Using The Nuance Dragon Speech Recognition Program

Dragon Naturally Speaking 12 from Nuance is my latest project. Yes, it was a Christmas present, and yes, I have had it on my laptop since (almost) day one! And yes, my audio profile has been set up for almost as long! And yes, the Dragon people are very good at sending me e-mails, encouraging me to work with the training tools on their site - http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm And I actually did print out their very nice command cheat sheet! (I do still have to get it laminated, though.)

To back up a bit, Dragon is a speech recognition program, available for PC and MAC. It is much more than a toy … I do a considerable amount of writing, and this will save my hands from issues connected with arthritis. Aside from formal writing, Dragon does some really time saving things, such as interacting with g-mail and Hotmail, and posting to Twitter and Facebook.

There is a very magical page that takes you deeply into the Dragon program, and its capabilities. It’s called “Training Tools For Dragon 12” - http://www.nuance.com/for-individuals/by-product/dragon-for-pc/getting-started-version-12/index.htm . Here you can get an overview of  the programs capabilities, watch feature demos, check out resources, and connect with tech support  and customer support.

There is a Getting Started DVD, as well as online training courses that can be purchased.  Nuance also offers one on one training for a fee.

There are several on demand webinars for Dragon that address ways in which it is effective in specific venues, such as Public Safety, Insurance, Social & Health Services, Financial Services, Education, Law Firms, Improving Productivity & Reducing Injuries, Speech Recognition For The Federal Government, Dragon Software Developers Kit.

I just downloaded the Dragon 12 Workbook and Users Guide. I want to be as informed about this system as possible. Yes, hands on with the system is my next step, but before I go there I need to have a general understanding of what it can do, and how it dos it. (And I need togolaminate my Cheat Sheet!)

Woo Hoo! I am into the “How To” demos!  http://www.nuance.com/dragon/ask-the-dictator/index.htm.  To view the videos properly. Click the screen symbol at the bottom of the video, and the video will go tofull screen.

Here is a unique video using the dictation box to post and update status to Facebook - http://www.nuance.com/videoplayer/videoplayer.asp?h=390&n=BxIsdQbc31o&src=YOUTUBE&w=640&p=&autoPlay=false&videoPage=true.

Here is a short video on text and graphics command - http://www.nuance.com/videoplayer/videoplayer.asp?h=390&n=pJl26VXyHsQ&src=YOUTUBE&w=640&p=&autoPlay=false&videoPage=true.

The following is not a “How To” video, but it does address the question of whether kids can use Dragon - http://www.nuance.com/videoplayer/videoplayer.asp?h=390&n=KyJ6-0vlCLI&src=YOUTUBE&w=640&p=&autoPlay=false&videoPage=true .

I may not use an nth of the capabilities of this program, but what I do  use will save me time and energy … and that is worth it to me!

© February 2013 Bonnie Cehovet