Becoming a Dictation Ninja: A Case Study in Effective Use of Voice Recognition Software by a High School Student With Learning Disability

• In Event: Special Education Research: Special Education and Technology

Abstract

A student, his writing coach and his parent collaborated on a qualitative explanatory case study seeking to identify factors contributing the effective and innovative employment of voice recognition software (VRS) in overcoming severe deficits in written expression during high school. Beyond findings that John’s particular learning profile was well matched to the oral fluency and auditory comprehension demands inherent in dictation, the authors identify strategic and accidental factors that supported his persistence with the technology despite challenges. The combination of playful “low-stakes” use of the software and dictation to a skilled scribe in “high stakes” writing early on in the process demonstrated the potential of this assistive technology for John which impacted his motivation to successfully persist with VRS.

Authors

• Kimberly Dean, Arcadia University

• Andy Danilchick, University of Pennsylvania

• John Dean, Germantown Academy