Hi Kristine,
Thank you for your in-depth reflection. I used speech-to-text a few times on separate occasions – responding to text messages on my Apple Watch, the time that I cut my finger so deep that I couldn’t use a keyboard to work, and for a few ETEC assignments. Using the speech-to-text function on my Apple Watch, iPhone, and computer, I noticed that the more I use this function, the more the program understands how I pronounce words and sentence formulation. I also learned that I need to say “period” for the program to insert a period at the end of a sentence and say “comma” if the sentence needs it.
I think the potential of AI and the current embedded functions of speech-to-text it has already helped us immensely. For example, suggested words or phrases could be used on some devices to finish your sentence. Perhaps with the future of AI, it can pick up words even if we have an accent.
Reflection:
Kristine and I completed the speech-to-text assignment but used different programs. She used Speechnotes, and I used the dictation function on my phone. Both programs produced the same type of work. Ong said oral storytelling cannot be repeated word for word; only the ideas can be passed on (2014). Only the written stories can be used as a reference, and the whole story can be captured (Ong, 2014). Back then, my mom only gathered my grandmothers’ recipes orally because of the limited amount my grandmother knew how to write. The dishes that my mom made always tasted different than my grandmother’s. The same word could taste different when my aunts and uncles made it. Could they have missed recording or remembering an ingredient, or did my grandmother forget to mention a few? It is like playing Telephone; someone somewhere is bound to miss something. If only there was speech-to-text back then! Now that we have speech-to-text functions, oral storytelling can easily be turned into written storytelling. With today’s technology, is there really a difference between the two? When we read articles today, how do we know that the author or the creator didn’t tell this story orally? We can now immediately capture one’s wisdom or creation and share it with others with just a few clicks.
Reference:
Ong, W.J. (2002). Chapter 1: The orality of language. Links to an external site.In Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word (pp. 5-16). Routledge. (Original work published 1982).
