Summary:

  • Reliable lecture capture empowers students to engage more deeply with material in real time.
  • Genio Notes users cite reduced stress and cognitive load (4.13/5) and improved study confidence and skills (4.26/5) as key drivers of their usage.
  • 84.6% of students take notes to revisit and study from them, not just to capture what was said. They aren’t offloading, they’re intentionally engaging.

Note taking is a fundamental part of the higher education experience. Yet as technologies evolve, the methods by which students capture their lecture material have changed.

To understand how students take notes, and the challenges and opportunities that stem from their approaches, we surveyed over 1000 Genio Notes users.

The aim of the study was to deepen understanding of how Genio Notes can actively support learning from lectures, setting the foundation for measurable improvements to learning.

Contrary to some beliefs, the results demonstrated that reliable lecture capture actually empowers students to engage more deeply with material in real time. Not only that, but all learners considered the core value of Genio Notes to be centered on reducing cognitive load and improving information management.

The headline is that students aren’t using lecture capture to offload, they’re using it to intentionally engage, reduce stress, and build confidence.

How Genio Notes affects note taking in the classroom

The study found that Genio Notes positively affects note taking in the classroom, particularly among New Majority learners.

Parent students demonstrated the highest satisfaction rate (85.6%) followed by mature students (78.8%) and working students (78.1%) showcasing how those learners that can be categorized as time poor see significant opportunities through technology.

Below, we explore the core areas that the study identified as challenges and opportunities for note taking in the classroom.


"Note taking and being able to go back to content I learned in class knowing everything is accurate has been a game changer for me. I feel like my high grades are a reflection of this."

Sabrina, University of Hawaii at Manoa

What are learner's note taking habits

Across the respondents, 84.6% of students described how they take notes to revisit and study from them, not just to capture what was said.

Rather than adhering to the assumption that, by using lecture capture or note taking tools, students are offloading their work, they are in fact actively planning to use their notes, allowing them to more actively engage in class.

Students also cited their main drivers for using a note taking tool as information management (4.32/5), study confidence and skills (4.26/5), and a reduction in stress and cognitive load (4.13/5).

From a student body perspective, this data demonstrates how offering note taking tools is a meaningful intervention for all, not a nice-to-have for the few.

Why note taking reliability matters

Learners reported that having reliable lecture capture eliminates their fear of missing out (mean score 4.13/5).

In turn, this allows them to engage more deeply with material in real time; facilitating proactive participation with the content being delivered by professors.

Why live annotation is so important

There was a clear correlation between the number of annotations being made on lecture content and long term engagement. Not only does this emphasise the importance of students proactively participating in class, those who took more notes were more likely to return to study from them.

However, engagement was restricted to in class actions. Even when given slides ahead of time, over ⅔ of students cited three key challenges of note taking:

  • Keeping up with the lecturer.

     

  • Switching between listening and typing.

     

  • Deciding what to annotate.

Therefore, even when the collateral is shared ahead of the lecture, it is critical to emphasise why providing learners with a dedicated note taking support tool remains vital for their engagement and comprehension.

In a similar vein, over 50% of respondents indicated that they annotate when told to by their lecturer, or a key concept is shared. From this, an inference can be made that students tend to annotate reactively, not proactively.

For lecturers and instructional designers, there is an avenue of opportunity here to more deliberately signpost when and where to note take in order to retain student engagement, while ensuring they capture the critical material.

"I now don't have to panic when I don't quite catch something as I can always go back and re-listen to the recording. With this, I can focus more on taking notes and feeling confident in the information I can actively write down in the moment."

Caitlyn, University of Alberta

How institutions can act on note taking opportunities

As much as the data points to the importance of lecture capture for improved student engagement and proactive participation, it remains clear that students need guidance not just on how to take notes, but on what to do with them afterwards.

One solution is to develop note taking as a skill. Genio’s Confident Note Takers Masterclass is an on-demand online note taking course that helps learners prepare for their studies through seven short modules. Students who have completed the course report an 84% increase in confidence in note taking.

A second solution is to provide reliable lecture capture through a tool like Genio Notes. Among those surveyed, users who described an active study intent experienced the most significant academic growth, demonstrating Genio Notes’ role as a powerful equalizer.

The research is clear that offering note taking tools is a meaningful intervention for all, and empowering students to use technology effectively results in higher levels of proactive participation.

"I am much more confident because I know I will not miss important details. Genio lets me record, transcribe, and bookmark parts of the lecture, so I can focus on understanding during class instead of trying to write everything down perfectly."

Parshv, University of California - Berkeley

Why institutions should be supporting note taking

To see how colleges can respond to these realities, we spoke to Sarah Jurden, Assistant Vice President for Student Success at Bowling Green State University, to understand how institutions can, and should, proactively support note taking.

Sarah stated that "ensuring that all students have access to effective support and resources, at a system level, is essential for the academic success of everyone, rather than benefiting only a select group".

Sarah also drew on the proactive element of participation as especially important. She explained how "the more we can create opportunities for students to be active participants in their learning, the better, particularly by actively guiding students through learning experiences, rather than assuming they intuitively understand what is important".

This research, and the wider discourse around note taking reinforces how crucial it is to provide support tools that benefit everyone, not just a select group. The more educators, instructors and faculty consider these strategies as they prepare their lectures, the better equipped they’ll be to support student learning.

Genio illustrations_admin insights

Find out how Genio can help students in your institution

The evidence is clear.

Genio Notes is positively impacting learner outcomes across student confidence, academic performance, learner stress, persistence, retention and fundamental learning skills.