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Emma E. Legg Adaptive Technology Center Voice Recognition - Dragon Naturally Speaking - How To
The Dragon Bar The DragonBar is a special toolbar that appears at the top of your screen when you start Dragon NaturallySpeaking® for the first time. When you see the DragonBar, you can use Dragon NaturallySpeaking® to dictate into word processors, e-mail, and other programs. You can change the appearance and behavior of the DragonBar to suit your working style. Click Related Topics below for instructions on how to change the DragonBar's mode. The DragonBar contains the following parts, starting from the left side:
The Dragon icon
Click the icon (or right-click anywhere on the DragonBar) to display a menu that controls how the DragonBar looks and acts on your screen.
The microphone icon and volume display Click the microphone icon to turn the microphone on and off. When the icon is red and horizontal, the microphone is off. When the icon appears green and vertical, the microphone is on and the program is ready for you to dictate. The volume display indicates how well the program is hearing your voice.
The menus The menus on the DragonBar contain the commands you can use while working in Dragon NaturallySpeaking®. Note that some of these commands duplicate functions available from other parts of the DragonBar, for example, playing back dictation.
Message area To the right of the menus is a box where messages display the current status of Dragon NaturallySpeaking®, such as whether or not the microphone is on or off, or the current dictation mode. If you turn off the show messages property on the View tab of the Options dialog box, the tools normally seen only on the Extras toolbar are visible to the right of the menus when the extras toolbar is closed.
Extras toolbar icon Click the icon to display the Extras toolbar, which contains the following features:
Display Correction menu Click to stop playback and correct a mistake.
Playback toolbar Contains the following controls that control the playback of dictation: · Begin playback · Begin Fast Playback · Stop playback · Skip backward a few words · Skip forward a few words
Transcribe a recording button Click this button to open the Transcribe a Recording dialog box , which you use to transcribe recordings of dictation entered on portable recorders.
User Name The name of the current user appears on the Extras toolbar. You can click this name to open the Manage Users dialog box.
Notes · It's not possible to stop playback by voice, because the computer can't hear speech when it's playing back dictation. Unless you have Dragon NaturallySpeaking® Professional, playback is available only during dictation.. After you close a document, Dragon NaturallySpeaking® deletes the recorded dictation for that document.
Getting started with voice recognition:
· Jot down notes from the tutorials. · You can expect to spend 20 to 50 hours training and practicing dictation before this program will truly benefit you · If you are unsure of the value of spending this amount of time, think about your keyboarding skills, your health (is there a physical reason to avoid keyboarding) and your ability to compose text (are you more fluent in text production using voice as opposed to using the keyboard?)
Create your voice profile in 10 minutes or less: · Double click the Dragon NaturallySpeaking icon on the desktop · Follow the directions on screen to dictate your voice profile · Listen and interact with the tutorial · Take a break!!
Students who cannot dictate with ease:
Dragon
NaturallySpeaking is now in its ninth version.
For most users,
It is possible to obtain mastery within 20 to 50
hours of practice and training.
For those users experiencing difficulty with
the program due to accent or fluency, it
is possible to use Dragon NaturallySpeaking discreetly (that is word by word)
for practice and screening.
·
The user could develop a list of vocabulary words which they use commonly
in their
academic or vocational setting ·
1) Controlling the Microphone Go to sleep/Stop listening Wake up/ Listen to me Microphone off/on
2) Controlling Modes Start command mode Stop numbers mode Spell mode off Dictation mode on
3) Getting Help Give me help What can I say
4) Selecting and Correcting Select [word] Select again Select the next five characters Correct [word] Select all Unselect that
5) Handling Spaces and lines New Line New Paragraph Press Enter Press tab key
6) Capitalizing Capitalize that All caps on No caps off
7) Editing and formatting text Cut that Copy that Copy all to clipboard Paste it here
8) Undoing and Deleting Scratch that Delete that Undo that
9) Moving around in your document Move left three words Move down three lines Page up, Page Down Insert before [word] Insert After [word]
10) Handling files Open a new file Save this file Print file Close the window
Continue dictating as usual in Microsoft Word, knowing that some of the menu commands are not voice-activated. Use the help menu in DNS for more information on dictating in Microsoft Word.
Tips for dictating in your word
processor
If you are dictating in a word processor, there are some actions you can take to make Dragon NaturallySpeaking® run faster:
Saving corrected speech files vs. saving speech for future playback corrections:
There is a
difference between saving corrected speech files and saving speech for future
playback corrections.
The latter takes a lot of space. You may turn off this option. Commands which are essential for navigating the Web:
Accessing the links on internet:
In many web sites, some links appear to be text but they are actually images. If saying the text does not activate the link, try saying "Image" and look for numbered images.
You cannot use
voice commands to follow links on server side image maps which are certain
images with multiple hotspots or active elements such as Java applets
The markers and arrows that show selections do not appear secure documents.
Envision a user who is typing a thesis and uses reference material several times within her thesis or within other documents. She wishes to have perhaps 10 keywords which stand and for 30 pages of text which she will not have to dictate by voice or cut-and-paste process by hand by using the Add New Command tool described in the Help Menu.
A user who is computer literate and who intends to do a considerable amount of formatting, should consider moving to dictation within Microsoft Word as soon as possible in order to use formatting tools.
Calculation to see if DNS is right for you:
Here is a
suggestion to see whether or not voice recognition is worthwhile for you. Given that you are medically able to keyboard do the
following.
After
practicing for 20 to 50 hours, (similar to the amount of time needed to learn to
touch type) dictate for 1 minute.
Then use the Word Count command on Microsoft Word to count your wpm. Calculate
your errors.
List your wpm and your errors just as I have done below.
Example By Voice
Dictating the Dragon NaturallySpeaking can be fun
and easy.
They can also be very frustrating depending on how much formatting is
going on. If I'm just dictating
straight text and I have a very clear idea of what I'm going to say (that is,
I'm not locked into any specific tax.
I can probably dictate at about the rate of 75 to 90 wpm.
This time I will tell my dictation and not make any corrections.
However, you can see that most of the Texas correct however there are a
few mistakes that need to be fixed.
This marks the end of my dictation. 104 words dictated in 1 minute 6 errors
Example ManuallyNow using your keyboarding skills, type for 1 minute and calculate your wpm and your errors. Remember this is assuming that you are able to keyboard.
Example: Of the any Dictating with Dragon NaaturallySpeaking can be fun and easy. It cam also be very frustrating depending on how much formatting is going on. If I’m just dictating straight text, and I have a very clear idea of what I’m going to say (that 46 wpm 4 errors
So, you can observe that for me it is definitely faster to dictate than to keyboard. Correcting is time-consuming, considerably more time-consuming by voice than manually correcting text. So that should be added to the equation also when you are deciding about investing time learning voice recognition commands and techniques.
It goes without saying of course, that for persons with mobility disabilities, who cannot for medical reasons keyboard, this program is a wonderful aid. It is perhaps the beginning of true independence.
If Dragon NaturallySpeaking seems to be somewhat slow or inaccurate, try the following:
DNS AND FORMATTING MICROSOFT WORD:
TO ADD A TABLE IN MS WORD
SAY:
CREATE A 3 BY 3 TABLE MOVE DOWN 2 LINES ADD 2 ROWS
PLAY THAT BACK - IF YOU LOOSE YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT BECAUSE A MIS-RECOGNITION OCCURRED EARLIER IN YOUR DICTATION, YOU CAN SELECT A PARAGRAPH AND USE THE PLAY THAT BACK COMMAND TO HEAR WHAT YOU ACTUALLY SAID.
AUDIO IN DRAGONPAD:
REMEMBER WAVE FILES TAKE UP A LOT OF ROOM
MICROPHONE SETTINGS: RED = TOO LOUD YELLOW = PROCESSING GREEN = SPEAKING
Adding words to your training list: Say
·
**Check to see if your dictation is more accurate when you use that word or
command
Computer hardware requirement (minimum)
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