FREE seminar on Speech Recognition 2nd June 2016

Posted by Shirley Lawson on the 15th March, 2016

On 02 June we are holding a free half day seminar here at Moray House to bring participants of the Talking in Exams project together to share their experiences of using the software in school.

This is a great chance for anyone who is keen to use the software with pupils in their school to come along and learn from those who have trialled it.  It will be especially useful for those exploring alternative IT solutions for pupils who are not achieving their true potential because their difficulties with handwriting or word processing are a barrier to their learning.

The Talking in Exams project has been running for a year now and over that time period 28 schools across Scotland have trailed the use of Dragon Naturally Speaking software with a variety of different pupils with a range of additional support needs.  We will hear on the day from some of these pupils and find out first hand what their experience was.  This will be a great way to piece together the full story of the potential of the software versus the reality of its use in schools – logistically, practically and realistically.

The handwriting of a fourteen year old boy.  How will he be able to be assessed in a literacy unit?

A scribe is not allowed when writing skills are being assessed in SQA National Literacy units.  The use of voice activated software is permitted

We will hear from a representative from the SQA on assessment arrangements and the use of ICT for disabled learners and/or those with additional support needs, focussing specifically on the use of speech recognition software and how that would work in an exam setting.

The project focussed on Dragon Naturally Speaking version 13, an installed piece of software that can have separate profiles set up so it can be used by multiple pupils and it requires no internet connection to work. We will look at the various alternative options to Dragon ; some readily available and free (e.g. Siri, Google Voice typing) but requiring wifi and other software such as Word Q/ Speak Q.  David Baxter-Williams from Assistive IT Solutions will demo the speech recognition plug in SpeakQ and we can discuss the pros and cons of different types of software and apps on various devices.

 
Sign up for the seminar – it’s free but you have to register.  See you there! 

For more information on speech recognition software, go to our Information Page on the CALL Scotland website.