Note-taking Accommodations

Students approved for a recording accommodation who want to record a portion of a class (e.g. a lecture) must first ask their instructor’s permission, per DSS instructions. Recordings are for personal use only; students with this accommodation understand they are not allowed to provide recordings to other students.

Upon receiving the recording accommodation, the student signs a recording agreement with our office. We keep the signed agreement on file.

We understand that course audio recordings could potentially alter the structure and/or pedagogy of the course, especially if it is discussion-based and/or includes the sharing of sensitive content. We leave it up to faculty on how to handle the recording option. If, for a given discussion, note-taking is not appropriate for any student, then it would be appropriate for the instructor to ask students to stop taking notes as well as to turn off any recording devices.

If an instructor does not allow for a portion of a class to be recorded, they must identify an alternative for students with a recording accommodation to help them keep up with course notes. Possible alternatives might include:

• allowing for the recording of lectures but not discussions/crits. If open discussions are not appropriate to record, then the instructor may make
• a general announcement to ask that all students turn off any recording devices.
• an email from the instructor to the student that clarifies the key points of a lecture or discussion.
  hiring a note-taker for the class.

Smart pens

Smart pens are ballpoint pens with embedded audio recording devices. These pens interact with specific paper or tablets that synchronize notes with simultaneously recorded audio. The Rocketbook Fusion smart pen is available for students with an approved accommodation.