[Air-L] Transcription Software

Denise N. Rall denrall at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 27 13:27:28 PST 2009


Dear AIR-ers -

As someone who types fairly rapidly, I have an advantage (and the use of two hands). However radical it might seem, I think that ordinary transcription, the listening repeatedly and repetitiously to half-heard words and the necessity of then relaying them into text, has everything to do with the process of learning what the person has actually said.

I take this view from a world-class biologist who said to me once: "You have to live with your data for a long time before the meanings can arise" Another social scientist taped a photo of her participant to the edge of her computer screen while transcribing. She felt that her difficulties with transcription with her E. Indian participants was part of the process of 'coming to know' her participants.

Other cognitive scientists talk of the importance of using our hands in learning. Don't have the exact cite, but it was about tool-making, tool-using, through continous repetition - humans build cognitive links in their brains.

It's refreshing to realise that my hands can be involved in helping me think. There's no dishonour in typing words, in fact, lots can be learned by patient listening . . . and typing . . . and listening . . . and typing . . . 

Why take shortcuts? There's lots to learn in the painful process!
Cheers, Denise




Denise N. Rall, PhD. Internationalisation Project Officer Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW 2480 AUSTRALIA Office: Room T2.17, +61 (0)2 6620 3577 Mobile 0438 233 344 http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/esm/staff/pages/drall/ Presenter, Internet Research 9.0, 15-18 October 2008, Copenhagen, DK

--- On Wed, 28/1/09, laudone at fordham.edu <laudone at fordham.edu> wrote:



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