Note Taking

Note: Before you can acces the note taking module, you must complete the self-renewal module to confirm and activate your accommodations.  You can find this under the "Review and Confirm my Accommodations" icon on the main menu.  For more information, please visit the self-renewal step-by-step guides and video. 

 

After confirming and activating your accommodations, you may set up your note taking accommodations by completing the following steps: 

Under the column “I require a note taker" you have the option to leave the default setting as “No" or click “change this", to switch your preference to “Yes".  Selecting "Yes" will enable note taking for that specific course lecture section or tutorial.  Repeat this step for all lecture sections and tutorial sections you require a note taker for.

Once you have confirmed the courses you require a note taker for, you may have the the option at this time to select a note taker. If the column indicates no note takers are available, please proceed to Step 3.

 

Note takers are only informed that one or more students require their notes for a course. 

 

Note takers are not provided with information such as student names, student numbers, email addresses or any reason why notes may be required.

 

 

Questions? Contact us at notetaking.utsc@utoronto.ca or call 416-287-7560

Note takers are recruited in the following ways:

 

In-class (on-site or remote classes): Course instructors reveive digital recruitment materials with the Accommodation Letters.  We ask course instructors to post messaging to recruit peer note takers for AccessAbility Services.  This can be done by adding poster messages to course boards or lecture slides, and/or making a verbal announcement in lectures.  Please watch for this messaging and inform AccessAbility Services if you do not have any note takers for your class lecture or tutorial.

 

Note: If there are no note takers available for your course one week after or your Instructor or TA's recruitment messaging, please inform AccessAbility Services and we will arrange additional recruitment measures.

 

Self-recruitment: This method is only suggested for those who feel comfortable asking a peer or friend in class to be a note taker.  Peer note taking is a good way to accumulate volunteer experience on campus and can be added to the Co-Curricular Record (CCR)

 

Marketing and Display Booths: The AccessAbility Services Outreach Team assists in marketing and leading display booths to inform students of volunteer opportunities and encourage students to sign-up as peer note takers.

 

Questions or concerns?  Contact us at notetaking.utsc@utoronto.ca or 416-287-7560

You are responsible for checking your online myAIMS account frequently. We recommend that you log-in at least once per week to check the status of your account. Once there are note takers available, you will see a button prompting you to select a note taker. 

 

Note: If you do not have any note takers available within one week of hearing your Instructor's in-class announcement, or seeing a message on your course page, please notify AccessAbility Services. We will implement additional methods to recruit note takers for this course. Please ensure that you keep us informed in order for us to assist you in the best way that we can. 

 

 

As part of the registration process, Volunteer Note Takers are asked to upload sample copies of their notes. 

 

When you click the option “Select a note taker" you will be shown a list of note takers and a button to  "Check Sample Notes". 

 

If you click the link to check sample notes and there are NO sample notes to view, please contact AccessAbility Services immediately. We will contact the note takers and request that they upload sample notes as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to inform us and follow-up frequently to ensure your accommodations are provided in a timely manner 

 

Important: If you are taking a course that has two course codes, note takers may be available under one course code and not the other. If you are registered in a course which has two course codes please come in and speak to the front desk. If there are note takers available for the course code which you are not registered for then staff will have to manually assign you to a note taker of your choosing from the other course code. 

 

 

After viewing the sample notes, select a volunteer note taker by clicking on "Choose This Note Taker". Please be advised that you will still have the option to select a note taker even if there are no sample notes available. We do not recommend this option. It is best to view samples of the notes and ensure that they will meet your note taking needs. 

 

When a note taker has been selected, they will be notified by email and asked to upload all notes for the class to date. After you have selected them, please give the note taker one week to upload course notes. After being notified, note takers are asked to upload a copy of their notes within 24 hours of each lecture. 

 

Please note: You need to select a note taker in order for the note taker to continue uploading notes. If you do not select a note taker, you will only see up to 3 sets of sample notes. 

 

 

 

Once you have chosen your note taker, your notes can be accessed through your online myAIMS account. When notes are uploaded by your note taker, you will be able to view them by clicking the Notes button in the column “My lecture notes".  You can view and download course notes by clicking on "View notes".

 

You are expected to be accessing your course notes on a weekly basis, and informing AccessAbility Services immediately if any lecture notes are missing.

 

Important: Note files will be provided in either PDF or MS Word format. We strongly encourage you to download these notes and keep a back-up copy on your computer, as well as a printed hard copy. This will ensure you can access your notes at all times, even in the event of a network failure, or if your computer crashes. 

 

notetaking@utsc.utoronto.ca or call 416-287-7560

 

It is your responsibility to check your online myAIMS account frequently. You are required to follow up with AccessAbility Services within 1 week of the lecture for which you are missing notes. If you do not see lecture notes available online within 1 week of your lecture, please notify AccessAbility Services with the applicable course code, lecture section and lecture dates of the missing notes.

 

You may do so in person at the AccessAbility Services Office (AA142); via e-mail at notetaking.utsc@utoronto.ca, or by phone at 416-287-7560.

 

Please remember that you are provided with notes for disability-related reasons. If you are not viewing and checking notes frequently, we recommend that you speak with your Disability Consultant and discuss if this accommodation is still meeting your needs. 

 

If you have not notified AccessAbility Services about the missing notes for more than 3 weeks following the applicable lecture, we may not be able to retrieve notes for those lectures. 

 

Students must not enroll in courses with meeting times that conflict

• Students who knowingly enroll in courses that conflict should not expect that a section change will be approved by the professor at a later date.
• Students should not expect special consideration if they choose to remain in courses that conflict. This includes requesting note taking accommodations in both courses.
• The service will not provide note taking accommodations for two courses which are running at the same time.

If you have any concerns, please speak with your Disability Consultant.

Attending Classes 

Students are expected to attend all lectures. Receipt of volunteer notes is not the equivalent of attending class. Note taking accommodations are designed to supplement a student’s own notes and/or enhance understanding of the material covered during lectures. 

Note taking accommodations are approved when the impact of a disability may negatively affect the ability to take sufficient notes during lectures and tutorials. The purpose of receiving peer notes is to provide an accurate, complete set of notes, should students have difficulty doing this themselves due to concentration difficulties, information processing difficulties, difficulties with writing, etc. 

Attending class provides students with a context for the notes, and allows them to determine what content is more important. When students choose not to attend lectures, this can impact the reputation of the note taking program and deter volunteers from supplying a copy of their notes. Frequent non-disability-related absences will initiate a suspension of service for the course until students meet with their Disability Consultant to review accommodation needs and applicable procedures. 

Checking myAIMS

During the academic term, students should be checking their myAIMS account at least once per week and following up on any issues or difficulty with AccessAbility Services in a timely manner.

Learning takes place throughout the entire semester. As such, students need to access peer notes on a regular basis to review and facilitate the learning process.

We do recognize that there may be extenuating disability-related circumstances that may prevent a student from accessing their myAIMS account. If this is the case, students are encouraged to speak with their Disability Consultant immediately. An exception to this policy will be taken into consideration if there are extenuating circumstances (e.g., hospitalization).  

Changes to your Timetable

The online myAIMS account is synced with ACORN timetables. If courses appear in ACORN, they will also appear in the myAIMS account. Please note that the changes made on ACORN are reflected on myAIMS within 24-48 hours. 

If students have added a course and require note taking, they must also log-in to myAIMS to request note taking, and follow the steps to ensure a note taker is recruited for this course. For more information, please review the Requesting a Note Taker instructions.

If a course appears on ACORN but not in your myAIMS account within 48 hours of adding, please inform AccessAbility Services immediately. 

If students no longer require note taking for a course, please Log-in to myAIMS  and change the “I require a note taker" status from “YES" to “NO" for the applicable course. 

Important Dates

It is the students responsibility to be familiar with expectations for course components such as assignments and exams. If a note taker has provided information in the notes about due dates or expectations for course components, it is the responsibility of the individual receiving the notes to check with the professor or QUERQUS to ensure this information is accurate.  

Sharing Notes 

Students are not permitted to share notes with peers. 

AccessAbility Services has obtained permission from the note taker to provide their lecture notes to students with disabilities who require this as an academic support. Providing notes to other students without the note taker's consent is in violation of the agreement with the note taker, against AccessAbility Services' policies and regulations, and can endanger the reputation of our services. If students are found sharing the notes with peers, they will be called to meet with a Disability Consultant to review their responsibility in the accommodation process and the accommodation will be re-assessed