Please visit this link for a printable version of this page in Microsoft Word format.     

Getting Started

1. If the computer you are using has the icon, please double-click the “Assistive Technology Loader” icon.
    
2. You will be presented with a screen explaining the login process and providing information about the AT Loader. The AT Loader will guide you through the process of logging in and selecting your software. Any software currently installed on the computer at the time of the installation, or after every 30 days, will be updated on the radio button list. To update this list, you will need to access the menu items, which are, at the time of this revision of this guide, currently inaccessible. You will be required to login with your O-Key e-mail address and password. This information can be found on your O-Key page. If you have trouble finding this information, please visit http://okey.okstate.edu or contact the IT Helpdesk.
   
3. You can Tab through each field to get to O-Key Email Address, O-Key Password, and the software selection area. When you are done inputting this information, you can tab to the “Start” button, which will log you in and automatically start your software. This may take a few moments
4. When you are done using your software, return to the AT Loader, exit the AT software you were using, and click either “Logout” or “Exit” to properly ensure that you are logged out of the computer and to prevent a malicious user from accessing your settings after you. For best results, restart the computer.

Using Dragon NaturallySpeaking

When running Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you should be presented with a screen similar to the following: 

Basic Operation

To operate Dragon NaturallySpeaking, you can click on the Microphone icon in the Dragon bar to activate the speech recognition. Dictation into a document can begin immediately. Keep in mind that Dragon NaturallySpeaking needs punctuation and formatting information, otherwise the dictation will appear as one long, unformatted string of text. As you dictate, Dragon will show words it is recognizing in the upper-left hand corner of the screen. When you have completed a phrase or sentence, the text will appear on the document. The following commands for basic operation will allow you to get started with basic dictation:

• New line: Equivalent to hitting the “Enter” key
• Period: Inserts a period.
• Comma: Inserts a comma
• Correct that: Corrects the last entered phrase.
• Select that: Selects the last entered phrase
• Delete that: Delete the selected phrase
• Backspace: Backspaces one character (useful when entering numbers)

Remember that Dragon NaturallySpeaking recognizes phrases and sentences, not individual words. While it may be tempting to dictate to the software one word at a time, this will degrade the accuracy of the program. Dragon is much more proficient at handling long phrases. 

Finding Help & More Information

Included in the installation is a PDF version of both the Quick Start Guide and the full Dragon NaturallySpeaking documentation. Additionally, it is highly recommended that you utilize the Tutorial, available under the Help menu. This section will provide a great deal of information on utilizing Dragon from a beginner’s standpoint.