Since my group chose the topic of our EdTech Inquiry Project – Technology Adaptations for Children with Learning Disabilities – Kayleigh, Jessica, Madi and myself have been working on doing a bit of research as to types of technology adaptations so we could divvy them up between ourselves.

We decided to focus on the following four categories: SMARTboards, Text-to-Speech software, Speech-to-Text software, and Computer-Assisted Technology. We have each picked one of these topics and will do individual research until we can combine all of our findings together for our presentation in mid-November.

I decided research speech-to-text software. I have had limited experience with this form of assistive technology in the past, volunteering in different Elementary classrooms. In my experience, speech-to-text software can be very frustrating for a student as the technology is not specifically designed for children’s voices. This has been evident even more so in French Immersion classrooms, as children’s pronunciation is of course not on par with the level the software is designed for. This has been my experience working with students and speech-to-text software, and I have found that the software can be so frustrating for some students that it would be more efficient and less aggravating to simply scribe for them.

Because of my negative experience with the program, I would like to explore it more to understand the complications and advantages of using speech-to-text software and gain some insight into the variety of programs that exist.

-Jess