Turn a lecture recording into notes: record, transcribe, review

Permission first: is it legal to record a lecture?

The rules for recording lectures differ from school to school and even from course to course, and recording laws differ between countries and states. Some universities ask students to sign an agreement, some lecturers don’t allow recording at all, and some places require everyone who is recorded to agree. Before you start:

• Ask your lecturer and check your school’s policy.
• Get the consent of classmates whose voices will be on the recording.
• Use the recording only for your own study; don’t share or publish it.

In Notju you confirm that you have the participants’ consent before you start recording. This guide isn’t legal advice; if you’re unsure, ask the relevant office at your school.

Tips for a clear lecture recording

• Sit near the front or put your phone on a flat surface close to the lecturer. Distant sound is the most common cause of transcript mistakes.
• Don’t hold the phone; rubbing and tapping sounds end up in the recording.
• Turn off notifications or switch on Do Not Disturb.
• Pause the recording during breaks; empty minutes only make the transcript longer.
• Record long lectures in parts when the topic changes. Shorter recordings are easier to listen to and check.
• If you record on the web, keep the tab open until the recording is finished.

Transcribing the recording

A transcript turns speech into text word by word. Speech recognition has improved a lot in recent years, but it still isn’t flawless in a classroom. The most common mistakes are:

• misheard numbers and units,
• technical terms and foreign words,
• names of people, places and works,
• moments when several people talk at once.

When transcription is on, Notju transcribes the recording, fixes obvious mishearings and splits the text into paragraphs with timestamps. Numbers that weren’t clear are marked, so you know what to check.

From transcript to organized note

1. Choose your course and record. Start recording from your course notebook and allow the microphone; pause when needed, then finish. You can also upload a recording you made earlier as an audio file.
2. Choose the note’s format. “Transfer as is” keeps the transcript as it is. “Organized note” tidies up spoken language and puts topics under headings; it adds nothing that isn’t in the source. “Annotated note” gives extra explanations in a separate section.
3. Check the transcript. You can review and correct the transcript; start with the marked numbers and terms.
4. Go back to that moment of the recording. Sections of the note are linked to their minute in the recording; tap one to hear that moment again.
5. Bring in the board. Add the photo of the board and your lecturer’s PDF to the same course, so what was said and what was written meet in one notebook.

Does turning a recording into notes save time?

Reading a transcript is faster than listening to the lecture again: you can read the text, search it with the rest of your notes and listen only to the part you didn’t understand. But a transcript and a note don’t replace listening in class. For the best result, take short notes in class and use the recording to fill in what you missed. To combine the recording with your other sources, see the AI lecture notes guide.