Hi CHESS Forum & Colleagues,
You'll be aware I sent out an enquiry about electronic note-taking - and issues of wireless connectivity. Thanks for your responses. This is what I found, for your interest...
Just a few responses so far, these were:
Use Stereotype Electronic Note-taking Software, but with a Bluetooth connection not wireless.
Setting up a peer-to-peer wireless connection, using fixed IP addresses, ie like us, then making it difficult to access other wireless networks.
Not ever using students' laptops, the note-taker always taking a pair of machines, to avoid these problems of unreliable connectivity.
The other responses were that my query has been passed to electronic note-taking staff (I have not heard from any of actual electronic note-taker yet).
I'm still wondering if anyone is out there using Stereotype or similar, as recommended. That is, install and go, the University provides one machine, the student brings their own - not creating a Bluetooth connection, nor wireless connection with fixed IP address. If anyone is doing this, I would be interested to know if:
A) You (and the student) do easily connect to which you want (the other machine or wider network), and
B) You can let me know if you CAN reliably connect with the other laptop (or tips for doing this)...
Or alternatively, if you have set up a secure wireless connection between laptops (or via Bluetooth) but also have the ability to connect to other networks - how does this work. A couple of people have mentioned trying to work on something which will need Vista or beyond (our laptops currently use Windows XP)
I'd also be interested to know what software you are using, ie Stereotype, RNID's Speedtext, or other product.
Best wishes,
Sheenagh
Sheenagh Hull
Disability Co-ordinator: Deaf & Hard of Hearing Students, Note-taking Scheme
Equality Service
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
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0113 343 3927 (Reception)
07781472713 (SMS mobile text messages only - include full name)
0113 343 2616 (minicom textphone calls only)
0113 343 3944 (fax)
www.equality.leeds.ac.uk
Subject: Electronic note-taking query
Hi All,
Apologies for cross-posting.
If anyone is providing electronic note-taking for deaf and hard of hearing students, please can you advise me...
We have been using electronic note-taking (with Stereotype software) on a small scale over the last year or so. This uses a wireless connection between two laptops - the machine the note-taker uses to word process notes, and another, so the student can read these notes on screen 'live' during the lecture.
Where we have just provided the pair of laptops, and only used these for this purpose - few problems. They have been set up to create and connect reliably with a peer-to-peer network (fixed IP addresses, to automatically look for & connect to the note-taker's machine). They have connected reliably, although sometimes later 'dropped' the peer-to-peer connection, but this can be easily and reliably re-established. The problem seems to be how to add in student's own machines (with their copy of the software through DSA), and how they can easily move between connecting this peer-to-peer network for the notes, and the University's regular wireless network (for internet, e-mail, using student IT applications, etc). Also, with our current set up, there may be difficulty in being able to use one of our machines as the note-taker machine (where the student has their own receiver licence & laptop) and, at other times, as a student/receiver machine (where the student does not have their own).
If you are using electronic note-taking (Stereotype or other product), I would like to hear from you (or from your IT support or note-takers), about the settings/configuration of your machines, and how reliable the connections are, and how easy to move between university/infrastructure network and peer-to-peer network. If you are using different products/set ups, including how your university-wide wireless network is set up - that would be interesting too.
If you have staff who would be happy to talk to me, please let me know. E-mail to: [log in to unmask]
Thanks,
Sheenagh
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