What is Speechnotes?
Speechnotes is an official assistive technology for Wellesley College. It is a free speech-to-text web app with a simple user interface, or a Chrome extension.
What are Speechnotes's features?
Speechnotes allows you to create different notes that you can dictate. It automatically saves your work and provides multiple options to transfer your work. These include letting you email the contents of your note directly, uploading it to your Google Drive, downloading the file in different formats, and printing it.
One feature in particular that can be helpful is the various ways it allows you to add punctuation. There is a list of pre-set commands that are located on the right side of the screen that you can either read aloud or click to insert into your work. Additionally, it allows you to manually add punctuation without stopping the recording. To double-check your work, there is a speaker icon for a text-to-speech function.
The Chrome extension provides a detailed guide on how to start using it and how it may function in different situations. However, it does include some functions exclusive to the paid version, so you may find some tools “missing” during use if you’re on the free version.
What are Speechnotes's limitations?
There is a lack of organization options for your notes, making it difficult to store larger amounts of files. This is avoided by exporting files over to a separate location (Google Drive, your device, etc.), but isn’t ideal. Additionally, there are more punctuation commands it understands, but doesn’t list.
What are the benefits of Speechnotes?
Speechnotes can be beneficial for anyone provided you enjoy or can work with dictation. Additionally, it may be especially beneficial for those who write a lot or have difficulties typing. Any speech-to-text software can help reduce risk of repetitive strain injuries that come from typing for long stretches of time and/or sitting in a potentially uncomfortable or awkward position.
There is also support for an array of languages being dictated, and a (more limited) range of languages you can choose for the user interface.
How can I access Speechnotes?
To access Speechnotes, you can go to the Speechnotes website, where you can immediately start use. To download the Chrome extension, click on the “Voice-typing” tab on the website or click on the following link: Speechnotes extension.