Dragon NaturallySpeaking Included in New Learning Access Suite to Aid Students with Learning Difficulties

Nuance joins forces with Claro Software and Microlink to deliver education software designed to enrich the learning process for pupils of all abilities

London, UK, 30 October, 2008 – Nuance Communications, a leading provider of speech solutions, has today announced that Dragon® NaturallySpeaking®, the world’s best-selling desktop speech recognition software, features in the Learning Access Suite, a collection of powerful learning tools designed to make reading, writing and learning much easier. Developed in conjunction with major assistive solution providers Claro Software and Microlink PC, the Learning Access Suite is available immediately for as little as £1.10 per pupil.

The Learning Access Suite enables learners to see the relationship between the spoken and written word, as it offers both speech recognition and a facility to read back text. In addition to offering Dragon NaturallySpeaking, The Learning Access Suite also includes: the ClaroRead literacy support tool, (including text to speech features), ScreenRuler, Lightening Magnifier and screen reader. It also feautres ClaroView screen colour overlay tool, MindFull Concept Mapper, Colour Explorer and ClaroLingo language assistant.

The comprehensive set of features in the Learning Access Suite will enable schools to meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and other government led education initiatives With Dragon NaturallySpeaking, people can write documents and emails, search the Web, and control their PC entirely by voice. This makes it far easier for pupils with learning difficulties or upper body mobility issues to take full advantage of a PC as a learning and communications tool. Dragon can deliver accuracy up to 99 percent while never making a spelling mistake. 

Mark Green, Director of Education, Nuance EMEA, said: “The Learning Access Suite has the potential to transform the learning experience for students as they explore and communicate with IT throughout their school lives. As millions of users have already discovered, Dragon is a multifaceted product and in this application it will open the door to a richer, more inclusive learning experience”

Students, who struggle with using a keyboard and mouse or with a cognitive disability, such as dyslexia, can use this technology to help them reach their full potential. The Suite also provides new learning opportunities for students who are learning English as an additional language. At any one time, there are 150,000 overseas students studying at UK universities as well as many younger learners who are recent arrivals in the UK.

The Learning Access Suite can be easily installed on a school network and, to encourage pupils to use it outside of school for homework and extended learning, there is a special programme for home use. Once a school has taken out a subscription, parents are then entitled to buy Dragon and other tools at a discounted price.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking software from Nuance is used by millions of people – in the office, at home, at school, on the road, even in hospitals and GP practices to get more done faster by voice. Dragon delivers what matters most in speech recognition – superior levels of accuracy, seamless integration with the most popular PC applications, and unrivalled ease of use.

For more information on the Learning Access Suite please visit http://www.nuance.co.uk/learning-access-suite