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9 Curriculum Resources for Speech Recognition Instructors

1. College Course Outlines, 2. National NBEA Standards and Guidelines, 3. State Guidelines, 4. NBEA Forum Articles, 5. Research, 6. Textbooks & Nifty 50 Training Manuals, 7. SWEP Instructor Guide, 8. Speaking Solutions Resources & Instructor Methods Training Course CD, 9. Assessment Support.

BLACK HAWK COLLEGE: An innovative course was created by Paula Luft at Black Hawk College. The course is designed to teach data-entry skills, keyboarding, 10-key, voice recognition, handwriting recognition, and PDA synchronization. The syllabus has projects, evaluation sheets, schedule sheets, and a well-thought-out grading system. This is an extremely comprehensive look at what they are teaching at Black Hawk -- so be prepared to wait a few minutes for everything to download. But the wait is well worth it.

BE 110 Data Entry Applications (Syllabus)

UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE: Take a look at this syllabus and the accompanying class schedule from Diane Hartman at Utah Valley State College describing their college-level Digital Communication Tools (DigiTools) 1-semester credit course. According to Diane: "The course is required in the Certificate in Administrative Support (2-year), AAS in Administrative Information Support (2-year), BS in Administrative Information Management (4-year), and BS in Business/Marketing Education (4-year) degrees." Students walk out of the course prepared to use all the major forms of input technologies effectively. The program has been so successful that they are expanding to a 2-semester credit course which will allow them to integrate more advanced voice-writing techniques, Tablet PC, PDA, OneNote, and handwriting recognition elements into the curriculum.

To download copies, choose these links:

CONCURRENT CREDIT
But there's more. The UVSC business team feels so strongly about student preparation that they are working with local high schools to offer a concurrent enrollment credit course based

2. NATIONAL NBEA STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES

These teachers have something in common; they are all advocates of NBEA and are going through the process of implementing new national guidelines. During the intervening years since Anaheim, the NBEA has continued to move our profession foreword. First, it added speech and handwriting recognition to its national standards. (You can obtain a copy from www.NBEA.org. Turn to page 85.) Second, at the NBEA conference in Dallas, 2003, a joint Policy Statement, number 73, was released asking that all students and teachers learn these new input technologies. It is the strongest statement yet of the direction our profession has taken in the area of input technologies. (Visit www.NBEA.org/curfpolicy.html. Choose Policy Statement Number 73.) Third, NBEA sponsors training in new input technologies at its national and regional conferences. Fourth, NBEA publishes articles about these new technologies. (See 5 NBEA Forum Articles.)

Many states have already taken the national guidelines to heart. One of the best sources for information on what to teach can be found in the state standards that have emerged over the past two years. We update a list of as many revised state standards as we can at www.speakingsolutions.com/news/standards.htm. Look for the article called, "Changing Input Standards." These documents can prove invaluable in your planning.

The NBEA Forum continues to provide insight on how to teach speech and handwriting recognition. Here are articles to consider from past issues:

Smith, Vincent W. "The Managers Use of Speech Recognition: Updating the Management Curriculum." Forum. February 2004. (A fun article that pushes the envelope and the many directions in which speech recognition can be taken.)

Bailey, Glenn and Haynes, Thomas. "Voice-recognition Technology in Business Methods Courses." Forum, December 2003. (A great look at what a one-hour awareness and introduction session can reveal.)

Szul, Linda F. and Boulder, Michelle. "Speech Recognition: Its Place in Business Education." Forum. February 2003. (A pivotal article linking speech to injury prevention and providing five key tips for success.)

Barksdale, Karl. "Speech Recognition: How Do We Teach It?" Forum. February 2002. (Article outlining the reasons to teach speech and providing six tips for success.)

Dr. Judy A. Grotrian studied the implementation of speech recognition in Nebraska. She prepared an excellent description Nebraska's experience. A summary article can be found at www.speakingsolutions.com/news/art19.htm. And a new version has now been published in the South-Western Educational Publishing Balance Sheet! (Visit balancesheet.swlearning.com/0304/0304d.html.)

Another important study by Margaret J. Erthal and Martha H. Rader is in its final phases. The study identifies performance standards and assessment methods used in teaching speech recognition. This is bound to be a pivotal study in the development of these new technologies.

We're looking forward to other studies, including one from Alaska about teaching Dragon NaturallySpeaking to elementary students!

Do you know of any other studies that we should be talking about? If so, send the information to info@speakingsolutions.com.

In the early days of speech recognition, textbook options were somewhat limited. Now it appears that everyone is getting into the speech and handwriting recognition act. Publishers have seen the changes in national, state, and local guidelines and are responding to this new demand.

Naturally, given publishing cycles, there is a lag time -- sometimes up to two years -- before many of these new titles can make it to print. However, as publishers adapt to changing standards and guidelines, look for sidebar items listing voice commands in some Office textbooks, appendices which can help get students started, and new speech-focused books. A few years from now, exciting new support materials will abound.

The Nifty 50, 58 and 59 training manuals are available only through Speaking Solutions, Inc.and are highly recommended by teachers at all grade levels. Visit our list of books and training manuals at www.speakingsolutions.com/books.

Don't forget some of the tips and resources available at www.speakingsolutions.com/books. Also, Speaking Solutions has compiled its instructor manual and many other files it uses for training sessions and placed them on a CD for easy access. This is given free to teachers who participate in a one or two-day training session. It features a special Nifty Fifty Skills Checklist and additional assessment strategies. See the training schedule at www.speakingsolutions.com/training.

South-Western Educational Publishing has a delightful instructor guide that can also be of value as you prepare your curriculum. This guide outlines such things as whisper coaching, organization of the room, and assessment procedures. Contact your SWEP representative and ask for "Instructor Manual, Speech Recognition for the Office Professional," ISBN 0-538-72373-4.

The assessment of speech recognition skills is now taking center stage. As mentioned earlier, an important study by Erthal and Rader will be finalized shortly. Also, to assist in assessment, Speaking Solutions prepared a 50 question assessment to complement the Nifty 50 training manual. It has been well received. If you haven't yet downloaded a copy, visit www.speakingsolutions.com/books/resources/.