Here's a revised proposal...enjoy.

Title: Taming the dragon: effective use of Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech
recognition software.

Scholars in computers and writing have studied how such applications as word processing software affect the writing process. One under-examined area, however, is software applications that aid students with disabilities. Feng and Sears in their article “interaction techniques for users with spinal cord injuries: a speech-based solution”, make what I take to be eye-opening claims about the voice recognition software Dragon NaturallySpeaking. They claim seven out of every eight initial users eventually abandon the program in short order, due to slow rate of production (17 to 20 words per minute, as opposed to 30 words per minute typing by hand, or 120 to
150 words per minute in casual conversation). Moreover, they claim that upwards
of 75% of an individual user's time is spent simply in correcting recognition
errors. Moreover, other issues such as the need for privacy during dictation
can also lead to abandonment of the program by inexperienced users according to
Wobbrock and Myers. I do not deny any of this. Moreover, I am an experienced user of Dragon NaturallySpeaking software having used five of its ten versions so far.

Voice recognition software is not a miracle worker. However, it is my intention to show that with the proper expectations, Dragon NaturallySpeaking can be a boon to those who are willing to employ it. I do not intend to be exclusionary in this piece. I intend to show through research and my own experiences how Dragon NaturallySpeaking software can be used as a tool of universal access not only for the physically disabled like myself, but for everyone with a passion for writing. Through this paper, I will be able to show many able-bodied persons, who might never think of using voice recognition software, the benefits of attempting it in their daily lives. I intend to show through scholarly research and my own experience what I believe are the proper techniques for employing Dragon NaturallySpeaking software most effectively including methods of training the device including employing training texts which users are encouraged to read into Dragon when beginning using the program but many users do not do leading to needlessly poor speech recognition. Learning to avoid pitfalls with Dragon will help to avoid many of the speech recognition errors which often frustrate beginning users especially those who are used to typing by hand.

Therefore, my audience is not simply physically disabled students like myself
but anyone involved in English composition or the other humanities in which
frequent writing is a necessity. In particular I believe special education teachers will find my work most useful as they try to integrate new technologies into their classrooms in order to help students express themselves who might otherwise be unable to do so. Moreover, I believe the teachers of composition at the 101 and 102 level will also find my analysis useful as they increasingly find themselves both dealing with a diverse student population and with less time in which to grade papers and provide feedback to students. I believe voice recognition software like Dragon NaturallySpeaking can be a great assistance in all these areas. When properly acclimated to voice recognition software anyone who loves to do or is required to do a great deal of writing will eventually find it a great aid in what they are doing.