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Notetaking Services

Office of Disability Services (ODS) provides technology to help students, independently, meet their notetaking accommodation. All eligible students may use one of the following systems. To use these technologies effectively, it is requested of faculty to provide PowerPoint presentations in advance of the lecture.

• Sonocent
• Livescribe SmartPen

Two other types of notetaking services are available and is dependent on the impact of the disability in physically taking notes. 

• Peer-to-Peer Notetaking Services
• Real-time Transcribing Services

Peer-to-Peer notetaking services and real-time transcribing services requires approval from the Student Accommodation Review Committee (SRC).

Sonocent

ODS is contracting with Sonocent to obtain subscriptions for students eligible for notetaking support. Research shows that students who take good notes are more engaged in class and ultimately get better grades. With Sonocent, students can focus on what they are hearing during the lecture, have the opportunity to highlight what the instructor identifies as important and then come back to their recording to create effective notes. Students can also import slides and images that connect to their audio recording to create multi-media study resources. 

Student Responsibilities

• Students should make their request for Sonocent software at least one week before the start of the term as Sonocent software access codes are issued on a term-by-term basis. 
• Requests for Sonocent access codes are processed in the order that we receive them.
• Inform ODS as soon as possible of any problems with accessing the software, using the software in classes/meetings or other technological issues.
• When selecting Sonocent, students will sign an agreement to use the Sonocent audio recordings of course lectures solely for their own educational purpose. Students will also agree to not share the software access code,  make copies or release the audio recordings of course lectures to others, post to websites and/or social media, sell, or in any way hinder the instructor’s ability to obtain a copyright of this lecture content. 
• Failure to comply with this policy may result in a hold on notetaking services and referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

ODS Responsibilities

• ODS will review and approve students’ accommodation requests. 
• If approved ODS will email the students’ faculty member a notification letter, letting them know the student has requested to use Sonocent technology to meet their notetaking accommodation.

Livescribe Smartpen

The Livescribe Smartpen is a high-tech writing tool that records spoken words and synchronizes them with notes written on special paper. The  is one of the most popular smartpens.

A student can record everything an instructor says and then replay any part of it later by tapping the pen's tip to the word on the paper. Although it looks and writes like an ordinary pen, the Echo is actually a multimodal computer.

A Livescribe smartpen is about the size and weight of a large pen (5/8" x 6 1/8"), and is equipped with a removable ball-point ink cartridge, a microphone to record audio, a speaker for playback. The pen has a small display, an infra-red camera, and internal flash memory that captures handwritten notes, audio and drawings.

The user can choose to record audio in addition to the handwritten text. Recorded audio is kept indexed with the handwritten text—tapping on a written word starts playback of the recorded audio from that part of the recording.

Student Responsibilities

• Students should make their request to use a Livescribe Smartpen software at least one week before the start of the term. 
• Requests for Livescribe Smartpens are processed in the order that we receive them.
• ODS loans the Livescribe Smartpen to the student on a term-by-term basis.
• The student is responsible for the care of the equipment. The student agrees to pay all costs associated with any damage to the equipment or if the equipment is lost or stolen.
• Inform ODS as soon as possible of any problems with using the Livescribe Smartpens in classes/meetings, uploading files to a computer or other technological issues.
• When selecting Livescribe Smartpens, students will sign an agreement to use the Livescribe Smartpens audio recordings of course lectures solely for their own educational purpose. Students will also agree to not share the pen with other individuals to record lectures/meetings,  make copies or release the audio recordings of course lectures to others, post to websites and/or social media, sell, or in any way hinder the instructor’s ability to obtain a copyright of this lecture content. 
• Failure to comply with this policy may result in a hold on notetaking services and referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

ODS Responsibilities

• ODS will review and approve students’ accommodation requests. 
• If approved ODS will email the students’ faculty member a notification letter, letting them know the student has requested to use Livescribe Smartpen technology to meet their notetaking accommodation.

Peer-to-Peer Notetaking

Providing peer-to-peer notetaker assistance is a cooperative effort between the professor and the ODS Office.

ODS makes every effort to identify a peer-to-peer notetaker for your class before the beginning of the term. In some cases, ODS may need faculty assistance in order to recruit a peer-to-peer notetaker. We greatly appreciate your assistance in the following:

1. Please contact us at disabilityservices@xula.edu if you can provide the student(s) with complete lecture notes, or if the lecture notes are posted online, so that we may inform the students. Please note: some students (due to their disability) may require a peer-to-peer notetaker in addition to the notes you provide. When this is the case, you may receive an email asking for your assistance in recruiting a peer-to-peer notetaker.
2. If lecture notes are not available, please help the ODS office by identifying a student in your class who you believe would be a competent and dependable notetaker. Please refer the student to Disability Services. Please note: Notetakers are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis. We are always recruiting through multiple channels, in order to provide notes as soon as possible.
3. If you cannot identify a student to take notes, please make the following announcement. (Not mentioning) the name(s) of the student(s): There is a student in our class who is eligible to receive a Notetaker through Disability Services. The pay for providing notes is usually $100 per course or students can request documentation of community service hours. If you have at least a 2.5 GPA and take accurate, legible notes, please contact Disability Services @  disabilityservices@xula.edu.
4. Professor/instructor - If you receive a second/third email requesting help with finding a note-taker, please know ODS is having difficulties with finding a notetaker and we hope you will consider offering an incentive (i.e. extra credit/points) to increase the probability of finding a notetaker in your class.

If we are not successful in recruiting a notetaker, we may request a copy of faculty notes or loan Sonocent or a Livescribe Smartpen to capture the lecture.

Student Responsibilities

• Attend class in order to receive notes, unless the absence is disability related. ODS may request verification for disability related absences.
• Notes are for ODS students’ use only. Students are not allowed to distribute or sell the notes provided by the ODS Notetaker or faculty member.
• Failure to comply with this policy may result in a hold on notetaking services and referral to the Office of Student Conduct.

ODS Responsibilities

• ODS will review and approve students’ accommodation requests.
• If approved ODS will email the students’ faculty member a notification letter, letting them know the student has requested to have another student in the class (peer-to-peer) to take notes. See the above process for working with ODS to provide this accommodation.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Disability Services @ disabilityservices@xula.edu or @ 504-520-7607.

Real-Time Transcribing

Under certain conditions, real-time transcribing services may be needed to accommodate the student.  Real-time transcribing is a method of using specialized software to convert spoken language into text onto any device with a web browser and internet access.

If electronic devices are not allowed in the classroom, please be aware that students eligible for transcribing must use an electronic device with internet to receive their accommodation.

• Lecture material, class comments, questions, and social interactions among the student's peers are all transcribed.
• The transcriber captures both the meaning and style of what is said.
• The text from the transcriber is not "word-for word." The transcriber has been trained to condense information in order to keep up with the pace of the lecture, while retaining all essential points of the material.
• The use of two linked computers allows the student to type questions and comments to the transcriber during class. If needed, the transcriber can then read ("voice") for the student.
• The transcribing process always involves a slight lag time. The student using the service will require a few additional seconds in order to respond to questions and/or participate in class discussions.
• The student is responsible for copying the information on overheads or written on the board. It is impossible for the student to simultaneously copy the information and watch the transcribing on a computer screen. Therefore, it is very helpful to a student who is deaf/hard of hearing to receive copies of overheads used during lecture in advance.
• Transcribers are typically added to the Learning Management System (LMS) as “observers” so that they can read posted material, become familiar with the vocabulary, and prepare for the class.
• The transcriber must be seated towards the front of the classroom to ensure that the faculty can be easily heard.
• The transcriber will begin to set up equipment immediately upon arrival in the classroom. If the student is absent, the transcriber occasionally might be rescheduled to a different class. In such cases, the transcriber will break down the equipment and exit the classroom as unobtrusively as possible. Otherwise, the transcriber will stay in the class and transcribe in order to remain current with the vocabulary and concepts used during the class.
• By the end of the day of the class, the transcriber will edit out non-subject related and confidential material and will provide a copy of the transcript to the student to serve as notes for the class. Students are not permitted to share the transcript with any other person and will not receive transcripts of classes they did not attend except if the absence is documented as disability related.
• Students are instructed to delete all transcripts after final grades have been posted and there is no dispute regarding the grades.
• Transcribers are required to follow the Transcriber Code of Ethics, which includes an obligation to keep all assignment related information strictly confidential.

Transcriber's Code of Ethics

• The transcriber will keep strictly confidential all information learned during transcribing assignments.
• The transcriber will accurately transcribe the meaning of the spoken utterances made by individuals in the class or other transcribing situations.
• The transcriber will accurately voice comments and questions in reverse interpreting situations.
• The transcriber will not answer student questions about class content. The transcriber will instead facilitate communication between the instructor and student/reader, by transcribing or voicing as needed.
• The transcriber will not offer opinions or input of any kind in classes and meetings, even if invited to do so by instructors or others.
• The transcriber will accept only those assignments for which they possess appropriate skills.
• The transcriber will strive to continually improve his or her transcribing skills.

For additional information, please contact Disability Services @ disabilityservices@xula.edu or 504-520-7607