Textual expression is essential for academic achievement and future societal participation. Writing and reading are integrated processes, with reading improving textual coherence and clarity. A substantial proportion of students face challenges in compulsory school due to reading and writing difficulties or dyslexia. However, assistive technology (AT) is available in wordprocessing programs and may support many students' text production. Speech-to-text involves dictation, while text-to-speech enables listening to text. This dissertation in psychology examined AT's effect on students' text production.It also focused on strategies for introducing speech-to-text, students' experiences of AT, and the potential complementary role of this technology in schools' instruction of text production.
The dissertation comprises four studies involving 202 students, mainly aged 9–12 years. Studies I-III included students with reading and writing difficulties, or dyslexia, while Study IV included students with varied skills.Study I, a randomized controlled trial, investigated an AT intervention's effect mainly on reading skills and listening comprehension. A follow-up, Study II, was conducted five years later. This study comprised a qualitative thematic analysis of interviews with a subset of participants from Study I. The aim was to describe their experiences with AT in the school setting. Study III used a multiple-baseline single-case design to explore a practice-based AT intervention's effects on text production. Study IV compared speech-to-text with keyboarding using a repeated-measures group design.
Results demonstrate that speech-to-text can support text production among students with reading and writing difficulties or dyslexia. Individual variations in outcomes necessitate tailored support. For students of these ages, results indicate improvements in text length, accuracy, and vocabulary diversity.Text-to-speech can aid in effective re-reading and editing of text. Students' experiences with AT highlight both opportunities and challenges in school.These experiences encompass the school's support, students' perspectives on AT and dyslexia, and their utilization of AT during their school years.
Addressing speech recognition errors and optimizing AT use in the school environment is essential to prevent difficulties in its application. This approach facilitates employing speech-to-text for compensatory and remediating purposes in students' text production development.
Results are discussed in the context of cognitive theory of text production and AT theory, incorporating practical implications for schools and future research.