Manual Transcription
Sync the AltoEdge transcription pedal with the free Express Scribe transcription software, and you will be in a good position to significantly cut down the time it takes to transcribe audio files into text. One benefit of manual transcription, which can take longer than automatic digital transcription, is that the transcriber can become intimately familiar with the audio content and make editorial decisions along the way.
1) Check out one of the AltoEdge transcription pedals at the Circulation desk
2) Download the free version of the Express Scribe transcription software
3) Make sure the 3 controls on the foot pedal are setup the way you want them in the software; see the foot pedal setup guide for details
4) You might want to work with headphones
5) Open your word processor and prepare to start typing
| AltoEdge transcription pedal details
| Express Scribe (download free version)
| Express Scribe (instructions)
Digital Transcription Tools
| Descript is a recording and editing software with both free and paid tiers. The free tier offers 3 hours of transcription, full editing capabilities, unlimited screen recordings, and studio sound effects.
| Otter.ai uses artificial intelligence to empower users with real-time transcription meeting notes that are shareable, searchable, accessible and secure. The free tier supports 300 monthly transcription minutes; 30 minutes per conversation.
| Downsub offers a straightforward way to create a transcript of online videos. Simply copy each unique URL where the video is hosted, paste it in Downsub, tell it the language, and the transcripts appear to download really quickly with surprising accuracy.
| Nvivo enables qualitative data analysis by importing research data from virtually any source, whence you can centralize and organize your data, and analyze unstructured text, audio, video, and image data, including interviews, focus groups, surveys, social media, and journal articles. The DSCC also has a transcription license for this software.
| Anyone with a college account can log in to MediaSpace (Kaltura) and upload a video. Once it is uploaded you can select "Captions & Enrich" from the Actions menu on the video's page and then request machine generated captions. Once they have been generated there will be a link below the video to "Show Transcript", and if you select "Edit" from the Actions menu you can click on the Captions tab and download the captions file.