*This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dragon by Nuance and Digital Parents Collective.
I don't think there's a single person amongst us who has not experienced the frustration of trying to type an idea super-fast before losing the information altogether due to fingers that just couldn't keep up.
Have you ever watched someone struggling to do this and felt that eye-rolling pang of frustration for them?
I am quite a fast typist, thanks to years of dead-boring keyboard and computing classes when I was in high school. I was trained to touch type but honestly, those skills went out the door long ago. In truth, I never fully mastered the touch-typing thing at all and my own typing 'skill' is more a personal style I have developed through practice which has fortunately become reasonably quick and serves me well.
Then there's my almost teenage Son who is currently in year 6 and though he's pretty deft at using the web, computer games and can zip about pages on an iPad like a pro, I have often observed that he's not a fast typist. During homework downtime he's a frequent victim of these 'keyboard fumbles' which can be so irritating when there's an important idea just bursting to be caught. Too often his thoughts are lost altogether due to a lack of typing prowess and when this happens, I've stood-by and cringed as the enthusiasm, effort and concentration drop off along with it; Not good!
When you're a parent, this is an outcome you just do not want for your child. It's hard enough getting a teenager motivated to do anything and distractions on such a crucial level can be a real hindrance.
We've been playing around with a new study aid kindly sent to us by Nuance. The Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium Speech Recognition Software is a simple to use tool which you can install on your home PC to aid your child to quickly record their thoughts as soon as they are voiced. This software translates speech into text and it's a technology which has been eagerly embraced by my second eldest tech obsessed child.
Inside the box is everything you need to get started: A CD ROM, full instructions and a headset with built-in microphone. There's also a guide of simple voice commands to aid the translation process.
Installation was easy on our family PC. Actually, it was so easy my twelve year old Son installed it for me. :D
It is important to note that the software is designed to transcribe a single person's voice so decide on the family member with the most need and call it theirs. For this reason also, the program is unable to transcribe multiple people speaking at once in a single recording. These points are the only drawbacks we encountered and are not really a genuine issue at all with regard to most users but are worth a mention here.
My Son was keen to get started right away and tested the software with a story he pulled from thin air. He was amused by the speed and thrill of seeing his voice become words on the screen in front of him as if by magic. This one is off to high school next year so we've decided that he is the lucky recipient of the program for his future studies. He's chuffed by that too. Being a little computer whizz, to him it's all fun and games which is great.
After a good play around to familiarise ourselves with Dragon, we came up with several reasons why we love the software:
Your voice is transcribed instantly and with great accuracy.
The program can adapt to the user's preferences giving you control over formatting when it comes to words, phrases and numbers.
With frequent use, Dragon's software promises to achieve even greater accuracy as it learns to adapt to its single user.
The program translates without spelling errors so your time working becomes more productive - no back-tracking for corrections or typos.
The user can create their own custom voice commands which are unique to them or preferred.
You can control your PC almost entirely by voice command: Switch from one window to another or surf the web hands-free.
The program allows you to use whichever microphone you prefer too, be it built-in or wireless giving you greater freedom to work however you prefer. You can even transcribe your own notes from a compatible digital voice recorder including iOS and Android devices, so down the track, this is a program that has the potential to grow with my Son.
We're looking forward to getting to know the software more with time. It's lots of fun, (according to Ki) and I hope the enthusiasm remains strong when he's faced with the difficult assignments and deadlines that are coming his way next year.
Dragon is available in Premium (as featured here), Home and Mac versions and is priced at $99.95.
Full details and instant digital downloads can be purchased on their website here. Dragon is also available in store at Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
Nuance would like to offer five Six Little Hearts readers the chance to win a copy of the Dragon NaturallySpeaking software in a format of their choice valued at $99.95 each.
The total prize pool of this giveaway is $500.
This software is suitable for anyone who would like the convenience of transcribing a large amount of voice to text quickly and effortlessly. If you're a blogger too, this comes highly recommended!
Please share the love! Let your friends know about this review and giveaway by shouting out about it using the social media options below.
I really appreciate this so thank you in advance!
Entry is easy. Just follow the prompts on the Rafflecopter App below. (App may take a few seconds to load.) Please note: Three of the entry requirements are mandatory so be sure to follow the steps to ensure your entries count.
All winning entries drawn are screened to ensure they conform to these requirements and those that do not will be disqualified.
This is a game of skill and the most creative / informative answer as deemed by the judge will win.
To Enter:
Follow the Rafflecopter form below.
Inportant: Please leave your name along with your comment so that I can match your entries.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please share the love! Let your friends know about this review and giveaway by shouting out about it using the social media options below.
I really appreciate this so thank you in advance!
Entry is easy. Just follow the prompts on the Rafflecopter App below. (App may take a few seconds to load.) Please note: Three of the entry requirements are mandatory so be sure to follow the steps to ensure your entries count.
All winning entries drawn are screened to ensure they conform to these requirements and those that do not will be disqualified.
This is a game of skill and the most creative / informative answer as deemed by the judge will win.
To Enter:
Follow the Rafflecopter form below.
Inportant: Please leave your name along with your comment so that I can match your entries.
Full general terms and conditions relating to all promotions, giveaways and prizes held and offered on Six Little Hearts can be viewed here.
*Disclosure: Six Little Hearts received product and payment in exchange for this feature.
*Disclosure: Six Little Hearts received product and payment in exchange for this feature.
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I would dearly love to win this for myself. While I can type, health wise I've been having a few issues with my hands swelling and typing has been getting hard and possibly impacting the problem. Having a rest from typing without having a break from my blogging workload would definitely help. Raych aka Mystery Case
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Sounds like you are in need. Will be in touch. :D
DeleteHow cool would this prize be? It would make my life so much easier. I actually didn't know that anything like this existed until now.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Dengate...... Finally the means to make progress on the book and memoirs I am struggling to get written !
ReplyDeleteMy grandson begins secondary college in 2015, and as it is a Private Christian School, the academic expectations will be very high, with so much to cram in any up to date assistance will enable him to thrive in his academic pursuits
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea.
ReplyDeleteNo more having to say things twice!
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic program. It sounds similar to a program I saw for deaf and hard of hearing people some time ago. I'm glad your son is having lots of success with it! Visiting via #teamIBOT
ReplyDeletenot sure if my previous comment worked, but.. yeh I'll comment again anyway :) yeah this program looks great and would give me so much time to do other things!
ReplyDeleteWhat a brilliant idea! My year 8 daughter sometimes drowns in her own panic when she has lots of assignments and not enough time to get it all down in writing. I can only imagine how much time she will save getting her thuoghts on the screen into an editable format - what a genius product from the Dragon Naturally Speaking team. I have to admit, as a blogger who loses post idea's almost as quick as I think of them it would be hard to give this away though!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Elise - your Daughter will love this program (or yourself!). Will be in touch. :D
DeleteThanks so much Jody!
DeleteFour kids at school. .. enough said I think
ReplyDeleteJames Sharpe is my name
DeleteTranscribing speech to text would be a huge help my uni work.Getting thoughtsout quickly and being able to then transcribe at leisure would be wonderful!!
DeleteI'd really like my 17 yo to try this out - I think the ability to speak your thoughts especially when drafting English essays etc would be fabulous.
ReplyDeleteYour wish has been granted! Hope your child finds it of great help.
DeleteSo excited by this news - I can't wait for her to try it out! Thanks.
DeleteMy teen has had a rough year with year 10. I need something that makes life alot easier as its a struggle enough. This looks simple to use and it means the headache of school work would be well and truly lessened. This infact would help all my children!
ReplyDeleteKara
My teenage son is at high school and struggles getting his thoughts on to paper. This Nuance Dragon Software would make his life so much easier and encourage and give him the means and incentive to work hard to achieve his personal best and his goals. Vicki Fraser
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Vicki, he will love this.
DeleteOh Wow! Thank you so much Jody! I am thrilled. You have no idea how much help this will be. Many, many thanks! Cheers Vicki
DeleteSchool and uni assignments are like darts being thrown all at once - this would defiantly help shield the impact to win the battle!
ReplyDeleteAmanda
For my grandson to make him even smarter than he is already Tracy Wedding
ReplyDeleteThis prize would help my son who is in year ten to monitor his speech and slow down.His brain is two or three words infront of his mouth.As a result he tends to mumble.He'll be able to slow down and control what he is saying and learn to speak clearer.
ReplyDeleteI would use this to get the my novel into the computer. I typed it a few years back however all electronic copies have mysteriously disappeared, all I have is one long manuscript that I would dearly love to digitalise.
ReplyDeleteRhianna
Oh my, you really will appreciate this and I hope it really helps - good luck and congratulations!
DeleteHonestly, I would give it to my friend who has huge problems with back and wrist pain and can go for weeks without being able to type with comfort following work related injuries. Then she can FB with me and blog to her heart's content!
ReplyDeleteFiona Moore - phonakins@gmail.com
I would like this for my husband who is a two finger typist and a frustrated one at that. He has to type up reports for work and this would make his life so much easier.
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