Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition vs. Read&Write

My job requires that I produce lengthy and detailed minutes of meetings and Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition is absolutely ideally suited for this purpose. Notably, meetings are recorded and it is extremely easy to playback the recording of meetings while dictating notes. This is a remarkable saving in time and effort in producing minutes that might otherwise take a few days. I cannot think of any scenario where it would be less appropriate to use Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition other than in a situation where it is not possible to dictate for whatever reason.

Incentivized

It works very well at home. For exams and homework the text to speech function is really useful. In lessons is good too. The text to speech is more complicated to use because the candidates/ students need a different room. We also need more training on how to use this function.

Incentivized

• The main advantage is that it calibrates itself around your tone and accent.
• Integration with many apps and operative system is good.
• Integrating custom words and acronyms is very easy, so, over time, recognition becomes very precise and customized.

Incentivized

• Creates vocabulary lists for students that include symbols, definitions, and space to add additional notes or images (a staff favorite)
• Intuitive word prediction that supports spelling, grammar, and reduces the number of keystrokes needed
• Text-to-speech on any digital text using the regular reader or screenshot reader, making almost any content accessible

Incentivized

• Word recognition can always improve.
• Sometimes puts stray words or characters on the page if you forget to tell the microphone to go to sleep.
• Adds non-spoken words for no reason if there is a delay in speaking.

Incentivized

• Setting the speech to text up on different devices that do not have the internet speed to function smoothly or if it is in Exam mode and the user is not constantly using the speech to text mode.
• Grouping the voices on their style such as harsh, clipped or soft would enable to pick their preference quicker rather than going through all of the different countries.

Incentivized

• Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition is not up to par with any of the other AI voice recognition technologies currently available
• The software is also very buggy and crashes frequently
• Punctuation also seems like an afterthought for Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition software--requiring the user to speak out each comma, period, etc.

Incentivized

I'm just really impressed with the software and the access it gives to learners who are used to coming up against barriers in education. It's a quick-fix for a learner - something they can access usefully and productively with very little training. I also love that learners can access Read&Write on their devices at home - that really is a game changer.

Incentivized

Once you learn the product, it is quite easy to use.

Incentivized

I am giving this an 9. Not a perfect score because working on PDFs is better but not yet as easy as I need for it to be. Working with many students who have executive function challenges, I need a smooth simplistic access method. We are not quite there yet for writing on PDFs. Overall the toolbar on Read&Write is super easy to access and I love that the suite includes several tools on the toolbar providing a solution to many accessibility challenges.

Incentivized

Seems to be available when Internet is working.

Incentivized

Worked quick and easy, except sometimes with adobe

Incentivized

One of the worst companies in terms of customer service getting the download file because of a laptop upgrade took me months of work. No jokes.

Incentivized

The support team at Texthelp is excellent. They're all super helpful and open to feedback and new ideas. Still, more importantly, they are ultimately fully committed to aligning with us and ensuring they help us provide the best education possible. Furthermore, they're open to new features and always communicate this incredibly well.

Incentivized

It was easy to learn to use

Incentivized

It took a solid 2 weeks for R&W to work on our students chromebooks even after reaching out to tech support. The toolbar was greyed out and not accessible to students. Took a long time before tech support helped us solve this problem.

Incentivized

Other than the more recent speech recognition tools from Microsoft, Google, etc., I have always used Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition. I was introduced to AI technology on an appraisal assignment. During the engagement, I had an opportunity to learn about the technology, and when I researched speech recognition software, the best reviews were of Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition. I purchased Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition and have stayed with the product.

Incentivized

We still utilize Microsoft Immersive Reader as our Tier2 / UDL support tool. However, the word prediction is barely functional and there are confusing limitations to when certain tools are available (the picture dictionary is available in Word Online but not in Edge). We still utilize the Windows-based speech-to-text (windows+h) because it is available natively in Windows even in desktop applications other than a web browser. It is good for people to know one tool that works everywhere. However, Read&Write offers the most complete set of ELA support features all in one place, without burdening the user with extra software or a confusing interface.

Incentivized

The pricing is reasonable. A lower tier with just screen reading and basic functions would be nice, but not a deal-breaker.

Incentivized

The product can be used on as many devices at once as needed

Incentivized

• Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition has made it easier to dictate progress notes
• Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition has made seeing patients more efficient
• Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition was a little expensive for our smaller practice

Incentivized

• Improved access to text: Text to speech was used 66,000 times this school year.
• Increased student written responses: Word prediction was used 56,000 times this school year.
• Increased student written responses: Speech to text was used 12,000 times this school year.

Incentivized