When Teaching Speech Becomes Obvious...

Controversy has always swirled around the teaching of speech recognition - until recently. Since 2004, Dragon NaturallySpeaking has been such a superb product that only the uninitiated remain unconvinced. And now, with the upcoming release of Windows Vista speech recognition, we are crossing into uncharted territory. We must now seriously consider how to teach every student in every school how to use speech and handwriting input tools. As we face this daunting new reality, it's reassuring to review a little history.

A Lesson from the History of Windows

We just passed a major milestone -- the 20th anniversary of Windows, Microsoft's OS with its now familiar Graphical User Interface (GUI).  First released in November of 1985, it's often forgotten that in the late 1980s Windows was very controversial.  There were those that championed DOS forever.  (Remember Michael Miller's book Real Men Use DOS and Dan Gookin’s DOS for Dummies which helped launch the Dummies book phenomenon?)

Apple produced the first GUI OS several years earlier, first for the Lisa and then for the Macintosh computers.  At the time, many dismissed the Macintosh with its mousy appendage as a mere curiosity - even a toy.  The Macintosh captured a sizable market, but Apple chose to keep its GUI OS proprietary, a decision widely considered one of the biggest blunders in computer history.  The door was left wide open for Microsoft Windows, which exceeded all possible expectations.  Between 1985 and 1995 Windows grew from ridicule and obscurity into the most popular OS in history.

On the 20th anniversary of Windows, Bill Gates was asked point-blank if he felt vindicated for staunchly supporting his Windows GUI OS during the controversial years.  His reply was instructive:

The funny thing about controversy in the computer industry is, there's a period when things are controversial, and then a period when they are obvious.  You never get your moment where people say, "Oh, you were right."  It went from "Windows is a joke -- who needs it?  It's slow" to "Well, of course we’re using Windows.  Are you kidding me?  Let's move onto the next topic." (Michael J. Miller. Q&A with Bill Gates, PC Magazine.  November 8, 2005.  Page 122.)

In some states, the shift from controversial to obvious is rapidly occurring for speech recognition, handwriting recognition, tablet PCs, pen-abled applications like OneNote, and the other new DigiTools made possible by the input technologies evolution.  And when this happens, what are the next topics? There are three:

IMPLEMENTATION: THE INDIANA WAY

Indiana is the sixth state in the country to implement new, state-wide course standards encouraging a variety of input technologies and digital communications skills.  Indiana provides a case study of how to implement dramatic change in a sensible and timely manner:

1) Indiana started piloting speech recognition in 2000 and added new technologies as they became available.
 
2) Indiana began regular in-service training the very next year. 

3) In 2004 they felt the time was right, organized their curriculum committee, and created a new course called Digital Communication Tools or DCT (Code #4524).  (Note: I particularly like how Indiana tied their new input technology skills to communications and language arts standards.  Additionally, Indiana was the first state I know of to make "Electronic Notetaking" (DCT 7) an integral part of their DCT course.)

4) The new standards were made available to teachers for input for more than a year.  During that time, Indiana teachers piloted curriculum, tested lessons, and learned how best to teach this new course.  This piloting provided Indiana with a valuable feedback loop in order to make refinements.
 
5) Inservice continues as the fall of 2006 approaches and DCT moves forward across the state. 

Read the Indiana standards in PDF format by visiting:
www.doe.state.in.us/octe/bme/curriculum/pdf/DigitalCommunicationTools.pdf

Read about all six states that have revised their standards at: www.speakingsolutions.com/news/standards.asp.

MANY MORE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES: BUT WE ARE READY FOR IT!

As we travel around the country, we are pleased to meet with Business Education instructors who have been teaching Dragon NaturallySpeaking for several semesters, or even several years! We now have expertise in the field - Business Educators who know exactly what they are doing and that execute excellent speech recognition programs semester after semester. More importantly, they can help others reach their level of expertise.

And each of these experts can tell you that speech recognition is NOT an easy thing to teach at first, so such a major change can't happen overnight, and it can't happen without training other instructors.  Fortunately, between 10,000-20,000 Business Education, Special Education, and other IT instructors have been trained in the past six years in speech recognition and how to teach it.  And while some states and provinces are more prepared than others, generally we are ready for the training onslaught!  (Visit www.SpeakingSolutions.com/training)

BETTER CURRICULUM

What's lacking is a more diversified range of curriculum options.  Without age-appropriate curriculum, students will become frustrated and not learn how to use the technologies effectively.  Without helpful instructional materials, they will default back to the inefficient skills of an earlier age.

To raise the curriculum bar for speech, we doubled the exercises from the old DNS Nifty 50 and produced the DNS 8 Nifty 58.  The manual has 58 "teacher guide" discussions for instructors on how the technology works, and 108 student voice-on exercises. The 108 exercises are divided into beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.  And we give this book away free with licenses of seven or more for DNS 8.

But we still haven't done enough.  Here's our projected plan:

1.  We're working on a Medical and Legal advanced supplements to the Nifty 58.  (If you have an interest in these materials in the spring, e-mail info@speakingsolutions.com.)

2.  We have also redesigned our web site with the aim of making it easier to access additional lessons to support and expand the speech curriculum.  For example, visit the new Dragon NaturallySpeaking resources at www.SpeakingSolutions.com/speech and choose to Dragon link. after you reach the new page, choose the Teaching Resources link.

3.  We will have a new Nifty series training manual for Microsoft Windows Vista speech recognition as soon as it hits the market.  (If you have an interest in these materials in the spring, e-mail info@speakingsolutions.com. Read more about Windows Vista SR at www.SpeakingSolutions.com/speech and choosing the Windows Vista SR link.)

4.  We will be working on an elementary/middle school Nifty training book in the summer. (If you have an interest in these materials in the summer, e-mail info@speakingsolutions.com.)

5.  In our tips this month, we will get into some are very specific, nuanced "advanced" tips that you may find helpful for your speech units.  Currently, the focus is on Dragon.  Upon the release of Windows Vista, all tips will support both platforms. To see what we mean, visit the new Dragon Nifty 58 support page at: www.speakingsolutions.com/resources/resourcesdns8.asp.

6.  South-Western Educational Publishing/Thomson has been very active in preparing texts and materials that include excellent coverage of all the input technologies: keyboarding, handwriting recognition, speech recognition, scanning and other inputs.  Read more at www.SpeakingSolutions.com/books.  Titles include: