Research Technology Blog (Row 1: Victoria, Tracey, Neal, Dan, Dave)

Handwriting Recognition using Tablet PCs
Tracey Anderson

If your Tablet PC doesn't have a foldout keyboard or you are nowhere near a place to plug a keyboard into your Tablet PC then the handwriting recognition software is perfect for you. The handwriting recognition program allows you to write things down using your stylus pen and then convert your writing into text on the Tablet PC.

Personally I don't think that this is going to last very long. Most people prefer the keyboard over the pen. Typing has become the fastest method of writing for most people in this day and age and with a program like writing things down on a computer when it could easily be typed will soon be gone in the world of technology. The handheld Tablet PCs will all soon be made with a foldout keyboard and the program will no longer be needed in the Tablet PC.

Speech Recognition Software
Victoria Sousa

As technology becomes more and more advanced, the desire to make even the simplest of tasks easier will become more and more widespread. Speech recognition software is currently being used more and more often in the field of healthcare. As time progresses and Speech Recognition Software becomes more advanced and accessible to the common individual it can be applied in any field imaginable. In recent years, Speech Recognition Software is being used in college lecture halls across the country as well as in Canada.

The advancement of speech recognition technology is currently being used to create equal learning environments where all students have access to all information. The Atlantic Centre of Research, Access, and Support for Students with Disabilities at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada has been meeting the needs of students with disabilities since 1985.

In the fall of 1998, three Saint Mary's professors used speech recognition software in their classrooms for one semester. The instructors developed a personalized voice profile by "teaching" speech recognition software to understand his or her speech.

Once the training process was complete, the professors moved to the classroom wearing wireless microphones that transmitted to a computer system running speech recognition software. This custom software first converts spoken lectures into text, and then displayed the text on a large screen at the front of the classroom. Students could not only hear
the lecture, but also see
the lecture as it is being delivered. More importantly, after the lecture, software-generated notes were created in a variety of formats.

This form of teaching (and learning) is especially useful for those students with lack of or limited use of their hands. Upon the conclusion of the lecture they can receive personal software generated notes available to them in a variety of different formats. I think that type of technology will be very useful in the future as technology progresses and the need and desire for equality in the classroom grows.

Speech Recognition Software

Neal Anderson

Technology in this day and age is becoming more and more advanced and complex every day. Speech Recognition Software is just one of the few new technologies available today. Speech recognition covers a wide range of topics including, voice dialing, call routing, simple data entry, speech-to-text- processing, and aircraft cockpits. The thought of speech recognition has been around a lot longer than most people think. The Alexander Graham Bell came up with the first development of speech recognition more than 50 years before the computer was thought of. He came up with the idea because he wanted a way to communicate with his deaf wife. His plan was to create a device that would transform words that he spoke onto a screen that his wife could read. Although it didn't end up working the way he wanted, through his research he was able to invent the telephone which he now famous for. We are already able to speak to our computers and tell them what to do, scientists believe that in 25 years our computers may be able to talk back to us.

Speech Recognition Software

Dan Moxley

Speech recognition is starting to be used in the classrooms to investigate the student's ability to understand speech in classroom and other social situations. Speech recognition is an extremely useful tool. It's a type of software that takes spoken words and converts it to machine-readable input. Now this type of software is being used to help children learn in the classrooms. People want to use this type of software in schools because children have been struggling to learn how to understand and interpret spoken words in school because of all the noise around them. Since most learning in school involves listening of some sort, this could really damage a child's education if not addressed early on. With speech recognition, scientists plan to understand how certain noise levels affect a child's hearing, how children's ability to understand speech varies, and to assess teachers' voice quality and attempt to relate the data to acoustical measurements of the room. . After scientists have gathered their results they should be able to find a way to help or even solve the problem and make learning much easier for children in classrooms.

 

Speech Recognition Software

David Trauterman

The technology that transfers a voice to text or enhances the volume of a voice can be identified as speech recognition software. This technology is used in many different types of fields like in schools, in the military, in colleges, and many other places. Have you ever called someone through the voice command? Well that is a form of this voice recognition software. You are saying some ones name and the phone is recognizing it and automatically dialing the number. If you are a teacher and you have a taken a college course you maybe have been in a class with stadium seating. It is near impossible to hear the teacher if you are sitting all the way in the back. So this technology can help everyone. This system can also help those that are deaf. The person who is capable of talking and hearing could say what they wanted to say and have a machine receive the message and have it displayed as text for the person who is deaf. As we continue to advance with this technology the limits can't really be foreseen.

Felicia, Sarah and Makayla here.

We did our reports on two different things. Felicia and I, Sarah, did the speech recognition and Makayla did hers on handwriting recognition in PDA's.

Sarah - I learned that speech recognition can actually be used in different classroom situations. I had no idea that there were ESL classrooms (English as a Second Language) that were using this. Once I read it though, it made sense. I think that is an awesome way for people to learn English. One other way I think that it could be used, although I didn't find an article on it, is people with speech impediments. They could use speech recognition software to teach themselves to speak properly.

Felicia – I learned that teachers can use the speech recognition software to help the deaf, blind and heard of hearing and seeing learn the things that wouldn't be able to. The blind and hard of seeing can't see so they can't take notes. So this program as the teacher is talking, will take notes and they can use these to study from with the help of a parent. With the deaf or hard of hearing students, teachers will be able to help them understand more than just having them read their lips and they will also be learning more English with the words they would normally miss when they read lips.

Makayla- I learned that PDA Handwriting recognition could be helpful but I think that it also might slow things down. I believe that eventually someone will come up with an improved version. Then I think that people will definitely use it more in the classroom. One way to make beaming as quickly as possible right now is to use the binary tree concept which is explained in my report. It can be used in English as well as math with spreadsheet applications. It's kind of interesting and I would like to see more of it used perhaps if it is developed more.

Speech recognition software

What I learned today about speech recognition software is basically everything. I never knew anything about the software before today. I learned that you control
your computer by your voice. For example when you talk it will turn what you are saying into text. Windows vista has the most powerful speech recognition system available; I also learned that schools use it for students that have trouble composing sentences and students who have physical disabilities. SO today I really learned about this software and think it will come in handy in the future.

Speech Recognition Software

Savannah, Breanne, Rebecca, and Robin

We think that it is really cool the way the software works. It's a great idea to just be able to say something and then have the computer know what you are talking about. It might take a long time for the computer to understand you but in the end it will be worth it. We think that the software could be used for other ways other than people who have disabilities. Another way the software could be used is for people who have a hard time writing their thoughts down. They can just speak into the computer and it will type everything for you. It saves a lot of time and it is less stressful. We think the software is good because it makes using the computer easier to use. A good example of that is for older people. A lot of older people do not really understand how to use a computer or know where everything on the computer is. They could figure it out by simply saying the command instead of looking for a button. Another good reason is in colleges, you could set up the program and when the professor is talking, and your computer will be typing everything the professor is saying. In conclusion we all agree that the software is convenient to have and it can be used in many ways.

Speech Recognition Software

My thoughts on this topic would be that having this is a great thing to have. It would be helpful for those who have difficulty typing or can't type at all. I believe in the near future that all computers will be like this soon. It would be something worth having if I could get it I would just to try it out because you know as well as I do that I make a lot of mistakes on essays, assignments, etc. Having this program to type it out for you and correctly and all would be a great asset and very easy unless you can't talk. I think this is a great thing to have and it should be used more often in the future before we all know it we will no longer have need the use of keyboards.

Mike Williams

BLOGGIN!

To be honest that article got a little ridiculous towards the end. I have my license and I did my Drivers Ed and my six driving lessons. So it's hard for me to have sympathy but I understand what these kids feel like. The way the economy is at the moment would make anyone stray from getting their license. Buying a car and paying for your own insurance and gas is extremely difficult. I manage to pay for it all but at least seventy percent of my pay check each week will filter into some sort of payment for my car. I am a witness of these teens not having the motivation to go out and do the Drivers Ed program. One of my good friends Dan is 17 right now and will be 18 in July and he hasn't even gone for his permit. His main excuse is that his friends will just drive him around.

The few paragraphs in this article that bothered me were towards the end. That mother who won't allow her daughter to drive is in my opinion crazy. She made her daughter drive with a police officer to look at accidents? That is so stupid. Your average teenage realizes how dangerous cars are and by you keeping her in the closet like that she may never go out and drive. In the last paragraph she says now she doesn't want to get her license. I believe that was a direct result of her mother. My answer to her is let your kid grow up and do what she wants. Just make sure she has the restrictions you want but there is no reason to keep her in fear of getting her license. But who am I to make decisions for others.

Linda and Neal

    It is true that more and more parents are becoming wary about letting their kid's drive by themselves due to all the risks. What I don't agree with is that many schools don't want to pay for the training that us teenagers need. When I did my driving school it only cost me $150 because the school picked up the rest of the cost for class time and I paid $20 each road lesson, but when Neal did it at a private school it cost him around $330. I believe that the cost is becoming too expensive and if schools want their students to get proper training then they should help with the cost. A lot of the reason that teenagers don't get proper training and wait until they are 18 to get their license is because of the cost and they either have to pay their self or their parents can't afford it.

Melanie and Steve!

Melanie: After reading the article entitled "Fewer Youths Jump Behind the Wheel at 16" many thoughts crossed my mind. When reading the first sentence the first thing that came to mind was "I Totally Agree!". Turning 16 can be a milestone in many teenage lives. The most common first thing to do is get your license! To some people getting your license is your ticket to freedom as the article says. Having your license means no more depending on others to get to places, and also a way to show maturity. Having my license for just about over a year now, I can relate greatly to that theory. I no longer depend on my parents for anything! I go where I please, and when I please. At first it wasn't as easy of course. I first got my license in August of 2007 and got my first car just about 3 weeks into the month of September. Getting my first car was truly the happiest day of my life; I didn't want to quit driving! I rove just about everywhere to show as many people as I could. Now of course when you're new at the game your parents are going to be somewhat strict and have some rules till you prove to them that you can handle yourself out there on the road. It took just about a year to finally prove to my parents that I have grown up and can handle myself responsibly on the road. I now have more freedom then I ever had in my life! But knowing that I still try my hardest to stay smart and responsible so that things will stay like this for a while!

Steve: I can relate to the article "Fewer Youths Jump Behind the Wheel at 16". I am currently 17 years old and I have chosen to not get my license just yet. I have really not been in a rush to get my license for a few reasons. Reason one being I have a ride when ever I need to go somewhere and reason two it has now gotten to expensive to get your license before you are 18. The numbers of road lessons have increased the cost of road lessons have increased along with the prices of classes. Yes I know that if you decide to go there and get everything done your insurance might not be as high but you truly are saving yourself a lot of money now, waiting until you're 18 and getting your license without none of those. The price increase in my opinion is why many teenagers have not yet gotten their license, especially with where our economy is at right now. I think waiting is your best option.

Decrease in 16 year-olds jumping for their license – Paige & Megan

In all honesty, I think it's good that kids are waiting to get their license. Whether it's because of money, practice or lack of interest, I think it's in a teen's best interest to wait. The whole bundle of getting your license can be extremely expense. Driver's education is around $150 if you don't go through your high school. Then, for your road lessons, its $40 per each, and there are 12 you have to complete. So, road lessons roughly cost $480. That's crazy! If I was money-savvy, I would've waited until I was 18 and just got my permit and went for my license. Another reason teens should wait is to practice more. Although we have to complete driver's education, and also road lessons... some teens just don't get enough practice. I know a boy that has had his license for less than a year and has managed to get into 2 accidents within a time span of 2 months. Not only should he get his license taken away but he should have to retake the courses. He is a threat to other drivers. Getting your license does have it's benefits, though. Instead of your parents having to cart you around 24/7, now you can do it yourself. It also teaches responsibility. Now that you have the chance to get your license, you may have more of a motivate to actually get a job.

Becca and Breanne Blog

According to the article, the number of 16-year-olds getting their license has plummeted nearly half to less than one-third in the last decade. I think that it is the way it is because we have public transportation
Statistic: The national rate of licensed 16-year-olds dropped to 29.8% in 2006 from 43.8% in 1998. I think that it is the way it is because we have public transportation, parents and friends to drive us around, or they don't leave the house. Kids stay glued to the television and computers.

Statistic: 25 years ago most teenagers took driver's education in their local schools. But the number of school systems offering the program has plummeted to about 20% today, from 90% in the late 1980s. I think it would be better if they made it more available to do driver's education through school, because then kids can just stay after which makes it easier for some kids and parents.

Statistic: High schools are out of business because of the cost.
Commercial driving academies have stepped in to fill the gap. Private schools have grown to 60 this year, just two in 1993. I believe that more kids are going to driving school but it's too costly for some so they just wait until their 18 instead of paying the cost.

Statistic: Insurance costs are rising. It now costs 80% to 100% more to add a 16-year-old to a family's auto policy. The highest rate is charged if the teenager owns a vehicle. I think that insurance is a little ridiculous; I understand that were inexperienced but kids these days have to pay for it their selves on top of other bills and expenses that they have to pay.

Statistic: Teenage drivers have the highest crash risk of any group. Car accidents account for one-third of all deaths of 16- to 18-year-olds. Well it is true that teenagers do drive reckless, but that's not all teens and sometimes it's not even their fault for the accidents that's why there called accidents.

Statistic: Graduated driver-licensing laws, which delay awarding a full license until a teenager spends time with a parent or driving under certain conditions, are also keeping down the number of 16-year-olds on the road. Most parents don't have time or just don't care about taking time out to drive with their kids. Kids shouldn't be punished for their parent's laziness.

Statistic: These laws, in existence for about a decade, have helped reduce the number of fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers by about 11 percent, according to a 2006 study. That average increases to 20% for states with the strictest laws. I do have to agree with most of them because your safety should be the most important thing not what's fair or not.

Statistic: Forty-nine states allow young drivers to obtain restricted licenses before, on or within a few months of their sixteenth birthday. (The age for a restricted license is as low as 14 in some states.) New Jersey requires a driver to be 17 years old. I think that 14 years-old is way too young for any person to have a driver's license.

Statistic: Sweeping changes to teenage driving laws in Illinois ranked the state among the nations most restrictive. An Illinois law, weekend driving curfew is 11 p.m. (10 p.m. on week nights) for drivers 17 years old. They also tripled the length of a learner's permit from 3 to 9 month; they also increased the number of training hours behind the wheel to 6 hours from 1hour of actual driving time. I agree with this law besides the curfew, that is up to the parents and some kids are still at work or just about getting out.

Statistic: In Delaware teenagers not fully licensed may not drive between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Again I think that 10 p.m. is too early.

Statistic: The fatal crash rate for 16 year-olds driving at night is twice as high as it is during the day. At night kids are trying to make it home for curfew so they tend to avoid the speed limit.

Statistic: In North Dakota, they allow a learner's permit at 14 and has no minimum supervised-driving requirements. I believe that they have to get stricter on every single law they have on driving, because 14 is way to long and they need to have supervised-driving.

Statistic: Beyond the tighter regulations, some parents are just not encouraging lessons. I think it sucks for the kids whose parents don't help them learn or don't give them rules.

Teen Driving Project Chelsea & Brittny

The article "Fewer Youths Jump Behind the Wheel at 16" is about how, due to newer laws and expenses, fewer teenagers are eager to get their licenses. Massachusetts recently started enforcing new laws, starting in September 2008. Even though we thought these laws were strict, other states have laws that are even stricter. For example, the curfews are earlier, in places like Delaware and Illinois, to make sure that teenagers stay safer. I think that since more teenagers are getting killed in car accidents, rules need to be strongly enforced in order for the percent to decrease. We both think that the cost of driver's education is too expensive and should be cheaper, since the cost of gas is going down. Since the costs are so high, many teenagers are not able to afford the number of road lessons needed for them to be able to get their licenses. With the gas prices dropping and raising on a daily basis, teenagers can not afford to pay to have a car, which results in them not getting their license.

Welcome to the Senior Blog!

Welcome seniors! I hope to be able to share a lot of insightful ideas through our Senior Writis Blog! We'll be able to cover a lot of content here. Please remember to keep the content appropriate for school. Avoid using last names. Language should be appropriate and definitely no name-calling. Respect each other's opinions and feel free to share your opinion without being slammed.