Can We Talk

Voice recognition applications are becoming more popular. We are seeing speech-to-text in new places. The iPad 3 comes with built-in dictation capabilities. Siri made its debut via the iPhone. Medical offices have become increasingly more dependent on speech-to-text. The software continues to improve.

Although I have dabbled with speech-to-text on occasion, it had not been a rewarding experience. In fact, it was more a source of humor - speak into the microphone and see the ludicrous text that is produced. It is rarely a small error, but rather an error that induces laughter, unless, of course, you need it done right, and you need it right now!

I recently came across an offer to purchase Dragon Naturally Speaking at a very enticing price. It seemed the time has come for me to put forth serious effort. I was not looking forward to the training, which I understood to be time-consuming, but I expected the installation to go smoothly.

Installation on my Windows 7 computer did not go well. The first several attempts failed, producing an error message that a required file was missing. After some Internet research, the missing file was located, downloaded, and installed, and Dragon was finally ready.

Although there are pieces of information available, i.e., some voice commands are listed on the box, in an accompanying brochure, and in the on-screen Tip of the Day, it was made obvious that knowing and learning those commands is critical for success. For example, saying “quote” will not produce a quotation mark; saying “open quote” will. That seems trivial, but it is the difference between accomplishing a task and total frustration.

Help was not available. Investigation into the program’s Help revealed that it was written for Windows XP and earlier operating systems. Windows 7 (and Vista) do not recognize the format that was used. As illustrated, it is critical to know precise commands, and where else to find that information if not in Help!

With the location of user guides on the Internet (which I downloaded and made available here, under Blogroll on the sidebar), required information is now available. I also went through the tutorial. Dragon is now ready to use. I get better with practice and so does Dragon, and I am finding Dragon to be a fun and useful tool.

Some transcriptionists use Dragon to transcribe for them. Careful editing is then required, but transcription time is reduced, as is the stress on hands and wrists. Learning to edit can be an asset in itself as there are transcription jobs for speech-to-text editors. Experience with voice recognition software just might be the tool you need to get a job or land a new account as a medical transcriptionist.

Do you enjoy solving puzzles? Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, cryptograms, even jigsaw puzzles? Very often, completing a transcription assignment is much like solving a puzzle. There are clues buried in each dictation voice file that will help figure out a word, phrase, or more. 

To solve these puzzles, there are various tools available, many of which are at your fingertips. The dictionary is always a good starting point. For medical transcription, a medical dictionary is essential. Google is always ready to assist and often makes suggestions when you are close but not quite there. There are websites, word lists, and more that can help to produce an error-free transcribed document, one that contains no guesses, and no blanks. 

Onelook.com is an excellent resource. When listening to a dictation file, sometimes a word creates a stumbling block. Perhaps it is a word you never heard before or a word that is spoken so quickly that deciphering it is difficult. Onelook can help. Onelook, you see, accepts wildcards. Search for the letters you believe are included and use an asterisk or two to indicate mystery letters. Onelook will produce a list of all words that meet those specifications. 

In the search box, enter *epithelial.” One look will produce a list of 20 words that end with epithelial. One of them is probably the word you are looking for. Let us try another. In the search box, type p*ceph*. Onelook found 332 words that fit. Too many choices?  Narrow down the choices. Possibly the mystery word begins with “por.” Try it. Type por*ceph*. Now there are 17 choices. Your word just may be there. Listen again to the voice file and see if you can find a perfect fit. 

Onelook can even find simple phrases for you. In addition to wildcards, leave a blank to indicate a space between two words (or more). Type * infection in the search box. Click ENTER and there are 288 choices. Perhaps that infection starts with a T. Try t* infection. Remember the blank tells onelook it is more than one word. In fact, onelook brings up 12 possibilities and hopefully the correct word is now before you. 

Solve some of your transcription puzzles with onelook.com.