Voice Recognition Software & Document Application

CAOA 26   Section 4294 – Spring 2006

(Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 7 or 8)

A mandatory on-campus orientation for this class is scheduled on Saturday,
January 21, 2006, from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. in Room 4111, SLO campus.

Welcome to distance education at Cuesta College!

Instructor:                  Leila Chambers

Email:                         LCHAMBER@CUESTA.EDU  Monday through Friday

Office:                        SLO Campus, Room 4310, Business Education Building

Telephone:                 (805) 546-3100, ext. 2723  Monday through Friday

Office Hours:             TBA

Course Overview:  This course uses voice-recognition software in place of the computer keyboard to create documents and navigate the Internet. You will learn dictation procedures and voice commands to input text, access program menus, and activate keyboard commands. You will use voice dictation to create memorandums, letters, and other business documents. Punctuation, capitalization, number usage, and word usage principles are reviewed and applied to business documents.

The required software for this course includes Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred 7 or 8; Microsoft Windows XP, Me, 2000 or 98; Microsoft Word 2003, XP, or 2000, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 or higher.

Computer Requirements:

·  Intel® Pentium® III / 500 MHz processor (or equivalent AMD processor)

·  512 MB RAM

·  300 MB free hard disk space

·  Creative® Labs Sound Blaster® 16 or equivalent sound card supporting 16-bit recording

·  CD-ROM drive (required for installation)

·  Noise-canceling headset microphone (included with purchase of software)

·  Speakers (required for playback of recorded speech and text-to-speech features)

You must have access to a computer, an email account, and a reliable Internet connection. You will also need to have a backup plan in case your internet provider or computer goes down. All of your assignments and tests will be emailed to me via WebCT’s internal email. It is essential that you understand the basic concepts of email, web navigation, and online communication to succeed in this course.

Attention Hotmail users: Your mailbox may not be set to accept “group” emails. In order to be successful in an online course, you must have reliable and available technology for email communication. Hotmail does not always fulfill the requirement.

Text & Materials:

Textbook(s)--Dragon Naturally Speaking for the Office Professional, by Karl Barksdale, Thomson-SouthWestern Publisher, ISBN 0-538-72371-8

Voice Recognition with Software Applications, by Lyn Clark, Glencoe-McGraw Hill Publisher, 
ISBN 0-07-822641-4

**Textbooks may be purchased through the Cuesta Bookstore, or through websites found at the following clearinghouses www.directtextbook.com or www.campusbooks.com.

Software—Dragon NaturallySpeaking Preferred Version 7 or 8 -- Prices for the software vary so shop around. Some websites to visit include outpost.com, amazon.com, www.scansoft.com, www.advancedspeech.com.

If you have budget issues, you may choose to purchase the Standard Edition of the software. Be aware that several features are not available in this version including using voice commands in Excel, playback, import/export user files to a network.

Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Word may be purchased at a discount through http://collegesoftware.org.

First week instructions:  Please send your instructor LCHAMBER@CUESTA.EDU your name and the email address you plan to use for the class as soon as you have registered for the class.

Please confirm that the information you provided to Cuesta College when you registered is current, especially your phone number, address, and an up-to-date email address. If Cuesta College does not have your current email address, you will not receive any of the emails sent out regarding CAOA 26.

The course syllabus contains the schedule for all homework, chapter assignments, and test dates. The syllabus will be available at the mandatory class meeting and the WebCT site at the beginning of the semester.

School Policy:  Each student is required to follow all school guidelines and comply with all school deadlines including personal responsibility for adding and/or dropping this class.

If you have any additional questions prior to the first day of class, please feel free to e-mail me.

I look forward to meeting and working with you!