[Athen] Dragon Dictate for MAC for Chemistry homework

Robert Spangler rspangler1 at udayton.edu
Thu Mar 14 10:15:00 PDT 2019


Hello, I wonder if EquatIO from Texthelp would be useful in this case. We
just finished evaluating this software, since we have many students with
concussions or who break their dominant hand and who need to be able to
dictate temporarily. We found that it does have a bit of a learning curve,
especially if the student is not in a math-intensive major, but just
throwing it out there. I do recall seeing some chemistry equations in it.
There is a dictate feature and, if you dictate the equation in the manner
in which the program expects it, it accurately inputs it into a Word
document. Commonly-used equations can be inserted with just a click.


On Thu, Mar 14, 2019 at 12:38 AM foreigntype <foreigntype at gmail.com> wrote:


> hi all

>

> When I said that I could provoke Dragon Naturally Speaking into doing

> things it was not necessarily designed to do, let me clarify. I wrote

> macros so that I could dictate Braille. I also wrote macros so I could

> dictate physics, and chemistry. It is not for the faint of heart. It is

> difficult and time- consuming, however beneficial in the long run! I

> trained more than 900 macro commands to do alternative textbook conversion

> for Kurzweil in physics and chemistry.

>

> I am the guru in the Windows operating system for Dragon Naturally

> Speaking. Shelley knows a lot more about the Mac system. Between the two of

> us we could probably figure this out for your student!

>

> Wink

>

>

> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

>

> -------- Original message --------

> From: Shelley Haven <ShelleyHaven at techpotential.net>

> Date: 3/13/19 5:53 PM (GMT-08:00)

> To: ATHEN <athen-list at u.washington.edu>

> Subject: Re: [Athen] Dragon Dictate for MAC for Chemistry homework

>

> Please forgive the long post — I’m suddenly full of ideas. ;-)

>

> As Wink mentioned, Nuance no longer supports Dragon Dictate for Mac, nor

> do they sell it. However, if you already have or purchase their last

> versions (v5 and v6) and install the last updates provided by Nuance, the

> software still works with macOS 10.12 & 10.13 (Sierra & High Sierra), but

> only somewhat works with macOS 10.14 (Mohave).

>

> Why this might be helpful: you can create your own dictation macros in

> Dragon for Mac using Manage Commands… (under the Dragon icon in the Mac's

> main menu bar). Specify the app in which your new commands will work (or

> specify “Global”), click + to add a new command, then enter the Command

> Name (what the user will say) and define what will happen as a result.

> That “what will happen” can be as simple as entering a series of keystrokes

> to running an AppleScript or an Automator Workflow.

>

> So for example, if I wanted to *type* the formula for sulfuric acid into

> Apple Pages, I would use the following keystrokes:

> H

> Cmd-Ctrl-minus sign (to get subscripted text)

> 2

> Cmd-Ctrl-minus sign (to un-subscript)

> S

> O

> Cmd-Ctrl-minus sign

> 4

> Cmd-Ctrl-minus sign

>

> I could enter these keystrokes into a macro called “sulphuric acid”, and

> every time I spoke that phase, the correctly-formatted formula would be

> typed. (BTW, I just tried this to make sure it works — it does!)

>

> You can take a similar approach with the Dictation Commands utility built

> into macOS (System Preferences > Accessibility > Dictation Commands).

> Click + to create a new command, name the command (When I say:), then

> select Paste Text (under Perform:) and paste a text string you’ve

> previously created in Pages, Word, etc., complete with subscripts and the

> like. (Again, I just tried this, too, and it works!)

>

> You might consider using either of these methods to create text strings

> for the most common elements plus the most commonly-used molecules and

> formulas (O2, water, various acids and alkalines, benzene, other organic

> compounds — go wild!). For the Dictation Commands approach, I find it

> easiest to type a page of these macro formulas first (complete with

> subscripts, etc.), making it easy to copy-and-paste these into the Paste

> Text box. (Tip: type that original page of formulas using the same app the

> student will use for dictating the macros.)

>

> You might also consider using either approach with the math and science

> entry software by Efofex.com — FX Chem, FX ChemStruct, and FX Equation. (FX

> ChemStruct <https://www.efofex.com/fxchemstruct.php> actually draws the

> chemical structures!) Again, you would need to first create individual

> speech macros by entering the series of keystrokes needed to type the

> desired formulas, etc. (Be aware that Efofex’s tools use their own unique

> entry methods.)

>

> Will this take some time and effort to set up? Of course. But depending

> on the complexity of the chemistry course being taken, a carefully-selected

> combination of chemistry symbols, common formulas, and some formula

> fragments shouldn’t take too long, but would provide the student with an

> adequate speech macro library from which to dictate chemistry homework.

>

> Good luck!

> - Shelley

>

> _____________________________

> Shelley Haven ATP, RET

> Assistive Technology Consultant

> www.TechPotential.net

>

>

>

> On Mar 13, 2019, at 4:10 PM, foreigntype <foreigntype at gmail.com> wrote:

>

> Hi Jill et al ATHENites

>

> Nuance has dropped all support for the Dragon Dictate for Mac. Don't know

> if Apple is moving forward with a suitably robust dictation software on

> their own or not.

>

> There is a software combo that works well for dictation in math. I force

> Dragon to do all kinds of things it wasn't necessarily designed to do, but

> dictating chemistry is not on the "approved list" for sure.

>

> You might contact Nancilu McClellan at Metroplex Voice Computing to see

> how feasible it would be to use Math Talk & Scientific Notebook with Dragon

> NS. Only works on Windows as far as I know. But it *might* work!. Here's

> a link to their website.

> https://mathtalk.com/

>

> Wink Harner

>

>

> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

>

> -------- Original message --------

> From: Jill Heilman <heilmanj at lafayette.edu>

> Date: 3/13/19 2:30 PM (GMT-08:00)

> To: athen-list at u.washington.edu

> Subject: [Athen] Dragon Dictate for MAC for Chemistry homework

>

> Hello - I am new to posting to the group for questions. I am new to

> assisting students with the dictation software. I have a student who would

> like to use Dragon Dictate for MAC to complete Chemistry homework. Does

> Dragon Dictate allow students to dictate chemistry equations or is there a

> software that is compatible with Dragon Dictate for MAC that allows you to

> do Chemistry equations and Math Equations.

>

> Appreciate any information you could provide.

>

> Thanks,

> Jill

> --

>

> Jill Heilman

>

> *Associate Director*

>

> *Academic Resource Hub*

>

> *Lafayette College ~ 312 Scott Hall*

>

> *610-330-5071 ~ heilmanj at lafayette.edu <heilmanj at lafayette.edu>*

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--
Robert Spangler
Disability Services Technical Support Specialist
rspangler1 at udayton.edu
Office of Learning Resources (OLR) - RL 023
Ryan C. Harris Learning & Teaching Center (LTC)
University of Dayton | 300 College Park | Dayton, Ohio 45469-1302
Phone: 937-229-2066
Fax: 937-229-3270
Ohio Relay: 711 (available for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing)
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