Students genuinely enjoyed being able to tell their stories rather than type them all.  The excitement in the room was palpable, and all nine students were very engaged in their learning, both when they were experimenting with their “Voice Typing Test” and when writing their autobiographical narratives.

Below are some of the voice commands they tried and their comments on using them: * If you say “shift,” the computer will type “shift” and will also capitalize the next letter. * There is a language selection feature, and even if you leave it on English, it will recognize many Spanish words. * If you say “question mark,” a “?” will appear. * When you say “period” the computer will sometimes type “period” and at other times will insert a “.”. * Saying “space” spells the word “space” rather than inserting a space. * When you pause in speaking, the computer will automatically insert a space. * Saying “new paragraph” will move the cursor down to the next line. * Saying “backspace” backspaces and erases the previous letter. * If you say letters, it will write them individually to spell a word. * The word “I” is automatically capitalized when spoken (which is not the case when typing an “i” in Google Docs). * When you speak numbers, the computer writes in numerals and puts spaces between them. * If you say “capital M” the computer will type “capital M” rather than just “M”. * Saying “Tab” will indent for you. * If you say “blah blah blah,” the computer will actually type it like that. 

Other observations: The Chromebooks are very sensitive to sound.  Mumbling cannot be understood so students must speak clearly.  However, the Chromebook microphones do pick up teachers speaking in a presentation voice from several feet away, as well as clear, quiet speech made near the microphone.  You would likely need headphones with microphones for a full class of students to use the speech-to-text technology at the same time.