Ever wonder how note-taking technology and transcription help students be more efficient with their time? Gone are the days when students bent over their seats, furiously scribbling notes as the lecturer blazed through the topic like a Ferrari in a Formula 1 race. These days, students have endless options for taking notes, including digital note-taking apps, collaborative online documents, complete lecture recordings, and AI-powered transcription services. Now, the last two might seem like a match made in heaven, yet AI is notoriously fickle when it comes to accuracy, making professional academic transcription companies the gold standard.
So, how do transcription companies help with lecture notes? And how do you pick the best ones? Let’s talk about it.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Incorporating transcription and note-taking technology can help busy professionals as it works best for them.
- Recording meetings instead of taking notes helps you participate entirely, while you can transcribe your recordings later.
- Human transcriptionists can provide more accuracy than automated systems, which is helpful for complicated scenarios like legal, medical, and research settings, etc.
What Are Modern Note-Taking Technologies?
Newer note-taking technologies have changed the way we take or organize information.
For example, applications like Notion and Roam Research now have a wide array of usable features apart from note-taking. You could even link notes back and forth, work on projects with your mates, and insert videos or photos. Most of these platforms even have AI to help you with specific tasks.
Plus, everything you take note of goes to their respective cloud server, which means you can access your notes from your phone, laptop, etc. It doesn’t matter where you are as long as there’s connectivity.
Most Common Digital Note Taking Apps
It’s not an understatement when someone says the market is flooded with note-taking or productivity tools. You might already be familiar with the most popular ones, which are listed below.
| Tool | Description |
| Notion | Combines notes and projects in one place with custom layouts. |
| Obsidian | Store notes on your computer with links between related ideas. |
| Evernote | Saves note scans across all your devices. |
| Roam Research | Connects related notes to help you see patterns in your thinking. |
| OneNote | Microsoft’s notebook where you can write anywhere on the page. |
| Apple Notes | Simple note app built into iPhones and Macs. |
| Remnote | Notes that create flashcards to help you remember what you learn. |
| Tana | Organized system for complicated information with flexible views. |
How Can Transcription Help With Note-Taking Tools?
Like anything, there’s two sides to every pancake.
Note-taking platforms and apps are fast, easy to use, and are usually cheap.
However, many academic scenarios require pinpoint accuracy, down to the last word and letter. And unfortunately, these fast and easy solutions are not up to the task. That’s why most students and lecturers still prefer transcription. Here’s how transcription can help with the drawbacks of note-taking technology.
Better Accuracy for Complicated Content
Automated transcription systems use automatic speech recognition or ASR, which AI powers. However, it gets confused with technical lingo, unlike an actual transcriptionist who knows industry-specific language better.
Suppose you’re a medical student, and the doctor in your attendance-required seminar starts throwing around niche terms like pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis in a slightly British accent. I bet that any automated note-taking app will fumble the transcription. You’ll likely get something like numano ultra microscopic or mistranscribe volcano to volcanic.
Meanwhile, a human transcriber with relevant qualifications and experience in the field will have no problem typing the word out.
Maximizing Comprehension and Retention
We’re only human. Even the most diligent note-takers can miss key points, misinterpret information, or struggle with complex discussions. Note-taking apps might fare better, though the chances decrease the more complicated the subject is.
Audio recording is your best chance for preserving the entire discussion. However, listening to audio recordings is incredibly time-consuming. Transcribing them yourself takes even longer.
Transcribing is still the best option to maximize your time and effort. Having a transcript allows for active engagement with the content. Instead of just passively reading notes, you can highlight, annotate, and extract key insights without worrying about whether they recorded everything correctly during the lecture or meeting.
Audio Note Conversion Simplified
At some point, many of us have recorded a voice memo or two with ideas that now sit there and do absolutely nothing. Imagine a full one-hour lecture saved as an audio file for your convenient perusal.
Then, the point comes when you really need to peruse the audio file, and you find that it’s anything but convenient. Now you’re stuck listening to a one-hour recording. Or, you might be tempted to jump forward and backward to find exactly what you’re looking for.
With a transcript at hand, you can simply search for the section that you need. It’s as easy as Ctrl or Cmd + F on your keyboard.
Easier to Digitalize Legacy Materials
Some old notebooks, cassette tapes, and even handwritten journals contain important information trapped in legacy formats. However, many won’t make it to official papers or publications since they’ll be considered junk.
Note-taking technology and transcription can help turn those into digital records that work perfectly well with modern systems used in many fields. With transcripts, they can also be disseminated without issue.
When knowledge is preserved, everybody wins.
Enhancing Accessibility and Collaboration
Transcription not only makes note-taking more efficient but also improves accessibility and collaboration. Traditional note-taking methods often create personal, handwritten records that others may not readily share or understand. We’ve all had that one school friend who writes like a chicken running around with its head cut off.
When students, researchers, or team members have access to transcripts, they can quickly distribute the information in a standardized format. And doing so ensures that everyone has equal access to what was said.
Why Not Use AI to Transcribe Notes?
AI, or automated transcription, has become rather popular, one needs only to do a quick Google search to find them. But I can guarantee that in most circumstances, the product is of no use. Sure, they can be an option for tasks where speed is more important than capturing every single detail – though I can’t think of a situation that requires speed at the expense of accuracy. Can you?
Even the most advanced automated transcription systems can offer only 61.92% accuracy (assuming a perfect scenario), which will only mess you up.
Automated systems are highly impacted by heavy accents, technical jargon, background noise, multiple speakers, and other factors. So you can’t expect 100% accuracy from it unless you’re willing to record behind a perfectly acoustic-tuned room and talk like a robot the whole time. And even then, I guarantee it will never reach more than 99%.
Again, solid note-taking technology and transcription will help you achieve better results for crucial notes and recordings. An experienced transcriber’s ability to understand context, grasp unclear audio or video, and ensure terminology makes them the preferred choice for complicated notes, especially those used for research or legal purposes.
Choose Ditto As Your Transcription Service Partner
The consequences of inaccurate transcription can be heavy, far-reaching, and unpredictable.
Some potential effects of incorrect transcripts include miscommunications, legal ramifications, loss of credibility, misinformation, operational errors, medical errors, negative financial consequences, damaged relationships, and time and resource waste.
Ditto offers 100% human transcription – no AI, no automated tools, no soulless machines like ChatGPT listening to your recordings and spitting out inaccurate transcripts by the boatload.
We’re a professional transcription company, so we won’t settle with giving our clients the bare minimum, even with those simple note-taking tasks.
Our services come with the following features:
- 100% human transcription: Ditto’s human transcription guarantees the highest possible accuracy, from initial checks to final edits.
- U.S.-based Transcribers: We only work with native English speakers to ensure quality, comprehension, and accuracy.
- Certified Transcripts: Any transcripts involved in litigation can be certified—an extra layer of protection.
- No long-term contracts: We operate on a pay-as-you-go option; give us as much or as little work as possible without paying through the nose for quality transcription.
- Fast turnaround times: To ensure your workflow runs smoothly, you’ll get your transcripts in as little as 24 hours.
- Different pricing options: We offer rush jobs or economical rates for longer turnaround times to match different budgets.
- Free trial: We stand behind everything we say and do, yet you don’t take our word for it. Take us out for a test drive and see the difference.
So what are you waiting for? Call us for world-class human transcription service.
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.