With an app for transcription such as Focus on Listening, students can focus on listening for hours rather than having to stress about getting all the important information down on paper.
Thus, students will avoid losing track when interruptions or discussions occur during lectures, as the app will capture all of it. Instead, you will be free to actively participate in debates as well as have more time to ask into any subject or misunderstanding which could otherwise have caused frustration at a later point in time.
Another key argument is that exam preparation will become much easier if you already have everything that has ever been said during class ready and available to you in the app, both in audio and text form. You will also be able to attach PowerPoint presentations directly in the app. All the necessary information from the lessons will be gathered in just one single place.
When transcribing speech into text in a classroom, there are a number of things to be aware of that we will look into here.
It is always good practice to inform the teacher that you intend to record and transcribe the lecture. This way, you won’t risk ending up in a strange or peculiar situation during the lecture when the teacher suddenly discovers that you are recording his every word during the lecture.
You have to make sure that the sound quality is top notch, which is why the phone must be strategically placed. This means that you want to avoid capturing any background noise but at the same time make sure to catch what everyone says during the recording. For the most part, it is the teacher who speaks the most during a lecture, so you should try to sit as close to the front as possible in the classroom.
Always try to place your phone on your desk so that the microphone is aimed at the speaker.
If your smartphone has a cover, it might be helpful to remove it during the recording period in order not to interfere with the microphone in the device.
As background noise in a classroom can lower the transcription quality, it is best to minimize it when possible. If there is music or other disturbances in the classroom, you should therefore turn it off so as not to risk that any important speech or information gets lost.
It is best to mute all the apps on your phone so your phone won’t disturb class with sudden sounds during a lecture. Don’t switch to flight mode, as the Focus on Listening transcription app needs to access the internet connection to translate speech into text real-time.
You must turn off the auto-lock of your phone so your screen does not suddenly turn off during a lecture. This can easily be done from inside the Focus on Listening app in the following way:
Always remember to choose the correct language spoken in the class for the transcription. If you are in a class conducted in English, make sure to choose “English” as the transcription language. If your lecture is in for instance Danish, then choose “Danish”.
