Ever wonder how online transcription services can help students? College students often struggle to keep up with academics while juggling part-time jobs, social lives, self-care, etc. If you’re an educator, don’t be surprised when you see a student zoning out during lectures or missing class entirely when life gets a little more chaotic. Thankfully, academic transcription companies have been alongside other solutions to help stressed-out students stay afloat in these overwhelming situations.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Academic transcription turns spoken lectures into written text, which is proven to help students focus during class as they won’t need to write notes.
- Transcripts make studying easier because students can review the material at their own pace, search for certain specific topics, and, sometimes, extract data to turn into learning materials like charts or tables.
- Human transcriptions will always offer superior accuracy than automated systems, which is essential for academic content with technical terms.
What Is Academic Transcription?
Academic transcription means converting spoken words or academic recordings into written text. This can include recorded lectures from virtual classrooms, interviews with experts for scholarly research, seminars, face-to-face lectures from professors, or even dissertation defenses. It covers all sorts of transcribed recordings related to academics.
Common Uses of Transcripts in Academic Settings
Here are the best ways to use transcription in academia:
| Uses | Description |
| Verbatim Transcription | Converting recorded interviews to text for analysis. |
| Lecture Capture | Turning lectures into text for students to study. |
| Field Notes | Changing audio notes into written text for research. |
| Focus Groups | Creating text from group discussions for research. |
| Conference Proceedings | Recording academic talks in text form. |
| Oral History Projects | Writing down spoken memories and stories. |
| Student Accommodations | Making text versions for students who can’t hear well. |
| Dissertation Defense | Creating written records of thesis presentations. |
How Online Transcription Benefit Students
Ditto Transcripts has been in the industry since 2010, so believe us when we say transcribing academic materials has many benefits. Let’s tackle a few benefits that transcription services offer to students.
Focus On Content, Not Constant Scribbling
During my days in university, one of the most annoying things I had to deal with was writing while simultaneously trying to comprehend a lecture. Although it may have been fine making notes on simpler discussions, the technical lectures were a nightmare.
Fast-forward to the present, we’re now in the digital age, where students study online. However, many students/learners worldwide are still facing the issues I had in the past few decades – mentally juggling between “writing everything down to study them later” or “putting the pen and paper away to focus on the discussion.”
Add attention span issues to the mix, ahem, TikTok – and you’ll see how messed up the learning environment has become.
Fortunately, many academic institutions have now implemented recording and transcription with their lectures. Unlike what we had – and I’m sure many of us would agree – students can now focus on the learning materials, ask thoughtful questions, and engage in the discussion, as long as they’re provided with lecture transcripts afterward. They wouldn’t need to worry about creating notes to be studied later.
Transcribing online lectures makes sense, especially considering the human brain works better when focused on a single task, not splitting focus between listening and writing.
Effortless Review At Your Fingertips
I firmly believe that online transcription is particularly useful for students studying at home or attending online classes. Though it’s still very helpful for those learning face-to-face, I don’t think it necessitates the same priority level as those learning in virtual classrooms.
This is primarily because online students are more prone to distractions. There’s TikTok, video games, and the internet in general. Sometimes, they’ll even do things they can’t do in face-to-face lectures, like cook a meal or clean up their room
However, based on experience, participants and students are more inclined to pay attention to the discussion when a live, online lecture is recorded and transcribed. Interestingly, this also improves the lecturers’ performance by a significant margin.
And, of course, when students are provided with lecture transcripts, they can simply study this anytime or anywhere as long as they can access them. They won’t have to bother watching the entire lecture recording since they can easily find specific discussions by searching for keywords, much more so if the transcripts are in the correct format.
Moreover, one seemingly minor but critical aspect of lecture transcriptions is that they preserve those impromptu examples provided by lecturers but aren’t present in the textbooks. Those little nuggets of valuable insight would have been lost if they weren’t transcribed.
Turns Words Into Learning Materials
Many argue that transcription is passive documentation. I beg to disagree, especially in learning environments.
Thanks to tech companies pouring billions of dollars into technological development, lecture transcripts can now be repurposed into different learning materials.
For example, if you have a highly accurate lecture transcript, you can easily extract definitions, create concept maps, or compile targeted review sheets directly.
Also, pattern recognition becomes so much easier with transcripts – feeding the same transcripts to some analysis tools, you can easily spot recurring themes between topics, which I believe is essential for improving students’ conceptual understanding.
Moreover, students can highlight parts of transcripts with different colors for definitions, examples, applications, and so on – a significant memory retention advantage for visual learners like myself.
Accessibility That Works For Everyone
Students have different learning styles or needs, and I think educators would agree with me on this one. Fortunately, academic transcripts remove all the significant barriers preventing students from reaching their maximum learning potential.
For example, learners with hearing issues can access transcribed lectures, as recorded lectures with subtitles work well with these students. International students can also tackle language barriers by reviewing unfamiliar terms, especially slang or colloquialisms, whenever necessary, which has improved students’ comprehension drastically.
And, of course, learners with ADHD or simply those with attention issues can significantly benefit from lecture transcripts. They can absorb the lecture at their own pace without struggling to focus through lectures.
Transcripts can also cater to those with different learning preferences, such as visual learners who can learn more effectively with texts than audio. Even students experiencing momentary issues like illness can benefit, as they can quickly get up to speed as long as they have access to lecture transcripts.
Why Not Use AI To Transcribe Lecture Recordings?
Due to the popularity of AI, automated transcription has become quite common, but I can guarantee that these types of transcription services are not for students. They can be an option for tasks where speed is more important than capturing every detail – though I can’t think of many transcription tasks that require speed at the expense of accuracy.
Even the most advanced automated transcription systems can offer only 61.92% accuracy (AT BEST), which will only mess up the student’s learning process. This is mainly because automated systems are highly impacted by heavy accents, technical jargon, background noise, multiple speakers, and other factors.
So, in academic scenarios, a professional human transcriptionist is your best bet. Their ability to understand context, grasp unclear audio or video, and ensure terminology makes them the preferred choice for complicated academic recordings, especially those used for research or legal purposes.
That’s why manual academic transcription services are the most efficient way to support learning.
Ditto Online Transcription Service is The Best Choice For Students
We deeply understand the importance of a reliable transcription service to students and educators.
You can take advantage of all the benefits of academic transcription while enjoying Ditto’s perks.
- Experience: There’s no substitute for experience; since 2010, we’ve perfected our processes and tools to give our customers the highest level of service every single time.
- Accuracy: Accuracy is non-negotiable for lectures and research discussions. That’s why we focus on delivering high-quality transcriptions with 99% accuracy.
- Human Transcribers: At Ditto, we don’t use automated transcription tools. All projects are done by humans, for humans, to ensure the highest level of accuracy.
- Speed: We know deadlines are essential, so we offer flexible turnaround times. This way, you can get the transcripts you need whenever you need them.
- Foreign Language: We offer transcription services in multiple languages. We can make your academic content accessible to foreign students.
- Customer Service: We also believe in providing quality customer service. Our team is here to answer your questions or address any concerns related to our transcriptions.
- ADA-Compliant: Our transcripts can help you comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act by providing access to educational materials for students with disabilities.
- Security Compliance: We understand the importance of securing your data. So, we implement security to keep it confidential. When we say security, we mean CJIS, HIPAA, and FINRA compliance.
Ditto Offers All The Benefits of Academic Transcription
Academic transcription services can be essential for students by helping them focus on lectures, review concepts easily, and study efficiently. So, stop wasting time with inaccurate notes. Get a transcript with 99% accuracy at affordable rates and without any of the headaches.
Ditto Transcripts is a HIPAA, FINRA, and CJIS-compliant Denver, Colorado-based transcription services company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and academic institutions of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote, and ask about our free five-day trial.