voice with this program. However, some things are still easier to do with the mouse and keyboard, if you have that capability.
Create Your Own Commands
With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can create your own commands. For example, you can teach the computer to insert your mailing address when you say "Type my address." You can also make these commands active everywhere, or only in certain programs or windows.
Location
Dragon NaturallySpeaking can be found in the Library Study Rooms 131A and 131B, which can both be reserved by visiting https://libcal.rose.edu/spaces?lid=1053 or by visiting the Library Ask Here desk in the LRC.
Contact
For demonstrations, training, or assistance with any other questions about this technology or other accessibility services, please contact Student Access Services by calling (405)733-7373, emailing StudentAccessServices@rose.edu, or visiting the office located in the Learning Resource Center, Room 106.
