Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.1

Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.1
I would like to introduce you to an innovative way of using Dragon Naturally Speaking 10.1. Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech to text program that is a great tool to use in the 21st century classroom. The latest version of this program has Bluetooth capability that will allow the user freedom to move around a classroom without the limitation of a wire.
How do we use this tool in the 21st century classroom? All you need is a computer, a Bluetooth microphone and a data projector. Next, you take the microphone away from the student and give it to the teacher. Educators have struggled with locating electronic materials in order to support the diverse learning needs of their students. However, what do we do with discussions and instructions that occur in a classroom?
The average professional typist can type between 50-70 words per minute. The average person can hand write between 22 and 31 words per minute. What is important to remember is that the average person speaks at an average speed of 150-160 words per minute. It is evident how much is lost when trying to listen and take notes the same time. Some solutions that we have used in the past was have the highest functioning student in the class take notes for your lower functioning students, but the higher functioning students level of comprehension and interpretation may not be the same as the lower functioning student. Another technique is when the teacher hands out the notes prior to the class, but the rich discussions that occur in class are lost or if the class moves into another direction away from the notes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Words_per_minute)
When the teacher is wearing the Bluetooth, everything he or she expresses is projected onto a screen. This allows the students to actually focus on the instruction and or participate in the discussion. If a student asks a question or makes a statement, the teacher can paraphrase the question or statement so that is will appear in the electronic notes. The advantage of this is that the students now have a record of what their peers have discussed. Once the lesson is done, the teacher can assign a student to reread the notes and correct any errors and then the notes can be posted onto a common drive, blog or wiki so the students can access them.
Once they have accessed the notes, the students can now use the electronic text with the variety of Assistive Technology Software that will support their individual needs. The students are able to use text readers, translators, electronic dictionaries, MP3 converters, highlight, and extract software.
Mario Addesa Dec. 2009