Evaluating the effectiveness of a note taking app for students with disabilities

The Maynooth University Disability Office supports the note taking requirements of a number of students with disabilities by providing them with notes taken in lectures by trained notetakers. These note takers are sourced,... [ view full abstract ]

The Maynooth University Disability Office supports the note taking requirements of a number of students with disabilities by providing them with notes taken in lectures by trained notetakers. These note takers are sourced, trained and matched with specific students and attend the classes with the student. Notes are typed up, either during the lecture or shortly thereafter, and provided to the student. In recent years, Maynooth University has seen a dramatic increase in the number of students with disabilities. This has caused a resulting strain on note taking administration and costs. For example, the number of note taking hours approved in Semester 1 of the 2015/16 academic year totalled 2,884.
Recently, a pilot study has been undertaken into a third party note taking service. Note Taking Express provides a standalone platform and works via a bespoke NTE Smartphone App that the students themselves download to their smartphone or tablet and bring into lectures. The app allows students to record their lectures using the built-in voice recorder, upload recordings straight from the app to their account, access transcribed notes within 24 hours and add photographs of any handwritten notes to their account. This study was undertaken with 3 current students across a spread of subjects to investigate the potential effectiveness of this solution as a replacement for human note takers.
The expectation is that by using this technology, students would have more control over their own note taking and would experience an increase in independence, digital literacy and satisfaction with their notes. The Disability Office would also experience an increase in capacity to manage the demand while also experiencing a decrease in costs. This paper presents an evaluation of this technology-enhanced learning tool, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of the initiative to teaching and learning.