Speech-To-Text Options In Classroom?

M

MomToDeafChild

New Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
103
Reaction score
0
My daughter will be entering middle school next year (6th grade). She's completely mainstreamed, but uses an interpreter. The school mentioned taking the interpreter away and using speech-to-text in the classroom instead. They don't currently have it, have only started researching it, but thought we could try it with her next year. They didn't say what kind of speech-to-text they are talking about, just that it would be something she could read like captioning, either on her desk or on the Smartboard.

I've been trying to research options, and have come up with CART, C Print, CAN, Typewell, or voice recognition software such as Dragon Speak. There was also Interact-AS. I can't imagine they are referring to either CART, C Print, CAN, or Typewell since they want to eliminate the human (cost, I'm sure!).

Dragon Speak doesn't seem appropriate for use in a classroom. It seems more like software an individual would use so they don't have to type. What ever kind of program they use, it would have to be something that could recognize multiple voices at once, and to be able to pick up the main voice (teacher) with probable background noise.

Anyone have experience in a classroom setting with Interact-AS?

I don't feel she's ready for a big switch up, even though she is a good reader. It's a new school, and taking away what she knows is only going to make it that much more daunting. She is very shy, and a huge thing in her IEP is social interaction, and I feel taking away the interpreter so she can stare at a screen all day is isolating, and you can't 'hear' voice inflection on a screen. And on top of that, staring at a screen all day is going to lead to some serious eye strain! Also, what about the times she can't use it, like music, gym, or field trips? She's just supposed to wing it?

I feel like this type of set up would be more appropriate as prep to go into high school (introduced in 8th grade), since she'll probably be using something like it in college.

Anyone have an opinion?
 
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

Does your daughter want to not have an interpreter?

The school cannot deny services - so don't let them tell you she can't have an interpreter, especially if that's what's working best for her.

How is her written comphrehension and how fast can she read - she'll need to be able to read and comphrehend at "talking speed" - which is a lot for a 6th grader (heck I prefer interpreters to CART in university for that very reason).

If you and your daughter decide that she wants to move from having interpreter in some or all her classes, at her age she needs CART or remote CART - period.

Automatic speech to text is not appropriate for the classroom, period. Do not allow yourself or the school to even consider anything other than a 'real life transcriptionist" for speech to text - that means CART using certified stenographers (remote or in class).

If your daughter wants to try CART, I'd suggest setting it up for one class, specifically on a trial basis (1week?) And allow HER to decide if it's a system that will work for her.
Also make sure if you do get CART that you specify that the CART text is to be saved as a text file so she can use the transcript as class notes etc.

This is YOUR choice, not the school's period.
 
My daughter is fine with the interpreter, it's the school that suggested it.

I just found out that the program they are looking at using is Dragon Naturally Speaking. It only gets 3 1/2 stars on Amazon, and it seems more like something an individual would use to transcribe something they didn't want to type than something that would work in a classroom...
 
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

MomToDeafChild said:
My daughter is fine with the interpreter, it's the school that suggested it.

I just found out that the program they are looking at using is Dragon Naturally Speaking. It only gets 3 1/2 stars on Amazon, and it seems more like something an individual would use to transcribe something they didn't want to type than something that would work in a classroom...
Click to expand...

Having worked with Dragon Naturally speaking myself - there is no way this is appropriate for "casual conversation" in a perfectly quiet setting, let alone a noisy learning environment. Also be aware that it will limit your daughter's ability to interact in the classroom to ONLY the teacher. She will not be able to "hear" questions or answers from classmates, PA announcements, out of classroom instruction (gym,field trips,talking to teachers, homework help etc).


If your daughter really wants text vs interpreters demand CART from a certified provider.

CART does not replace the role of an interpreter - it simply transcibes what is said verbatum in specific settings. While it may work at univeristy levels for some people, it's not a reasonable "full time" option for K-12 students.


Honestly though I think she'd be much better keeping the interpreters (especially since she's already been working with them).


Do NOT let them do this to your child.
 
Last edited:
What would be the reasoning behind using a program like this with a 6th grader who has known reading comprehension and vocabulary issues (even though she is a straight A student), instead of trying it out on your deaf high school students first? It's easier for her to understand something she sees than what she reads, so that's going to affect her ability to understand what they're teaching.

From what I've read, Dragon Speak Naturally is only for a single speaker, and things like background noise, spontaneous speaking, and even the speaker moving around, all affect the accuracy. I don't want her getting anything less than 100% accuracy!

I also read that it doesn't put in formatting or punctuation (you have to say 'new paragraph', question mark, period) so everything is one big run on sentence. Is that true?
 
Listen to what the others have told you. DON'T let them use this inferior technology. Your daughter has the right to have an interpreter and you need to let the school know that you will not allow them to give her something inferior just so they can save money.

I have no experience in any of this myself, being late-deafened and just now learning ASL, but I know from reading this forum, that your daughter has the right to have the necessary accomodations that will work best for her...not what's best for the school.
 
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

MomToDeafChild said:
What would be the reasoning behind using a program like this with a 6th grader who has known reading comprehension and vocabulary issues (even though she is a straight A student), instead of trying it out on your deaf high school students first? It's easier for her to understand something she sees than what she reads, so that's going to affect her ability to understand what they're teaching.

From what I've read, Dragon Speak Naturally is only for a single speaker, and things like background noise, spontaneous speaking, and even the speaker moving around, all affect the accuracy. I don't want her getting anything less than 100% accuracy!

I also read that it doesn't put in formatting or punctuation (you have to say 'new paragraph', question mark, period) so everything is one big run on sentence. Is that true?
Click to expand...

Yes, you have to manually (orally say "period", "comma" etc).

When I was at Seminary (and injured from a car accident) I used Dragon to help me write my papers - honestly, there's no way in the world that this is an "interpreting tool".

It allowed me to speak rather than type, but it also requires constant monitoring - ie looking at the screen to make sure it uses the correct words. It cannot tell between words that sound the same or similar and each user needs to spend time training it to understand one person's voice.

For a teacher to use this in class would require not only for the teacher to constantly monitor and correct (using a keyboard) the text as well as inputing periods,commas etc.

The teacher would also have to re-voice every single the the students said in class - because the teacher is the only one wearing a mic (which has to be held at the lips).

Everything about this system is not appropriate for an educational environment. In fact it's not even approved for that environment.

To put things in perspective Dragon Naturally is the system used by the company SpinVox which does automated voice-to-text for voicemails for cell/mobile phones... I use this system and it's only about 50-60% accurate and I often have to call in through relay to have them properly transcribe voicemails.

There's no way that this is even slightly appropriate for a student attempting to learn in any environment.

This school is putting your daughter in a situation that not only handicaps her ablitlity to learn, but very well will also prevent her from getting the education she needs to fulfill her needs.

I fell through the cracks in K-12 (it wasn't until univeristy I got the support services I needed).
Please do NOT allow the school to disable your daughter by trying to "save money" by pulling legally required support services.

Please be your daughter's best advocate - don't allow the school to bully you into what we, as Hoh/deaf people know is wrong.
 
I know this wasn't on school placement, BUT one thing that I would strongly strongly advise parents of dhh kids to do before middle school, is to go and get their kid evaluated by a school for the deaf, as to placement. Try to find out what things are like socially at their mainstream school. Middle and high school can be HELL for ANY dhh kid, even the kids who are minimal accomodnation superstars.
Especially with this
6th grader who has known reading comprehension and vocabulary issues (even though she is a straight A student),
Click to expand...
That is a red flag, as dhh kids very often have reading comprehension and vocab issues, which can and do get worse in middle and high school.
 
They are not going to "eliminate the human" unless it is software-based. They are probably referring to remote TypeWell or remote CART. Remote is not quite as good as having a live person in the classroom.

Speech to Text services have their pros and cons, just like ASL interpreters. It can depend on the classroom environment, the student, and other factors.

But the most important thing is what works the best for your daughter? That should be the primary concern here.
 
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry Bold )

Glenn - the poster has confirmed that the school does mean using Dragon Naturally Speaking - which is auto voice to text, totally inappropriate for an educational setting.

CART or typewell might be an option, but the school has confirmed they aren't considering it.
 
Software speech to text is not anywhere the level it would need to be at for effective communication in the classroom.
 
As a mom of an 8th grader who has CART , do not let the school district try to bully you. My son is going into 9th grade (high school) and it's a different district and a different Special Ed department. So, at my annual CSE meeting, the coordinator tried to say that my son didn't need CART (since his grades are so high) and kept quoting me LRE... I was seeing RED, but his teachers, advisors, and TOD all explained that CART was in place of an ASL interpreter in the classroom and he cannot be denied this. After a two hour battle, we finally got her to approve of the service that he has had all along- since 6th grade.

He does well with the CART and loves the notes that are sent home to him. Even the teachers love it, cuz they can print it out and give the notes to students who have missed the class due to absence.
 
I got it all straightened out. They have no intention of taking away her interpreter, they just want to introduce the deaf kids to any new technology that is out there, and learn about it themselves too to see if it could have merit for any of the students. They've had several parents actually request ASR. They said if I didn't want it in her IEP, they had no problem taking it out, but I actually opted to leave it in and just specified where I'd want it played around with (I suggested with the TOD since it is a quieter environment), and I'd make the decision down the line if I wanted to try it during a non-core subject, and I can come in and observe. I am curious to see exactly what it can and can't do, even though my expectations aren't very high.

I contacted the manufacturer of the software directly, and they said they are working on something for the educational setting, but it's got a ways to go before it's ready. But who knows, maybe by the time she hits college level it will be something feasible to use!
 
Whew! And here I was all ready to come in guns a-blazin'.. LOL I am a bit scarred from the troubles I had with accommodation in school growing up. But I am really glad they are not going to take away her interpreter. There is just so much an interpreter offers that NO software EVER could. :)
 
I am sophomore in highschool, I'm also fully mainstreamed too.
Having interpreter is best thing, compared emotionless computer translating what teacher/student says. I have multiple interpreters (three interpreters) so i wont have to stare same person all day long...
if you have any questions, shoot a one i wont hesitate to answer it :)
 
Speech to text doesn't replace an interpreter. And it really doesn't replace a teacher that knows ASL.
 
Back
Top