Rett Erickson has typed thousands of pages during his 20-year career. The vice president of a bank in Northern California, he typed those pages
o…n…e
l…e…t…t…e…r
a…t
a
t…i…m…e.
A high-level quadriplegic, Erickson tapped the letters of a keyboard using a mouthstick—a 24-inch-long aluminum tool held securely with his molars. His typing speed during a productive short session was 12 to 15 words a minute.
Erickson had a spinal cord injury during high school and has used a wheelchair for 39 years. Sitting in the wheelchair for extended periods of time has caused pressure issues—forcing him to spend less time in the wheelchair and reducing the amount of hours he was able to be at the bank.
Erickson purchased Dragon Naturally Speaking—a speech recognition software program that types when the user talks and allows one to navigate between Windows programs using the voice.
The ability to dictate hands-free has given Erickson job security and “keeps my employer happy.”
(Erickson was so impressed with the product that he entered a contest sponsored by Dragon’s parent company, Nuance. Hundreds of people—bloggers, writers, doctors, teachers, college students, and lawyers—wrote about their experiences using Dragon and how it had improved their lives. Erickson’s entry won in the “Productivity” category.)
“My job includes typing on a daily basis. Some days require extensive keyboard use. Dragon has reduced both my employer’s frustration and my personal frustration, allowing me to remain productive and to pursue computer activities,” said Erickson.
Besides using Dragon to dictate, Erickson uses it when working with Mozilla, Thunderbird, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Word, Adobe Reader, Paint Shop Pro, Picasso 2, Internet Explorer, Microsoft PowerPoint, Norton 360, printers, and more.
“I can navigate Windows and individual software programs completely using just DragonDictate. Some software and subtasks are much more time-consuming using Dragon only and not the keyboard, but some are for me equal or even quicker. Straight typing/dictating is much quicker using Dragon. Editing, however, is quite a bit slower. Dragon does make errors, not to the point of being a burden, but enough that careful proofreading and editing is an absolute necessity,” said Erickson.
Working from home, Erickson can open an appraisal report in Adobe Reader and simultaneously open Microsoft Word. As he reviews the report, he gives the voice command “switch windows” and he can dictate his notes to the appraiser in the Microsoft Word application. Later in the evening, he will send emails to friends and surf the Internet.
Speech Recognition Software: Affordable and Accurate
Voice recognition software has been on the market for a little more than a decade. “This has always been a product that has an appeal to the disability market for obvious reasons,” said Chris Strammiello, director of Product Development for Dragon Naturally Speaking. “Speech technology has always held such great promise, but it wasn’t until a few years ago that it reached a level of accuracy that made it appealing to consumers at large.”
Speaking in a natural voice with your natural cadence has been available for several years. “The big difference is the program’s extreme accuracy at handling that task,” said Strammiello.
Many generations ago, using Dragon required a lengthy “training” period. A new user had to read extensive passages into a microphone so the program became accustomed to the user’s voice. In the past, it took a significant amount of training and usage before the product reached even a 90 percent accuracy level.
Today, a user can install the program, opt to skip the training, and immediately begin dictating. “Dragon has a high accuracy level right out of the box, maybe not 99 percent but 95 or 97 percent,” said Strammiello.
The product is better at separating noise from your dictation, and the microphones are superior to previous versions. Noise-canceling microphones do an excellent job. “The product might not be good on the tarmac or at a rock concert, but it does take care of your office noise,” said Strammiello.
Dragon is a tremendous timesaver, particularly for professionals. Strammiello, who considers himself a fairly decent typist, can knock out 45 to 50 words a minute. Dragon allows him to dictate 160 words a minute. And he can use it to create a document, write an email, or send an Instant Message.
Dragon Naturally Speaking Details
The latest version of Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 is up to 20 percent more accurate than version 8. Online tutorials walk you through the learning stage. The product supports certain Bluetooth wireless microphones, handheld digital recorders, and other PADS.
The Dragon Naturally Speaking software comes in three versions: Standard ($99.99), Preferred ($199.99) and Professional ($899.99). Additional industry-specific products, such as medical and legal versions, are also available. You can compare the three products by viewing the “Feature Comparison Matrix” online at (http://www.nuance.com/naturallyspeaking/matrix/professional/).
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