There are many things to consider when looking at speech recognition as a possible writing tool for a student.
What are the reasons for considering speech recognition? is the student’s voice clear and consistent? Why is his frustration level? Can the student think of a sentence and remember that sentence long enough to dictate it?
Once you have decided that you want to try Speech Recognition software and you have chosen a program to try, such as Dragon Naturally Speaking, it is important to provide training to the student.
Daniel Cochrane and Kelly Key have developed an excellent, free training guide which is available online at
This guide gives the trainer step-by-step instructions for helping a student learn to use speech recognition, along with training tips and information to assess the student’s writing process .