![]() In regards to whether these cuts were made because of the financial effects of COVID-19, president OPSEU/SEFPO Local 557 at GBC, Megan Carter, says these discussions happened prior to the pandemic but that the virus sped up the process. The wrong homonym is used, the wrong name is used, there’s no context, so it’s just a very different experience.”īecause computerized notetakers are considered casual employees by GBC, the email clearly stated that seniority is not applicable and will not be provided once the contracts are up. “Yeah, you can kind of follow the discussion, but there are a lot of errors. “With a text-to-speech service, there are going to be key mistakes,” says Lehrer. The email outlined how notetakers provide notes in real-time which enables students to follow along in class, provide accurate notes within 24 hours that are copy-edited, and that they check with faculty when needed to clarify points and confirm names with terminology. Their key arguments were presented in an email to GBC president Anne Sado on February 8, 2021. It’s almost like taking a course with the student.” “If the notetaker isn’t in the class, the student can’t clarify something with the teacher and they don’t have the material. “Live text-to-speech and automated text-to-speech services just aren’t the same,” says Lehrer. ![]() Andrew Lehrer, a previous notetaker at GBC, says that even if it is simply a matter of students receiving their notes two days later with Note Taking Express, they would still miss out on the synchronous note-taking that GBC’s computerized notetakers are able to provide for the students. ![]() Now, members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union / Le Syndicat des employés de la fonction publique de l’Ontario (OPSEU/SEFPO) Local 557 at GBC are now calling on the institution to bring back notetakers and renew their contracts, arguing that “they provide a value added service that is superior to the app”.Ī variety of concerns have been raised in regards to the quality of the notes provided by Note Taking Express for those who require these services. Although a few staff members would still be required to provide coverage for on-campus classes, all 5 GTA virtual classes in Winter 2021 would be replaced by the new service due to “a lighter volume of students.” On December 15, 2020, 67 computerized notetakers at George Brown College (GBC) received an email that all contracts would be terminated by Decemand replaced by a software application called Note Taking Express. ![]()
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