Chapter 8 - Notetaking Services

Research shows that students who take good notes are more engaged in class and ultimately get better grades.  Disability Access Services (DAS) provides technology to help students independently meet their request for notetaking services.  All eligible students may choose one of the following DAS-provided systems: 

Two other types of notetaking services may be available. Eligibility is dependent on the specific impact(s) of the disability and/or the student’s ability to physically take notes.   

Glean Notetaking Program by Sonocent 

With Glean, students are able to audio record their lectures, which enables them to focus on what they are hearing during the lecture, flag 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.  

Glean is a web application which can be accessed on any laptop or desktop computer through the Chrome Web browser.  Glean works on any operating system:  Windows, Mac, Chromebooks and Linux. 

Student Responsibilities 

  • Students should make their request using DAS Student Online Services Login for Glean at least one week before the start of the term, as Glean is renewed on a term-by-term basis.  

  • Requests for Glean are processed in the order they are received. 

  • In order to use Glean, each term, students will sign an agreement to use the program’s audio recordings of course lectures solely for their own educational purposes.  Students also agree to not 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 OSU's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. 

  • Inform DAS as soon as possible of any problems accessing Glean notetaking system, using it in classes/meetings, or other technological issues.  

DAS Responsibilities 

  • DAS reviews and approves/denies accommodation requests.  

  • If approved, DAS will email the student’s instructors a notification  email, letting the instructors  know the student has requested to use Glean as their notetaking accommodation. 

Livescribe Smartpen 

The Livescribe Smartpen is a writing tool that records spoken words and synchronizes them with notes written on special paper. 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. Below is information about the two option. The Bluetooth capable Smartpen has a high-speed infrared camera in the smartpen that helps to capture everything it writes on Livescribe special paper. 

Simply write with the Bluetooth Smartpen on any Livescribe special paper and watch all your handwritten thoughts, ideas, and notes show up digitally using the free Livescribe+ App.   

Captured notes flow to your companion device like a mobile or desktop device via the free Livescribe+ App whenever the pen and device are connected. With an active Bluetooth connection with the device, the Smartpen streams your handwritten notes to the device in real-time. 

The  Echo Smartpen is equipped with a removable ball-point ink cartridge, a microphone to record audio, and a speaker for playback. The pen has a small display, an infrared 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 using DAS Student Online Services Login 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 they are received. 

  • DAS 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 DAS as soon as possible of any problems with using the Livescribe Smartpens in classes/meetings, uploading files to a computer or other technological issues. 

  • In order to use the Livescribe Smartpen, each term, students will sign an agreement to use the program’s audio recordings of course lectures solely for their own educational purposes.  Students will also agree to not 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 OSU's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. 

DAS Responsibilities 

  • DAS approves/denies students’ accommodation requests.  

  • If approved, DAS will email the students’ instructor a notification letter, letting the instructor know the student has requested to use Livescribe Smartpen technology to meet their notetaking accommodation. 

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Notetaking Services 

For on-campus lecture classes, DAS will provide P2P notetakers for students who, due to the disability, cannot use the other notetaking technologies offered by DAS.  A P2P notetaker is typically another student enrolled in the class.  P2P Notetakers are expected to attend all classes, take neat, detailed notes during the lecture, and upload the notes within 24 hours after the lecture.  P2P Notetakers will upload notes to the DAS system, and students receiving notes will get an email notification that the notes have just been uploaded.   

Students are expected to attend class and download notes in a timely manner (1x/wk.) throughout the term.  At the end of the term, students are expected to sign the invoice sent to them via email as soon as possible to make sure DAS can pay the P2P notetakers in a timely manner. Please see Student Responsibilities below.  

DAS does not typically provide P2P notetakers for the following courses: 

  • Ecampus 

  • ALS (Academic Learning Services) 

  • PAC (Physical Activity Courses) 

  • Lab 

  • Recitation 

  • Practicum 

  • Internship 

  • Other non-lecture courses 

If one of the above classes requires lecture notes, students must schedule an appointment with their DAS adviser to have their request reviewed.  To schedule an appointment, please email your DAS adviser or call (541) 737-4098 (front desk).  Otherwise, Notetaking Services will automatically cancel the request and change the status to one of the options below: 

  • Ecampus – Notetaking Not Provided 

  • Non-Lecture Class – Additional Information Needed for Notetaking 

 

Student Responsibilities 

  • Request notetaking services using DAS Student Online Services Login at least  one week  before the start of the term. Students are encouraged to request accommodations within 48 hours of registering for classes.  Requests for notetaking services are processed in the order they are received. 

  • Respond to requests for information from DAS as soon as possible. 

  • Cancel notetaking requests if notes are not needed for a course. 

  • It is the policy of DAS that in order for students to receive P2P notetaking services, students agree they will NOT distribute, post on-line, copy for others, or sell the notes provided by the DAS P2P notetaker or the instructor. 

  • Failure to comply with this policy may result in a hold on notetaking services and referral to OSU's Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards. 

 

Once a P2P notetaker is assigned: 

  • The student can log into DAS Student Online Services Login  and click on notetaking services to see the P2P notetaker’s name and contact information.  The student will also receive an email notification stating that a P2P notetaker has been assigned to the class.  

  • Students are encouraged to develop and maintain a working relationship with the P2P notetaker, either in person or via email. For tips on how to communicate with a P2P notetaker, visit this page: https://ds.oregonstate.edu/communication-tools 

  • Students must attend class in order to receive notes. If the student does not attend class, they should ask another classmate for notes. 

  • Students should regularly download notes. DAS recommends downloading at least 1x per week. Failure to download notes may result in a hold on notetaking services until the student meets with a DAS Adviser. Students should communicate with DAS Notetaking Services as soon as possible if there are any problems with notes, such as quality and timeliness of notes, notes not uploaded within 24 hours, or the instructor is not providing notes when they agreed to do so. Please note: it may take several business days to resolve a notetaking issue or to find a new P2P notetaker. 

  • If students cannot access the notes, they can come to the DAS office for technical assistance. Students may wish to bring a laptop so we can better assist them with any technical issues with accessing their notes. 

  • At the end of each term, students will need to sign the notetaking invoice verifying notes were received. If the quality or the delivery of the notes was of poor quality and/or consistently not uploaded within 24-hours of the class, do not sign the invoice and contact [email protected] immediately. 

What happens if students are not matched to a P2P  notetaker after the start of the term: 

  • DAS will email the need for a P2P notetaker to your instructor, asking them to read the announcement in class or post an announcement on the course website (not mentioning the name of the student).  If you do not hear this announcement in class or see this announcement in Canvas by the first week of the term or within three days of requesting accommodations, please notify DAS Notetaking Services immediately.  

  • Consider recruiting classmates to become a P2P  notetaker. Please note: Students who self-recruit tend to be  the most satisfied with the quality of the notes.  If you find a classmate to take notes, please direct them to the Employment at DAS section of the DAS website.  

  • Students can also email [email protected] with the potential P2P notetaker's name and email address, and DAS will contact them. Please remember that the P2P notetaker must be enrolled in the class. 

  • Contact DAS Notetaking Services with any questions or concerns about recruiting a P2P notetaker. 

  • If a P2P  notetaker has not been assigned by the end of week 2 of the term, please schedule an appointment with DAS Notetaking Services at 541-737-3672 or email [email protected] to discuss potential options. 

DAS Responsibilities: 

  • DAS approves/denies students’ accommodation requests.  

  • If approved, DAS will email the students’ instructor a notification letter, letting the instructor know the student has requested to use their P2P notetaking accommodation. DAS assigns P2P notetakers based on the P2P notetaker's performance rating, and timing of when the P2P notetaker submitted their schedule in the DAS Online system (typically first come first served). 

  • If DAS does not have an assigned P2P notetaker in the class, DAS will take the following steps: 

  • The student will receive an email asking for confirmation of the need for a P2P notetaker.  This question is asked, as the student may request a P2P notetaker before the beginning of the term. Sometimes, instructors  will post notes online for everyone, and the student forgets to cancel the notetaking request. 

  • If the student confirms they still need a P2P notetaker, DAS will continue with the  recruitment process to find a P2P notetaker.  

  • If the student does not confirm the need for a P2P notetaker, they will receive a second email 48 hours later asking for confirmation of the request.  If the student still does not confirm, a third and final request to confirm will be emailed in another 48 hours.   

  • If there is no response to the third confirmation email, the request is automatically cancelled out of the system and DAS will no longer recruit for a P2P notetaker in that class. 

  • If the student confirms the need for a P2P notetaker and no one has signed up to take notes for the class, DAS will take the following steps: 

  • Email the instructor asking for assistance in recruiting a P2P notetaker by making an announcement (without mentioning names) in class or via Canvas. 

  • DAS may also recruit a P2P notetaker by emailing students in the class with high GPA's. 

  • Ask the student to consider recruiting classmates to become a P2P notetaker. Note: Students who self-recruit tend to be the most satisfied with the quality of the notes.  Direct any potential P2P notetakers to the Employment at DAS section of the DAS website.  

  • DAS will offer a technology-based notetaking option.   

  • If no in-class P2P notetaker can be found and technology won't work for the student, DAS will assign a DAS student worker to the class to be the P2P notetaker. 

Real-Time Transcribing Services as a Notetaking Accommodation  

For on-campus lecture classes, DAS will provide real-time transcribing services for students who, due to the disability, cannot use the other notetaking options offered by DAS. With real-time transcribing, a transcriber (either in class or remotely) will type the lecture material in a “meaning-for-meaning” (not word-for-word) format. Class discussions, environmental noise, social interaction among other students, and non-lecture related comments (jokes, etc.) will also be transcribed. Real-time transcribers will upload notes to the DAS system, and students receiving notes will get an email notification that the notes have just been uploaded. Students are expected to attend all classes. Students who receive real-time transcribing as an accommodation will receive edited transcripts within 24 hours. See Chapter 12 for additional information.

Page Updated 08/2022