Teacher's Corner: Fall 2007

Submitted by Melissa Scheuermann, RPR

Tennessee Career College

Knowledge is power.

      Sir Francis Bacon

There is so much to learn about the wonderful world of court reporting that we can’t possibly cover it all while you’re in school.  

As a student, I made it a daily habit to read and learn everything I could about the profession I had chosen.  This included reading both NCRA’s Journal of Court Reporting and TCRA’s newsletters cover to cover whenever new issues were available.

There are also plenty of websites these days that showcase anything you may ever need to know about reporting, including issues on theory, hardware/software, procedures, and theory, as well as classifieds and other resource links.

Here are a few of my favorites:

CourtReportingHelp.com – This website is very student focused and features a wide range of articles geared towards students and teachers.  The author also offers many mp3 drills and a great practice tool called the “Speed Teacher,” which I used a lot while I was in school.

GoSearchmaster.com – Hosted by the creator of the Searchmaster search engine, there are several resource links helpful when researching transcripts.  This site also has the link to the court reporter’s forum on CompuServe, where you will find an absolute slew of information.

Stenolife.com – Need a brief?  Plug in a word or phrase and this website will give you one.

Stenospeed.com – Offers streaming dictation at a range of speeds.

TNCRA.com – Been there yet?  Here you’ll find all you need to know about your state association.  You can print TCRA’s newsletters from here and learn about upcoming seminars/conventions.  Under the “Resources” link is an extensive webpage with links to many other helpful websites.

NCRAonline.org – Been there, done that?  I hope so!  NCRA’s website is the place to go to find out about our national association and the work they’re doing to support us.  Here you’ll find information on meetings & events; news & information; issues & advocacy; education; certification tests; NCRF, the National Court Reporters Foundation which supports the court reporting and captioning professions through philanthropic activities funded through charitable contributions; and NCRA communities, including community forums for students as well as new professionals.