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Number of posts in this thread: 10 (In chronological order)

From: L Snider
Date: Wed, Mar 02 2016 11:26AM
Subject: Google Docs Voice Type
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Hi Everyone,

Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in
Google Docs?
https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en


I researched accessibility and Google Docs a few months back and it still
had its issues. I am wondering whether that is still the case? Good about
the new feature, but if everyone can't access it then I do wonder (but
maybe I am wrong here)...

Cheers

Lisa

From: Lucy Greco
Date: Wed, Mar 02 2016 11:57AM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

hello:
it works well but a screen reader user gets no echo back of what is beeing
typed so its still hard to use with a screen reader. i can do it but its a
reel pain lucy

Lucia Greco
Web Accessibility Evangelist
IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
University of California, Berkeley
(510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
Follow me on twitter @accessaces


On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in
> Google Docs?
> https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en
>
>
> I researched accessibility and Google Docs a few months back and it still
> had its issues. I am wondering whether that is still the case? Good about
> the new feature, but if everyone can't access it then I do wonder (but
> maybe I am wrong here)...
>
> Cheers
>
> Lisa
> > > > >

From: L Snider
Date: Wed, Mar 02 2016 12:54PM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Lucy,

Good to know, thanks so much! I gather they had a very specific audience in
mind for it, seems that way anyway...Too bad, because I can see it being
really useful for most people.

Cheers

Lisa

On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 12:57 PM, Lucy Greco < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> hello:
> it works well but a screen reader user gets no echo back of what is beeing
> typed so its still hard to use with a screen reader. i can do it but its a
> reel pain lucy
>
> Lucia Greco
> Web Accessibility Evangelist
> IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> University of California, Berkeley
> (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> Follow me on twitter @accessaces
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in
> > Google Docs?
> > https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en
> >
> >
> > I researched accessibility and Google Docs a few months back and it still
> > had its issues. I am wondering whether that is still the case? Good about
> > the new feature, but if everyone can't access it then I do wonder (but
> > maybe I am wrong here)...
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Lisa
>

From: Lucy Greco
Date: Wed, Mar 02 2016 1:40PM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

i am working on a few fronts to see if i can get it to work with a screen
reader. one of witch is directly asking google to make it happen. but i
also have a few other irons in the fire. more later on those as i am not
sure how far they will get smile lucy

Lucia Greco
Web Accessibility Evangelist
IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
University of California, Berkeley
(510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
Follow me on twitter @accessaces


On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:54 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Hi Lucy,
>
> Good to know, thanks so much! I gather they had a very specific audience in
> mind for it, seems that way anyway...Too bad, because I can see it being
> really useful for most people.
>
> Cheers
>
> Lisa
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 12:57 PM, Lucy Greco < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > hello:
> > it works well but a screen reader user gets no echo back of what is
> beeing
> > typed so its still hard to use with a screen reader. i can do it but its
> a
> > reel pain lucy
> >
> > Lucia Greco
> > Web Accessibility Evangelist
> > IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> > University of California, Berkeley
> > (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> > http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> > Follow me on twitter @accessaces
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> >
> > > Hi Everyone,
> > >
> > > Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in
> > > Google Docs?
> > > https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en
> > >
> > >
> > > I researched accessibility and Google Docs a few months back and it
> still
> > > had its issues. I am wondering whether that is still the case? Good
> about
> > > the new feature, but if everyone can't access it then I do wonder (but
> > > maybe I am wrong here)...
> > >
> > > Cheers
> > >
> > > Lisa
> >
> > > > >

From: L Snider
Date: Wed, Mar 02 2016 2:26PM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

That is awesome! Keep us updated on how things go, one brick at a time
builds a building (which is hopefully accessible for everyone)!

Cheers

Lisa

On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 2:40 PM, Lucy Greco < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> i am working on a few fronts to see if i can get it to work with a screen
> reader. one of witch is directly asking google to make it happen. but i
> also have a few other irons in the fire. more later on those as i am not
> sure how far they will get smile lucy
>
> Lucia Greco
> Web Accessibility Evangelist
> IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> University of California, Berkeley
> (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> Follow me on twitter @accessaces
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 11:54 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
>
> > Hi Lucy,
> >
> > Good to know, thanks so much! I gather they had a very specific audience
> in
> > mind for it, seems that way anyway...Too bad, because I can see it being
> > really useful for most people.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Lisa
> >
> > On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 12:57 PM, Lucy Greco < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> >
> > > hello:
> > > it works well but a screen reader user gets no echo back of what is
> > beeing
> > > typed so its still hard to use with a screen reader. i can do it but
> its
> > a
> > > reel pain lucy
> > >
> > > Lucia Greco
> > > Web Accessibility Evangelist
> > > IST - Architecture, Platforms, and Integration
> > > University of California, Berkeley
> > > (510) 289-6008 skype: lucia1-greco
> > > http://webaccess.berkeley.edu
> > > Follow me on twitter @accessaces
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, Mar 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM, L Snider < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Hi Everyone,
> > > >
> > > > Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature
> in
> > > > Google Docs?
> > > > https://support.google.com/docs/answer/4492226?hl=en
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I researched accessibility and Google Docs a few months back and it
> > still
> > > > had its issues. I am wondering whether that is still the case? Good
> > about
> > > > the new feature, but if everyone can't access it then I do wonder
> (but
> > > > maybe I am wrong here)...
> > > >
> > > > Cheers
> > > >
> > > > Lisa
> > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > >

From: deborah.kaplan
Date: Thu, Mar 03 2016 8:46AM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

Lisa Snider asked:

> Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in Google Docs?

I just did a quick comparison between reading the same couple of paragraphs with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and with the Google voice type feature. Obviously they aren't competitive products -- if you are a person who needs Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you're not going to use Google voice type. But it was there to give me a good sense of just comparative dictation, recognition, error rate, etc.

1. The recognition rate was only slightly worse than NaturallySpeaking's. That's not surprising, given that Google has been doing a lot of work and voice recognition, but is very good. Especially when you think that my NaturallySpeaking version is trained, and also I've optimize my voice to its patterns over the years.

2. One thing I found is that it doesn't have any voice correction yet. You dictate, and then you go back with the keyboard in order to correct recognition errors and dictation errors.

3. Another positive feature -- it simply stopped listening to Dragon while I was dictating into Google voice, so even if I hadn't turned off the microphone for Dragon it still would have done the right thing.

4. However, unfortunate corollary: it also stopped listening to keyboard shortcuts, and between no longer listening to Dragon and no longer listening to keyboard shortcuts, there was no hands-free or mouse-free method to disable Google voice type.

5. I would have to play around with it more to see why it was being weird about punctuation. For example, when I tried to put quotation marks around things, it heard the words "open quote" (it might use different syntax).

For people who don't need dictation or hands-for use in general, but who might benefit from a little bit of extra help so they don't have to type all day, it could definitely be useful. I will say that Chrome has stopped being a browser that I flat out say "its accessibility is too bad to even suggest it to people." They have fixed a lot of its accessibility bugs recently.

Deborah Kaplan

From: Morin, Gary (NIH/OD) [E]
Date: Thu, Mar 03 2016 11:40AM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

Maybe Google is finally addressing the needs of sighted, dexterity impaired computer users, such as those of us who use Dragon NaturallySpeaking. But, I think I'd rather just stick with using DNS with Google apps, rather than having to learn a new app and switching between Google Docs voice and DNS when I switch between tasks.

From: L Snider
Date: Fri, Mar 04 2016 7:04AM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Deborah,

That was awesome, thanks so much!

Glad to hear about Chrome as well. What is weird is that I find way more
accessibility add ons for Chrome versus Firefox now. I found that odd, as
it used to be the reverse.

Cheers

Lisa

On Thu, Mar 3, 2016 at 9:46 AM, < = EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Lisa Snider asked:
>
> Just curious what y'all think about Google's new Voice Type feature in
>> Google Docs?
>>
>
> I just did a quick comparison between reading the same couple of
> paragraphs with Dragon NaturallySpeaking and with the Google voice type
> feature. Obviously they aren't competitive products -- if you are a person
> who needs Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you're not going to use Google voice
> type. But it was there to give me a good sense of just comparative
> dictation, recognition, error rate, etc.
>
> 1. The recognition rate was only slightly worse than NaturallySpeaking's.
> That's not surprising, given that Google has been doing a lot of work and
> voice recognition, but is very good. Especially when you think that my
> NaturallySpeaking version is trained, and also I've optimize my voice to
> its patterns over the years.
>
> 2. One thing I found is that it doesn't have any voice correction yet.
> You dictate, and then you go back with the keyboard in order to correct
> recognition errors and dictation errors.
>
> 3. Another positive feature -- it simply stopped listening to Dragon while
> I was dictating into Google voice, so even if I hadn't turned off the
> microphone for Dragon it still would have done the right thing.
>
> 4. However, unfortunate corollary: it also stopped listening to keyboard
> shortcuts, and between no longer listening to Dragon and no longer
> listening to keyboard shortcuts, there was no hands-free or mouse-free
> method to disable Google voice type.
>
> 5. I would have to play around with it more to see why it was being weird
> about punctuation. For example, when I tried to put quotation marks around
> things, it heard the words "open quote" (it might use different syntax).
>
> For people who don't need dictation or hands-for use in general, but who
> might benefit from a little bit of extra help so they don't have to type
> all day, it could definitely be useful. I will say that Chrome has stopped
> being a browser that I flat out say "its accessibility is too bad to even
> suggest it to people." They have fixed a lot of its accessibility bugs
> recently.
>
> Deborah Kaplan
>
>

From: L Snider
Date: Fri, Mar 04 2016 7:11AM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | Next message →

Hi Gary,

Good point. If that is the case, good on them. However, I guess for me I
think why not go all the way with it? They are very forward thinking, and
why not make it go even further than Dragon? Why not conceive it to be for
everyone from the beginning? I know, I am preaching to the choir as they
say!

Cheers

Lisa



On Thu, Mar 3, 2016 at 12:40 PM, Morin, Gary (NIH/OD) [E] <
= EMAIL ADDRESS REMOVED = > wrote:

> Maybe Google is finally addressing the needs of sighted, dexterity
> impaired computer users, such as those of us who use Dragon
> NaturallySpeaking. But, I think I'd rather just stick with using DNS with
> Google apps, rather than having to learn a new app and switching between
> Google Docs voice and DNS when I switch between tasks.
>
>

From: Jonathan Avila
Date: Fri, Mar 04 2016 3:30PM
Subject: Re: Google Docs Voice Type
← Previous message | No next message

> Glad to hear about Chrome as well. What is weird is that I find way more accessibility add ons for Chrome versus Firefox now. I found that odd, as it used to be the reverse.

This seems to be a trend. I believe Firefox tightened up their requirements for add-ons (I could be incorrect on this so please correct me if I am wrong) and at the same time the adoption of Chrome by the general public has far surpassed Firefox.

If you were to look at these general numbers from the W3Schools servers you might conclude that Chrome's increase is proportional to Firefox's decrease in use.
http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Keep in mind that the w3Schools numbers may be skewed by coders who may tend to visit that site more.

Jonathan