NatSpeak for Teens

Last Modified: November 23, 1999

(Editor's note: Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens is based on pre-version 3.5 technology. This product is still available in stores and has not been replaced with a later version. However, version 4.0 of Dragon NaturallySpeaking now includes the acoustic models and vocabularies for children which were originally introduced in Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens. Therefore, buying Dragon NaturallySpeaking version 4.0 may be an attractive alternative to buying Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens.)

Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens is a special version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking which is targeted to older children. NatSpeak for Teens is a version of Dragon Point & Speak with some changes to the user interface and some additional feature which makes it easier to use.

Starting from Dragon Point & Speak, NatSpeak for Teens adds the following additional features:

• Acoustic models for children.

  The voices of children tend to be higher and have more variability than adult voices. To support children's voices, NatSpeak for Teens included special acoustic models (called the Student models) which better model the acoustic characteristics of children. This means that children using the Student models in NatSpeak for Teens will have an easier time training the system and achieve higher accuracy that children trying to use the Standard or BestMatch models in Dragon NaturallySpeaking.

  By the way, when you buy NatSpeak for Teens, you also get the adult models as well so one copy of NatSpeak for Teens can be used by all members of your family.

• Vocabularies for children and students.

  In addition to changed acoustics, the Student models in NatSpeak for Teens also includes a vocabulary more appropriate to teenage children. For example, the vocabulary in NatSpeak for Teens include the words "Spice Girls" and Mesopotamia". Those words are not usually active in the standard adult vocabularies.

• A control panel and simplified user interface.

  The interface in NatSpeak for Teens has also been changed from Dragon Point & Speak and Dragon NaturallySpeaking. With Point & Speak, there is no user interface except for the microphone icon which appears in the tray. However, when you start NatSpeak for Teens, you get a control panel which is similar in function to the toolbar in Dragon NaturallySpeaking itself. This control panel stays on the screen allowing the user directly access to the NatSpeak for Teens functionality. Many of the dialogs have also been changed, usually to make them simpler.

• NaturalWord for both Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect.

  Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens includes support for dictating directly into Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect include Select 'n' Say error correction. This functionality is almost the same as found in the adult version of Dragon NaturallySpeaking. (See Can You Dictate Directly into Microsoft Word? for more details.)

• Select 'n' Say error correction in the following additional applications.

  Finally, starting with NatSpeak for Teens, Dragon Systems has introduced a new feature in the NaturallySpeaking family which allows you to dictate directly into some 3rd party applications with full Select 'n' Say error correction. As shipped, NatSpeak for Teens includes support for the following applications: Microsoft Outlook 97, Microsoft Outlook 98, Wordpad, Notepad, Microsoft Chat 2.1, Microsoft Chat 2.5 and NaturallySpeaking dialogs themselves. (See Editing in Other Apps for more information).

Dragon NaturallySpeaking for Teens is designed for teenage children. It should also be suitable for younger children if the children have decent reading skills and can learn to talk clearly. NatSpeak for Teens include a broad range of enrollment text targeted at different reading levels, so enrollment should not be a problem. However, using a speech recognition can be difficult even for adults so young children may not be able to manage even with NatSpeak for Teens.

This web page (http://www.synapseadaptive.com/joel/NatSpeakForTeens.html) was last modified on November 23, 1999. The contents of this page are (c) Copyright 1998-1999 by Joel Gould. All Rights Reserved. See Copyright Information for more details.