Why Furman University chose Jamworks to replace peer note takers

Andy Lecture is an experienced and passionate accessibility specialist at Furman University. Over the years he has offered his students different forms of note taking support with varying levels of success. In this interview Andy explains why Furman University opted for assistive technology to replace peer note takers and why 95% of his students now choose Jamworks as their primary note taking support.

The logistical challenges of peer note takers

Peer note takers were a real pain point for Furman University. Andy found that there were at times logistical challenges where the peer note takers would not upload their notes - leaving the student in a tricky position. Additionally, the time and resources needed to keep up with the organization and running of the peer note taker program was a challenge and took away from time that could have been spent in more productive ways.

Ultimately, Andy realised that spending the money on peer note takers was not an effective use of funds - and that the money could be spent on a better solution.

"Before Jamworks, there were a lot of logistical problems with peer note takers. Making sure that they were uploading their notes and that they were being used…as well as just keeping up with the note takers themselves, making sure that they were uploading things, and finding note takers for each class was really a big challenge for us as well."

This is when Andy discovered Jamworks, which was able to help address these bottlenecks and provide additional benefit and support to students. 

Replacing peer note takers with Jamworks gives students more independence

Upon implementing Jamworks, the key difference was giving independence to their students. There was no longer a reliance on the peer note taker to provide notes - with Jamworks, students now had the ability to entirely take notes themselves, therefore breaking down the previous barrier.

"Students who needed note takers can get it (notes) on their own and rely on themselves, and I think that’s been the biggest change for us."

Furman University had previously tried another note taking provider called Genio. Before Jamworks, this was the primary tool given to their students. 

Comparing note taking providers: Jamworks vs Genio

Furman University still offers both Jamworks and Genio to students with note taking accommodations, however upon using both tools in his own studies (Andy is studying in a masters programme), Andy discovered that the benefits Jamworks provided outweighed those of Genio, mainly down to the AI features and that the support that it can provide was a level above.

"I find Jamworks much more useful than Genio. I really appreciate the AI integration and how much additional support it provides."

This is reflected amongst their students, with Andy’s seeing almost a complete majority opt to use Jamworks as opposed to Genio. Andy would present both options to a student, and almost every time they would choose Jamworks as the tool they wanted to use.

"I will introduce both options to the student, and 95 percent of them opt for Jamworks."

Andy then goes on to explain why he believes this to be the case. 

"The AI support that Jamworks provides is so much more comprehensive and helpful. Genio is a great programme and I love working with them as well, but I think Jamworks just has much more robust note taking overall."

Alongside a more comprehensive offering, Andy believes that the STEM capabilities, especially in the Enhanced Notes in Jamworks are another key differentiating factor, and the reason why students are opting for Jamworks over Genio.

Jamworks’ reliability saves time for accessibility staff 

Since implementing Jamworks, the reliability that it offers has been a huge positive change. By empowering students to take notes independently, this has increased the confidence students have in their accommodations. For Andy, saving the time that was previously spent organising and running their peer note taking programme, will allow him to spend it in other productive ways. Jamworks was able to make a huge positive difference across the board at Furman University.

"The time spent recruiting and paying note takers has significantly decreased for us. And that used to be quite a process for me. Weekly, daily, having to check in on things. And now I usually check in monthly just to make sure files are being uploaded. That’s been the biggest shift for me."

"Students feel a lot more confident about the accommodations that they’ve been approved for."

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