Midlands Technical College

Information Systems Technology

  

 

DATE:                                       Spring 2008

 

NAME OF COURSE:              COURT REPORTING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY III

 

COURSE PREFIX, NO.:         CRP 243

 

CREDIT:                                 3.0 Semester Hours – This three-semester hour lecture course will meet
2250 minutes per semester.

 

TEXT:                                     No text required

 

INSTRUCTOR:                      BRENDA SIGWALD

                                                Telephone:  822-7037

                                                Email:  sigwaldb@midlandstech.edu

 

OFFICE:                                 SA 158           

 

PREREQUISITES:                 CRP 242

 

COREQUISITES:                  None

 

MATERIALS NEEDED:      Textbook, steno machine, paper, books, tape recorder,
3.5” high-density diskettes, CDs or other means of storage such as a personal laptop.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:   This course is a study of computer-aided transcription of court reporting materials with an emphasis on accuracy.

 

NOTE:                                    This course is taught through the use of lecture, textbook, handouts, and projects.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES:      Upon completion of this course, the student shall be able to:

 

1        Produce salable transcripts of at least ten pages on a computer-aided transcription system from the student’s own stenographic notes, including:

a)      Title page.

b)      Index.

c)      Jury charge/opening and/or closing statements, if applicable.

d)     Direct and cross-examination.

e)      Parentheticals.

f)       Colloquy.

g)      Certification page.

h)      Such other entries as may appear in a given case, i.e., signature page.

2        Produce a five-page, first-pass transcript with a goal or 95% translation rate, commensurate with the student’s speed progress level.

3        Demonstrate knowledge of basic hardware care, maintenance, and setup of a realtime system.

4        Demonstrate understanding and application of the body of knowledge required in technology through systematic testing and/or projects.

 

INSTITUTIONAL STANDARDS:   This advanced technology class includes hands-on instruction in:

 

I.                    Computer-Aided Transcription:

A.    Operating a computer-aided transcription system.

B.     Basic care and maintenance of the electronic writer and periphersals.

C.     System support (customer service, software support, etc.)

D.    Understanding of computer-aided transcription terminology.

E.     Application of computer functions:

1        Producing a transcript:

·         Reading

·         Translating

·         Editing

·         Printing

·         Using parentheticals

·         Include files

2        Dictionary management to include:

·         Editing of entries

·         Adding new entries

·         Archival of dictionary files

 

II.                Instruction in the following may include:

·         Lecture

·         Video tape

·         Hands-on instruction to provide familiarity in:

A.    Computer operation systems/computer literacy:

1        Disk Operating System (DOS). (DOS function card).

2        Windows.

3        Creating an ASCII disk.

4        Understanding computer terminology.

5        Overview of Internet applications.

B.     Realtime application:

1        Instruction in operating a realtime-translation system.

2        Instruction in setting up and operating realtime-related hardware.

3        Role of the realtime reporter in proceedings:

a)      Speaker identification.

b)      Realtime transcript, composition, and formatting.

4        Utilizing all available resource material to prepare for writing realtime

5        Psychology of writing realtime.

6        Realtime reporting in the Computer-Integrated Courtroom (CIC) environment:

a)      Available realtime and litigation support technology.

b)      Procedures to train attorneys, paralegals, court personnel, etc.

c)      System management.

d)     Case management (what, where, why).

e)      Indexing/conversion software programs.

f)       Optical scanning of documents, exhibits, building a litigation database.

g)      Interacting with court computer systems.

h)      Lexis, Westlaw, etc.

i)        Case tracking.

j)        Word processing.

k)      File storage – archival/retrieval computer systems.

l)        Coordinating activities with court administrators on CIC matters.

m)    Telecommunications. (Telephonic, video conferencing).

n)      Public relations.

o)      Distribution of transcripts, ASCII diskettes, etc.

7        Realtime reporting in the deposition environment:

a)      Available hardware and software technology.

b)      Equipment setup.

c)      Telecommunications.

d)     Participants’ needs.

e)      Litigation support.

f)       Public relations.

8        Realtime reporting in the Captioning/ CART environment:

a)      Available hardware and software..

b)      Equipment setup.

c)      Participants’ needs.

d)     Public relations.

e)      Interacting with faculty, students and support staff.

f)       Sign language/deaf culture.

g)      Ancillary (audio, video, etc.) personnel.

9        Realtime reporting in the broadcast environment:

a)      Ancillary (engineers) personnel.

b)      Coordinating support staff.

c)      Available hardware and software technology.

d)     Newsroom systems/interfaces.

e)      Public relations.

f)       Prenews/program preparation.

g)      Quality control.

h)      Off-line/post production.

i)        Broadcast industry.

j)        Broadcast production format and materials.

k)      Current events.

l)        Broadcast/news production equipment.

m)    Audience.

C.     Litigation Support:

1        An overview of litigation support such as ASCII disks, keyword indexing, etc.

2        An overview of the role of litigation support in the judicial system

3        An overview of the reporter’s role in litigation support

D.    Videotaping:

1        An overview of the use of video equipment in trials and depositions

2        An overview of NCRA’s Certified Legal Video Specialist program

E.     Information on related software packages, such as spreadsheets, word processing, scheduling, and job tracking

 

GRADING SCALE:              94-100                A                    

87-93                   B                                

80-86                   C                                      

80-87                   D                                

0-69                               F

 

GRADING COMPUTATION:         The Final grade will be based on 75 percent of Daily Grades and Tests; 25 percent of Class Participation

 

MAKE-UP POLICY:                                     All make-up work/tests/quizzes given will be at the

discretion of the instructor.

 

LATE ASSIGNMENTS:                               Assignments are to be turned in on or before the

announced due date.  Late work will be accepted at

the discretion of the instructor.

 

TEST COMPROMISE POLICY:                  There will be no test compromises in any class (i.e. cheating).  All test compromises will be dealt with according to the student code.  (See Student Handbook.)

 

TRANSCRIPTION REQUIREMENT:         All projects and realtime exercises are to be produced in a CRP lab and shall be monitored  by an institutional supervisor.

 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:                        All dates on this course outline are estimated and assignments may be changed at any time at the discretion of the instructor.

 

ATTENDANCE POLICY:       The departmental policy will apply.  The number of absences allowed is

                                                equal to twice the number of times the course meets per week.  After the

                                                allowed number of absences, a student must participate in counseling

                                                with Student Services before admission back into class.

 

NOTE:        Students must earn a grade of “C” or better in all of the courses offered within the Information Systems Department in order for the grade to be counted toward graduation.

 

The Court Reporting Program at Midlands Technical College is National Court Reporting Association (NCRA) approved through 2012.   The objectives listed on this syllabus are requirements of NCRA and all syllabi were reviewed by NCRA representatives during the approval process.