🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi;

Thought some here might find this of interest.

Jennison Asuncion
Concordia University, Montreal
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 21 Apr 1999 16:58:04 +0100
From: Chapman Val <v.chapman@worc.ac.uk>
Subject: Voice recognition conference update

VOICE RECOGNITION: ENABLING ACCESS TO THE 
CURRICULUM on Saturday, 22nd May 1999 at University College 
Worcester, Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR2 6AJ

This one day conference will be of interest to teachers, lecturers and associated 
professionals who work with learners across all age ranges within schools, further 
education colleges and higher education settings. The conference will examine ways 
in which voice recognition technology can enable greater access to the curriculum. 
The opening lecture will be followed by a series of practical workshops and 
commercial organisations will also exhibit their latest products.

A. It’s the singer not the song! Adventures in speech recognition for 
learners with Special Needs. Maggie Wagstaff and Malcolm Ratcliffe, 
BECTa. This workshop will give an (a) introduction to work in progress with 
the BECTa Speech Recognition project (this software is being trialled by a 
number of users in a variety of SEN settings), (b) some examples of ways 
discrete and continuous speech recognition software have been used and (c) 
the stories and the process, as told by staff and students.

B. Secondary Dyslexic Pupils and VR: Can they work together? Martin 
Miles, Educational Psychologist. Martin has been evaluating the use of VR 
with KS3 and KS4 pupils in Devon’s secondary schools for almost 2 years. 
This workshop presents the results of the study so far, the strengths and 
limitations of VR, the practical considerations and ideas for future 
applications.

C. Speak for Yourself! Dave Laycock and Graham Rice, CCPD, 
University of Westminster. Dave and Graham,  who is CCPD’s technical 
officer and a regular speech input user, will have systems available with 
different versions of the software. People can try them, discuss their relative 
merits and consider funding sources within HE (16+).

D. Speech Verification for Automatic Pronunciation, Reading and 
Language Tuition. Martin Russell, School of Electronic and Electrical 
Engineering, the University of Birmingham.  The goal of speech verification 
is to judge automatically whether or not a speaker has produced an 
‘acceptable’ utterance of a known word. It will be at the heart of future 
interactive ‘tutors’ for pronunciation, reading and foreign language learning. 
We will discuss research issues and prototype systems.

E. Talking ‘A’ Levels. Stuart Badger. My practical experiences as an ‘A’ 
level student using Dragon Dictate (discrete) will form the basis of this 
workshop. I have cerebral palsy and this makes it difficult for me to write or 
use a keyboard effectively.
	
F. The Use of Voice Recognition with the Physically Disabled. Dorothy 
Habitts, Ability Net. An introduction to using voice recognition where a 
disabled person is unable to use the keyboard effectively. Covering visually 
impaired users, hands free users and considering persons with a speech 
impediment. 					
G. To Buy or Not to Buy. Dave Mitchell, Learning and Behaviour Support 
Service, Worcestershire LEA. How does an LEA make a judgement that it 
should provide a personal speech recognition system for a particular 
youngster? We will consider the factors relating to the learner, the context 
and the technology.

H. Using Voice Recognition to Facilitate Creative Writing.  Judy 
Thomas, Malcolm Litten and Kevin Jones. Research based at University 
College Worcester seeks to demonstrate how voice recognition can 
revolutionise educational opportunities for dyslexic children and adults. 
Independent use of this technology enables the user to translate image to 
word with fluency, accuracy and ease.

PLUS...........

Commercial Workshops						
Exhibitions/Practical Demonstrations of Voice Recognition Technology 
Software, e.g. Dragon Systems, Computer Algebra Centre, iANYST Ltd, 
Philips Speech Processing, Clecom, Aptech (Words World Wide) plus 
others.

Bookings to : 
Helen James, 
University College Worcester, 
Henwick Grove, Worcester, WR2 6AJ               by 7th May 1999. 

For enquiries please telephone 01905-855403 or e-mail h.james@worc.ac.uk
Dr Val Chapman
Equal Opportunities Coordinator
University College Worcester
Henwick Grove
Worcester  WR2 6AJ
Tel : 01905 855402
Fax : 01905 855132
e-mail: v.chapman@worc.ac.uk