[Athen] Dragon vs Microsoft Dictate

Erik Ferguson erik.ferguson at pcc.edu
Fri Nov 1 10:46:36 PDT 2019


To tell you the truth, we also have moved to Google Voice Typing/Google
docs for most speech recognition needs. I also noticed a similar dictation
tool for office 365 but we use it less at our institution and yes, you need
to be online and yes this is a potential problem. We have asked IT to
create sort of dedicated "dummy"email accounts for this log in purpose but
this is against their policy. Ultimately we allow students to log in
ask them to not access other material and proctor via camera or eyes on.
About the Windows tool though. Its not that bad if you DONT BYPASS
interactive tutorial and use a USB headset. The interactive tutorial is a
essentially a requirement for active use. This would require prep before a
test either in the testing center or via a laptop provided "clean" to the
testing center and set up in advance. There is no easy solution here that I
know of. This is a problem for other accommodations as well, more and more
AT requires online access. Where are our engineers and software developers
out there? We have a project for you! Happy Friday!

On Thu, Oct 31, 2019 at 12:05 PM Hunziker, Dawn A - (hunziker) <
hunziker at email.arizona.edu> wrote:


> Hi all,

>

> We often have students request voice input/recognition for exam

> accommodations. We were relying on Dragon until we discovered and

> implemented the Dictate option within Microsoft Word. The Dictate option

> worked great because it was easy to find and use, didn't require another

> software to have open for exams and it worked for pretty much anyone that

> used it, in a way they are familiar with - turn it on and talk.

>

> Now, for a few hiccups:

>

> 1. The plugin for Office 2016 is no longer available and no longer works

> 2. The option is not available for Office 2019

> 3. Office 365 has it but Internet access is required to use the feature

> (as we all know, not a good choice for exam situations).

> 4. MS says to use the Dictation (Windows Speech Recognition) built into

> Windows 10 but this still has the same issues with recognition results that

> I've seen in the past.

>

> So, we are back to the planning stage and wanted to reach out to see what

> is being used in other units for exams and voice input. Thoughts?

>

> Dawn

>

> ~~

> Dawn Hunziker

> IT Accessibility Consultant, Sr. | Disability Resources

> The University of Arizona | hunziker at email.arizona.edu<mailto:

> hunziker at email.arizona.edu>

> drc.arizona.edu<http://drc.arizona.edu/> | itaccessibility.arizona.edu<

> http://itaccessibility.arizona.edu/>

> 520-626-9409

>

> _______________________________________________

> athen-list mailing list

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>



--
Erik Ferguson
Alternative Media Technician
PCC Disability Services Assistive Technology Team
Contact us for questions and support at:
Phone: 971-722-TECH (971-722-8324)
access-tech-group at pcc.edu
*Please Note: I am not in office Tuesday or Thursday. For immediate
response please use the email and number listed in signature above.*
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