Sophomore Bari Karlin says she plans to use online lecture note providers to supplement her biology lecture notes, not replace them.
I think going to class helps you learn (the material) better than going online and getting the notes, Karlin said. When you hear something, it’s easier to learn. When you get the notes online, you’re not getting the full picture because the note takers are only taking down what they think is important.
Though Karlin said she will use the notes as an aid for her class, administrators nationwide said they fear students who turn to online note providers, such as Versity.com, will use virtual notes in lieu of class attendance. Other education experts said online note takers violate the intellectual property of the lecturer.
The companies have increased in popularity and availability in recent months after massive advertising campaigns recruited students as note takers.
Unlike colleges in California, Vermont and Iowa, GW does not have an explicit policy against students selling class notes for online distribution.
As of today, the University doesn’t have an official policy regarding (online notes), said Craig Linebaugh, associate vice president for Academic Planning and Special Projects.
Linebaugh said questions concerning online distribution of notes have been brought to the University’s attention and are being studied.
I think anything that creates an opportunity, an incentive, for students not to go to class, is detrimental to their education, he said. I still think what goes on in the classroom – that dynamic interactive atmosphere of the class – is an essential part of what we do here. That’s why you come to the University rather than get your degrees through a virtual university.
Versity.com, an online provider of lecture material, posts notes for 119 GW classes online, according to the company’s Web site.
Our goal is to reach about 20 percent of the campus population, said Janet Cardinell, director of University Relations for the Web site.
Versity.com employs about 6,000 note takers nationwide who cover about 6,500 classes on 160 campuses. Note takers are paid between $8 to $12 a lecture, plus bonuses.
We get a tremendously great amount of support from the students who really find it both helpful in reviewing their own information as well as an example of good note taking, Cardinell said. Overall, response has been positive.
But many professors are concerned about the absenteeism the service may cause, Cardinell said.
They’re afraid if the notes are available, it would encourage students to skip class, she said. The notes are used best when they’re a supplement to the classroom experience.
Professors nationwide have voiced concerns about the distribution of lecture material online, said Iris Molotsky, spokeswoman for the American Association of University Professors.
We are quite concerned, and we question the legality and the morality of this practice, Molotsky said. We’re concerned that faculty members that might offer controversial opinions in class just to have those things published without permission or out of context, could be a problem (and force professors to withdraw opinions from lectures).
I think if faculty members suspected there was someone in their class selling their notes, they may be unwilling to engage in discussion on sensitive issues. When a professor creates a course, he creates it for a certain group of students, for a certain purpose and with a certain background in mind. Notes online taken out of context don’t mean the same thing. This is a very real issue.
GW Law Professor Roger Schechter agreed.
When a professor walks into class, the professor has created . materials that are protected under copyright laws, Schechter said.
In the wording of the law, the professor is performing his work, he said. If a member of the audience copies down his performance and attempts to make money off it, it’s ripping off the professor. Students have an implied license to take notes in class, but it’s limited to non-commercial uses.
But GW professors Fred Sundberg and Nicolae Filipescu disagree.
As a general policy, I let people record my lectures if they want, so having the notes posted does not bother me, particularly since I give my permission to record, said Sundberg, an associate professor of geology. Those who use it as the sole source of information are digging themselves into a deep hole.
Filipescu also allows recording in his 500-student chemistry lecture.
I think my purpose is for the students to learn, he said. How they learn it is not important as long as they retain it.
In reaction to disgruntled professors, Versity.com implemented new monitoring devices, Cardinell said. Professors can request to have their names added to all notes and can block various days of notes from being posted. They can also eliminate the note postings entirely if class attendance diminishes.
Cardinell said only five to seven percent of professors are adamantly philosophically opposed to the company’s practices.
Ten percent are really embracing it and understand how technology is changing the educational market and using the technology to their advantage, Cardinell said.
The remaining group of professors, about 80 percent, neither supports nor denounces the program, she said.
There are a lot of changes in the educational market, Cardinell said. We want to facilitate as much as we can the interaction between the students and helping them master the material.
Other online providers of notes such as StudentU.com and Study247.com also post notes for GW classes online.
