Volume 14, No. 3, Summer 2006	Previous Issues Subscribe to AT Messenger Download PDF Viewer
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Interesting New Products Enter AT Market

Eden Melmed, AT Specialist New Castle County ATRC

There are some wonderful new products that have recently been brought to market that I would like to share with you. The first two products that I will discuss have exciting implications for education, while the third product is more in the realm of recreation. SpeakQ and MathTalk are software applications that must be installed on the user’s computer. The switchPod by Technical Solutions Australia, however, is a portable switch for use with most of Apple’s iPod products. If you are interested in more information on any of the following products, please contact the AT Specialist at your local Assistive Technology Resource Center.

Speak Q Introduces Speech Recognition to WordQ 2 Software SpeakQ by Quillsoft is a new software plug-in that adds simple speech recognition to the company’s word prediction software, WordQ 2. It is targeted to students who have strong verbal skills but who struggle with reading and writing and find it difficult to use other speech recognition products because of reading demands and complexity.

They have kept SpeakQ simple and easy to use. It has a simplified training process where the computer prompts you, by voice, about what to say. The user can then dictate using one of two modes. In the ‘speak and select’ mode, spoken words are displayed as a list of choices enhanced by word prediction (see above screen shot). In the ‘speak continuously’ mode, spoken words are typed directly into the document as they are said. There are no verbal commands available; you can only dictate text. WordQ 2 must be purchased and installed in order to use the SpeakQ plug-in (SpeakQ plug-in $185; WordQ 2 and SpeakQ bundle $350). You can download trial software from the website, www.wordq.com or request a demo CD from Quillsoft Ltd., (866) 629-6737.

MathTalk for All Dragon NaturallySpeaking Products MathTalk allows the user to use voice to input math information into a computer. It supports algebra, trig, calculus, statistics…even voicing graphs. It is appropriate for all levels of math, including professional use. MathTalk operates Scientific Notebook with over 600,000 combinations of voice commands. Scientific Notebook will also evaluate, evaluate numerically, factor, combine, expand, simplify, check equality, solve exact, and more (see www.mackichan.com for more details).

Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) must be installed to use MathTalk ($295; bundled with DNS 8.0, $495). Visit www.mathtalk.com or call (817) 261-1658 to see demos or to request a trial CD.

Single Switch Scanning Control for Apple’s iPod Technical Solutions Australia (TSA) has designed the switchPod to allow switch users to control some functions of Apple’s iPod using the iPod’s remote control socket. The switchPod is compatible with the iPod, iPod mini, and iPod photo. TSA is currently working on a version for the iPod
nano.

All of the iPod’s remote control functions can be controlled by the switchPod. These include: power, play/pause, volume up/down, and track forward/ backward. The switchPod costs around $136 and is available through TSA’s website, www.tecsol.com.au.