There are two types of notetaking for deaf students and hard of hearing learners: manual and electronic. Both produce summary rather the verbatim (word for word) notes. The notetaker will record all relevant spoken information, including asides, and any class discussion/comments. A notetaker can be used by a deaf learner who needs to watch a tutor, lip speaker or Sign Language Interpreter and so cannot take notes. They can also be used by someone who has limited lip-reading skills or who does not use sign language.

Manual Notetaker

A manual notetaker produces handwritten notes for the deaf learner in a structured format, showing the main points. The student can then adapt these notes later to suit their own style. The notetaker may sit next to the learner or, if this is not desired, in a place in the class room/lecture theatre where they can hear and view any spoken and visual information.

The manual notetaker will highlight important points of the text, link the text with any handouts or tasks needed by the client and ensure the client is aware of any issues arising in the meeting or lecture. They can also make annotations on handouts, diagrams or pictorial information and can provide notetaking services on outdoor excursions or field trips.

Electronic Notetaker

Electronic notetakers produce a typed summary record of lectures, tutorials or seminars using a laptop computer. The deaf learner may sit next to the notetaker and read from their computer screen or have their own laptop to view the note from. These can either be connected directly or can be wireless. The advantage of an electronic notetaker is that they can usually get more information down as typing is much faster than writing.

Electronic notetakers should not be confused with verbatim speech to text reporter (STTRs) who use a phonetic keyboard which provides verbatim service.