An Exploratory Study on the Use of Speech-to-Text Technology as a Writing Modality for Pupils With Low Writing Achievement in Norwegian Lower Secondary Education

Abstract

Six Norwegian lower secondary school pupils (ages 14–15 years) with low writing achievement participated in a stimulated recall study aimed at exploring how pupils write and experience writing with speech-to-text (STT) technology in an educational context. The study employed an exploratory design, collecting data from screen recordings and stimulated recall interviews. The screen recordings were captured while the adolescents wrote a reflective text in Norwegian, using STT and keyboard. Findings showed that the pupils were able to produce a reflective text using STT technology while experiencing both benefits and challenges due to the technology. Benefits included the opportunity to use words that they did not know how to spell and verbal skills to produce arguments in writing. Challenges were mainly related to transcription errors and technological inaccuracies. Findings suggest that technological issues need to be addressed and sufficient planning and instruction is necessary before STT can be a truly beneficial tool for adolescents with low writing achievement in secondary education.

Keywords

• writing
• writing instruction
• speech-to-text
• special education
• lower secondary school