The Task of Efficient Note-taking

Compiling useful notes remains a key task in most learning environments. Yet for some students, speedily writing down notes during a class or lecture presents a number of difficulties. Think of all the skills involved in taking notes… listening, concentrating, physically holding and controlling a pen, processing information, producing written language and then reading what you have written. Already you will be thinking of students for whom these are not effortless tasks.

Some students benefit from working with a professional notetaker, others will use technology including digital recorders and Braille notetakers. There are also aspects of classroom technology, such as interactive whiteboards, that teaching staff can use to make collating useful notes easier for all students. Differences in settings, learning environments and students' requirements will influence the type of notetaking provision that is most appropriate. Below is an introduction to some of the different methods, featuring links to more detailed information.

The BRITE guide to Creating an Inclusive Classroom also contains information which will assist you to help your students. A particularly important tip is to provide information and slides to students and support professionals in advance. http://www.brite.ac.uk/resources/inclusive_classroom.htm

If you are based in a Scottish FE college and would like a demonstration or training in any of the technology mentioned in this article get in touch with BRITE via our Contact page. Additionally, much of the technology here can be borrowed for evaluation purposes from the BRITE Equipment Loan Bank. Check with your college BRITE Link (listed in the People section of this website) to find out if your college is a member.

Manual note-taking

This takes the form of hand written notes, it is the slowest form of notetaking but it is a vital record especially when used alongside other communication support such as an interpreter. One of the main advantages is that the note-taker can insert diagrams and use arrows, concept maps, etc. to illustrate connections between concepts. Live access to real time information is not normally possible using this method. However, other benefits include the reduced time required for setting up as technology is not used, plus it is a relatively low-cost option.

For more detailed information about manual note-taking, have a look at the Communication Services section of the FACE (Furthering Access to College Education) for Deaf Students. The People section of the BRITE Online Guide to Support for Deaf Students contains an explanation for students of what a manual note-taker does in British Sign Language, English Text and English Audio.

FACE (Furthering Access to College Education) for Deaf Students http://www.facefordeafstudents.org.uk

BRITE Online Guide to Support for Deaf Students http://www.brite.ac.uk/resources/deaf.htm

Digital Pens

Digital pens write like a ballpoint, but using special stationery, they can permanently record all your sketches and notes, allowing you to transfer in digital format to a PC. The Logitech io2 can record up to 100 A4 pages of text/drawings between downloads. Handwritten text and images are transferred directly into MS Word, Outlook or Outlook Express via a USB docking station. My Script Notes handwriting recognition software is included to convert handwriting to text. Includes a digital paper starter pack, rechargeable battery (in terms of battery life: can capture up to 50 A4 pages between charges).

The Nokia Digital Pen works in a similar way but offers the additional option to transfer notes via Bluetooth as well as USB. It will record up to 50 A4 pages of text/drawings between downloads and can send notes as text messages or emails to Bluetooth compatible phones.

Typed Notes

Typed notes are normally produced after the session (often from an audio source or from hand written notes). These are particularly useful for people who also have low vision but who do not need the notes for live access to the session as it happens. If you are giving students notes in electronic format, MS Word, plain text or HTML are the most accessible formats.

Electronic Note-taking

Electronic notetaking involves the note-taker using a laptop and special software to record what is said in a lecture. The software makes this easier by expanding abbreviations etc. SpeedText and StereoType are the two main types of software used for electronic note taking (ENT). Other ENT software includes NotEd and Typewell.

The notes are transmitted live either to another laptop in front of the student, or to a laptop connected to a data projector (this is useful when there are a number of students requiring the service or you do not know in advance who in the audience will require the service, e.g. at conferences). The effect is like “live subtitling”.

The notetaker, or sender , types notes directly into a computer using an electronic note-taking software package. The notetaker's computer is connected via cable, network or wireless connection to another computer, a number of computers or a computer attached to a data projector.

The notes are transmitted live to the student, or receiver , so that the student is aware of what is being said at that time, can make supplementary notes, ask the note-taker questions and save the notes in a preferred format.

Electronic notetaking provides fast and efficient production of information, but note that it is only useful if the student has sufficient knowledge of English to follow the information on the screen at speed. Therefore, electronic notetaking may not be suitable for someone who uses British Sign Language and/or who is unfamiliar with English grammar. Electronically produced notes are extremely full and a large amount of text would not provide an accessible record for such a person. However, a well-trained electronic notetaker should be able to modify the level of English in the notes to suit the student.

For more detailed information about electronic note-taking, staff should have a look at the Communication Services section of the FACE (Furthering Access to College Education) for Deaf Students. The People section of the BRITE Online Guide to Support for Deaf Students contains an explanation for students of what an electronic note-taker does complete with visual examples and information in British Sign Language, English Text and English Audio.

SpeedText www.speedtextservices.co.uk

StereoType www.stereotypenotetakingsoftware.com

NoteEd http://note-ed.org/

Typewell http://www.typewell.com/

Training for Electronic Note-taking

The Scottish Sensory Centre based at Moray House in Edinburgh  has been running a SQA accredited course in electronic notetaking since 2005.  If you are interested in finding out more, or enquiring about future courses, have a look at the training section of the Scottish Sensory Centre website: http://www.ssc.education.ed.ac.uk/courses/deaflist.html . There is some general information below:

Electronic Notetaker training is appropriate for individuals who:

• are university graduates (or expect to be soon)
• can touch type
• have excellent English skills
• have basic IT skills
• have a broad base of subject knowledge

Participants are expected to undertake disability and/or deaf awareness training before working with clients who are D/deaf or disabled.  The course covers the principles, contexts, ethics, and conventions of electronic note-taking, including information on equipment, practical dilemmas, Deafness and disability, health and safety, memory improvement, software use (the course uses Stereotype software) and professional development. The training lasts five full consecutive days. Additionally, participants are expected to do 15-20 hours of ENT placements to create a portfolio of work.

The producers of StereoType have developed a CD-ROM containing fairly comprehensive training materials. This is a convenient and cost effective option for staff unable to attend a training course. The materials can be used for self-study or they can form the basis of group staff development activities. http://www.stereotypenotetakingsoftware.com

Interactive Whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards are increasingly becoming a feature of FE classrooms and lecture theatres. The ability to control dynamic and flexible presentations is the feature most frequently focused upon. However, some of the simpler features, which do not require in-depth knowledge of the accompanying interactive software, have great potential for creating a more inclusive classroom environment.

Most institutions use fixed boards such as SmartBoard and Promethean . An alternative is a portable interactive whiteboard creator such as Mimio , which can be attached to any standard whiteboard and used to create interactive features with a data projector or to electronically capture what is written on the board. The Techdis website features an article which outlines a number of ways in which the Mimio has been used as an inclusive technology by members of the BRITE Equipment Loan Bank.

Article: Interactive Whiteboards as Inclusive Technology http://www.techdis.ac.uk/index.php?p=3_7_26_1

Capturing the content of lectures and seminars

Because interactive whiteboards work with electronic content, this content can be manipulated, broadcast and saved in different ways. For example:

• Content can be simultaneously presented on a PC or laptop. This is particularly useful for students who cannot see the board clearly. The board content can be presented in different ways according to the student's preferences (see the attached Mimio handout for examples).
• Content can be saved electronically and distributed to students via email, disk or virtual learning environment. This is particularly useful for students who were unable to attend, or who need to revise the content. Images of the board can be copied and pasted into Word documents so that the student or note taker can add supplementary notes. This is useful when the tutor has been discussing diagrams etc.
• Content can be printed out instantly. This is useful for all the members of the class. Note-takers can use these printouts to supplement their notes.

Product details on the web:

Digital Voice Recorders

Students who find it difficult to read or see print may prefer to use a digital recorder as an alternative method of taking notes. The recording can be stored as an MP3 or Windows Media file and listened to again on the digital recorder/player, a computer or burned to CD.

Olympus recorders tend to be popular in FE. Priced from around £120 - £200 depending on the amount of memory space required, the Olympus DS series features a range of extremely lightweight, high quality recorders. The recorders have different settings depending on whether the student is dictating directly into the recorder, or recording a lecture or discussion. A voice filter emphasizes the human voice and reduces background noise interference. There is an index button, allowing students to mark where a new topic in a lecture begins. This is useful when the student needs to use the recording for study later. The recorder's instructions can also be accessed as audio.

Using a voice recorder facilitates the student's independence and is cost-effective as there is no need to employ someone to take notes. However, there are other things to consider. An important consideration is that of the people who are being recorded. Some staff might feel uncomfortable being recorded. Additionally, students discussing sensitive topics (e.g. in a counselling class) may not want to be recorded.

To ensure recordings are used appropriately, you might want to outline a college policy on making recordings which students can be asked to agree to. Possible points to include in such a policy might be:

• The recording is only to be used for the student's own personal study.
• The recording must not be reproduced or passed on to anyone else except for transcription purposes.
• The content of the recording remains the intellectual property of the lecturer.
• Lecturers should be informed by support staff that they are being recorded.
• Sometimes it may not be appropriate to use a recording device – for example, this may be because the lecturer makes reference to confidential case studies, the class is discussing a sensitive topic, or students are disclosing personal or creative information.

Another consideration is how to effectively use the recordings for study. Two possible methods are to convert the recording to text using Dragon Naturally Speaking, or to use organizational software like Audio Notetaker to manage the recordings on a computer.

Converting Voice Recordings to Text

The improvement in recognition accuracy that accompanied the release of Dragon NaturallySpeaking 9 has made it possible for students to quickly convert their recordings into text. Obviously the quality of the recording is very important, so it is best to use a good digital recorder such as the Olympus DS-40.

Clearly, there will be times when not every word is recognized accurately and so the text will need to be checked. If the student has difficulty with proofreading, as the text is created in MS Word, the student can use assistive software such as Texthelp Read and Write Gold or ClaroRead Plus to check the document.

Organising Digital Recordings

The main problem with making digital recordings of lectures is that the student ends up with hours and hours of audio, much of which is not particularly useful. While the audio can be recognised by Dragon NaturallySpeaking, the end result of pages of text may present problems of its own.

Priced at around £120 for a single license, Audio Notetaker is software designed to address this very problem. It allows students to navigate through, annotate and organize their digital recordings. Once audio files (e.g. MP3, Windows Media Audio, etc) are imported into Audio Notetaker, the software identifies natural pauses in speech to start the process of organizing the audio into manageable ‘chunks'. It presents the audio as a visual bar, broken at each pause in the recorded speech. This enables the listener to visualise the different sections of the speech, or lecture, and navigate the recording with ease.

To help students annotate, the recording can be broken into sections through a single key press on the PC as you listen to the recording or alternatively sections can be automatically created using the index marks taken in your digital recording. Once your section is created, Audio Notetaker offers you a text pane to type in your own notes or copy and paste from other documents, power point slides or web pages. It is also easy to colour-code sections for easy identification.

A detailed overview of Audio Notetaker complete with a Flash demonstration and customer reviews can be found here: http://www.dyslexic.com/itemMatrix.asp?ic=ANR%2D2%2D01&eq=&MatrixType=2

Braille Note-takers

A Braille Notetaker is essentially a small portable computer without a screen. The student can input notes using Braille keys, of which there are usually 9 including the spacebar. There may also be additional keys for navigation. If the student is a very competent Braillist, then this input method could be faster than typing. It is also possible to have a QWERTY keyboard on a Braille Notetaker, which students may prefer if they are more used to using a laptop or PC. Info rmation is output both as speech and on a refreshable Braille display.

Popular Braille Notetakers include the Braillenote by Humanware and the PAC Mate by Freedom Scientific. PAC Mate provides access to Microsoft Pocket PC applications through the included JAWS screen reader. You can find out more about both these products at the links below.

Braillenotes by Humanware http://www.humanware.com/en-united_kingdom/products/braille_and_speech/braillenotes

The PAC Mate by Freedom Scientific http://www.freedomscientific.com/PACMATE-HQ/PACMate-hq.asp

Dragon NaturallySpeaking is a registered trademark of Nuance, Inc.
Microsoft, Windows and Word are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.