There is a new Web site showing college students other ways of taking notes, one post at a time.
The two-year-old site known as ‘I Slept through Class,’ shows students how to post, blog and search for any notes in any subject that they might have missed during a class lecture.
Allison Barber, director of marketing for the site, said that it not only helps students obtain notes they missed, but also provides assistance to students that have difficulties taking notes in class.
‘The site is a great resource for students who might have a hard time taking notes in class or may have missed class discussions due to athletic purposes,’ said Barber. ‘It’s like your own online study group.’
Much like a MySpace or Facebook, students are prompted to first become members before obtaining any notes. Students sign up by entering a valid college email address, creating a password and entering the name of the school they attend.
After applying, students will receive a confirmation email and then presto! Students can start researching for class notes in any subject from art to women’s studies to math.
Students earn points for each note posted whether it is a Microsoft Word, One point, PowerPoint, Excel or photo document. For a certain amount of points students can earn rewards such as gift cards, PayPal or redeem cash.
‘Some students are visual learners and some are not,’ said Barber. ‘We want to make sure the site appeals to all learners of every kind that is why the site was created.’
Barber also mentions that before notes are posted they are reviewed by a staff member to make sure the work is not plagiarized or if there are any copyright issues.
Notes are then posted on the site giving access to any other members around the country.
Founder and CEO, Ryan Sapp, said he started the site because at the time he was an athlete attending the University of Dayton and was missing too many classes with no time to take notes.
‘I saw too many students who were missing class for activities either for school or because of work and thought why not launch a website that provides notes for students by students,’ said Sapp, who added he worked on the site during his summer break and launched it online in 2007, partnering with the Hollis Interactive Company, a website designer based in East New England.
Sapp said there has been positive feedback from schools that have embraced the site, but acknowledges that there are a few negative responses.
‘It is not always going to be positive, but we have 15,000 active members and the number is growing,’ Sapp said. ‘We have about 900 schools logged on to our site, I think that speaks for itself.’
Among the 900 schools currently active on the site are CSU Long Beach, CSUN, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and San Diego State.
CSUN psychology major, Maria Alegria, said she has heard about the site but has not gotten a chance to log on herself.
‘I have heard about it from friends that have either used it or have visited it,’ said Alegria. ‘It sounds like I need to check it out though, because I didn’t know so many schools were involved.’
Sapp said they are continuing to update the site and now a new feature allows students to search for jobs as well as internships.
