The note services accommodation provides DRC students with accessible course notes through a peer note-taking system. The DRC Note Services Office facilitates the pairing of registered DRC student with a qualified note taker in their course. Instructors can support accessible note taking by:
- Assisting the DRC student with identifying a note taker.
- Referring note recipients and note takers to complete the appropriate registration forms on the Direct Note Services: Students page
- Facilitating a class announcement for students seeking note takers anonymously
What is the Direct Note Services (DNS) process?
DRC students with an approved accommodation for note services should complete the DNS Note Recipients Form. If a note taker has already been selected by the student, the DRC will connect the note taker with the note recipient. If a note taker has not yet registered, the DRC student should work with their instructor to identify a note taker for the course.
Once a note taker is selected, they should complete the DNS Note Taker Form. Note takers must complete the DRC Note Taker Form to receive incentive. Once approved, they will be provided with the email address for the note recipient. Note takers should send their notes directly to the note recipient. Note takers MUST keep note recipient information confidential at all times.
Setting up note services in your course
Not all courses or students may have the same need in regards to note services. You may designate one person to supply copies of their notes for all DRC students in your class requiring Note Services.
There are several options for facilitating accessible note taking in your course:
- Make an announcement in class that a Note Supplier is needed, without identifying the student(s) needing the service. Please be sure to select only ONE student to serve as a note taker in your course. You should inform the student if they are selected and refer them to the Note Taker Registration form. Please see the script below as an example of what your class announcement can look like.
“The Disability Resource Center is seeking a student that will provide copies of their notes for this class. In return, the student will be furnished with credit to the UF Bookstore or, upon request, can receive certification for volunteer hours. You must take good notes that are easy to read and you should attend class regularly. If you are interested, please contact me as soon as possible.”
- Approach a student that you believe would best fit the role and request assistance in filling a vital class need.
- Ask if the DRC student already knows of a classmate willing to supply copies of their notes.
- Alternatively, you may supply the student(s) with copies of your own course notes.
- You may agree to meet periodically with the student to review their course notes for appropriateness and missing information.
Note Taking Technology
Students may benefit from instructors utilizing automatic transcription software during their live video conferencing lectures. You may use Note Taking Technology, such as Otter.ai, to provide transcripts of live lectures or Zoom presentations. For more information about auto transcription and live captioning, please review the DRC’s Differences Between Live Captioning Service and Artificial Intelligence Auto Transcription guide sheet.