A learning disability is a brain condition that causes difficulties in processing or comprehending information and, thus, can make it significantly harder to succeed academically. According to experts, learning disabilities are expressed differently in every individual. For some, they complicate understanding complex concepts. For others, they make it harder to acquire new skills. Yet, one of the most frequently faced learning disabilities affects word processing, making it harder for students to read and write.
Given the vast amount of writing tasks in schools, it’s clear that a writing disability can greatly impact one’s performance. The good news is that there are a few ways to overcome this. Firstly, you can hire professional dissertation writers and delegate writing tasks to them. Secondly, you can leverage specialized speech-to-text tools to help you handle writing easily, even with a learning disability.
Let us tell you about the top five such apps!
Apple Dictation
Research finds that 71% of college and university students in the US already use or would like to use a Mac instead of Windows. For this reason, our first recommended tool is Apple Dictation, a free speech-to-text feature inherent in macOS, iPadOS and iOS.
Getting started with this feature is incredibly easy. First, you need to go to the settings on your Mac or another Apple device and follow the route System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation. From there, you can enable dictation, select the languages you want to use, and pick a keyboard shortcut to allow speech-to-text.
The primary benefits of this feature are that it’s incredibly accurate, supports autocorrection, and doesn’t cost you a penny. Although it may seem a bit odd to use at first, once you get comfortable with it, this feature can save you plenty of time typing notes and papers for school.
Windows 11 Speech Recognition
If you are a Windows user, you also have a built-in feature that you can use to dictate your texts. Windows 11 Speech Recognition is also known as Voice Typing. Just like Apple Dictation, this feature is a part of the system. It can be easily used in any computer app or software you use.
Getting started with this feature is also easy. To enable speech recognition on your computer, go to Settings > Time and Language > Speech and tweak the settings to meet your needs. Once the feature is enabled, open an app where you want to create your text, let’s say Word, and press the Windows logo key + H to start dictating. The system will automatically recognize your speech and translate it into text in seconds.
Windows 11 Speech Recognition is also free of charge and accurate enough. If we had to rate it, its accuracy would be around 95% against 96% in Apple Dictation.
Google Docs Voice Typing
The next tool is meant specifically for students who prefer to keep their notes and assignments on the cloud and use Google Drive for all their academic matters. As you should know, Google Drive enables you to create, share, and collaborate on documents, tables, forms, and even presentations. However, you may still need to learn that there is a specialized voice typing feature that works in the Google Workspace suite.
To enable this feature, open Google Docs or Google Slides and go to Tools > Voice Typing. Then click on the microphone icon to start dictating.
Google’s voice typing feature can be used for free. At first glance, it can’t boast the same high accuracy as built-in speech-to-text features in Apple or Windows. However, some users claim that voice typing is gradually getting more accurate when you start using it more frequently.
Dragon
Dragon is a smart speech recognition solution offered by Nuance. Formerly known as Dragon Dictate (1990), it’s the first dictation software ever rolled out. Thanks to its long history, it’s deservedly called one of the leaders in the industry and definitely one of the best speech-to-text tools for students to try.
Using Dragon is incredibly intuitive. All you need to do is download an app for Android, iOS, macOS, or Windows, pick a suitable package, and start dictating.
The benefits of this tool include its compatibility with all devices. Also, it’s known for handling specialized industry vocabulary, which can be hard to process for free speech recognition tools. It even lets you customize your app by adding words that are otherwise hard to recognize and spell out to simplify dictation. It’s also incredibly accurate. And it only costs $15/month for a Dragon Anywhere plan that enables you to use this app across all mobile devices. There are also plans for a desktop from $200 to $500.
Gboard
The last one on our list is Gboard, a mobile dictation app, also known as Google Keyboard. It’s native to Android devices but can also be downloaded to iOS devices from the App Store and activated from your device’s settings.
This app has a fairly accurate dictation feature. It may be less powerful compared to the tools described above. However, it offers a few extra features for simplified web search, Google Maps search, and text translation, so if it works for you, it’s also a good option.
Another benefit of Gboard is that it is also free to use, which makes it a great app for students on a budget.
The Bottom Line
Achieving academic success can get incredibly complicated when you have a learning disability getting in your way. This condition can make it much harder to handle your daily academic commitments, such as doing homework. Luckily, technology can help!
After reading this article, you will learn about the top five speech-to-text tools that have proven to be effectively collected by the team of PaperTyper writers. Leverage these apps to assist you in your studies and overcome the challenges caused by learning disabilities!
