Notetaking Applications, Devices, and Services

• FREE for Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X Yosemite 10.10 or later, iOS, Android, and Web: https://www.onenote.com/download.

• Capture thoughts, ideas, and to-dos and sync them to all your devices.
• Store and share your notebooks on OneDrive with your free Microsoft account.
• Doesn’t expire. Use OneNote for as long as you like.
• Sort content across notebooks, sections, and pages.
• Highlight notes with to-do tags.
• Use a keyboard, stylus, or finger to take notes.
• Record audio notes, insert online videos, and add files.
• Use the OneNote Web Clipper to save content with a single click.
• Share notebooks with anyone.

• https://support.office.com/en-us/onenote.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjfIMCRJUAo.

• https://support.office.com/en-us/article/accessibility-support-for-onenote-7edc3c88-ca71-4c01-ba95-e2eee4cfcac2.
• Windows: The accessibility testing of OneNote 2016 on Windows found that most items are accessible with keyboard navigation using shortcut keys, TAB and Arrow Keys, but could not find a way to access the Search Box, Right Menu Bar, or the Page and Section Tabs using keyboard navigation. Furthermore, JAWS Screen Reader speaks tools and options in this application much better than NVDA.
• iOS App: The accessibility of OneNote on an iPad is excellent as long as you have Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver enabled. This will allow great keyboard navigation using TAB, the Left and Right Arrow Keys, as well as excellent keyboard focus. Also, VoiceOver speaks every tool in the application very well.
• Android App: The accessibility of OneNote on an Android Tablet is good when TalkBack is enabled.

(Back To Top)

• Windows, Mac, Chromebooks, and Linux running supported browsers: https://glean.co/pricing/.

• Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are only supported browsers.
• Take notes (called Events in Glean) and record lecture simultaneously.
• Highlight and add labels to important notes as you go by enabling Lightning Mode.
• Create tasks to identify important notes such as an assignment or exam.
• Organize notes by class, professor or any category by using Collections.
• Annotate notes.
• Add Text Notes while reviewing your notes during playback.
• Import slides and other content relevant to your notes.
• Slides are imported as PDF only.
• Access notes using any device through the Cloud.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Kzfxgvo-JY.

• https://help.glean.co/article/24-accessibility-and-glean.
• Windows: The accessibility evaluation on the Windows version of Glean (30 Day Trial) using Google Chrome and JAWS Screen Reader Pro 2019determined that the application is completely accessible with keyboard navigation as well as screen reader usage.

(Back To Top)

• Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X 10.13 or later, iOS, and Android: https://evernote.com/download.

• Free and subscription plans: https://evernote.com/community/referral.

• Plan features compared: https://evernote.com/compare-plans
• Syncs across your devices.
• Save web pages, articles, and PDFs.
• Customizable and reusable note templates.
• Search for text in PDFs, Office docs, images, presentations, and scanned documents in Premium version.
• Record audio and attach to specific note, but audio recording is limited based on total size of note and on free vs. pay version.
• Collect, organize, and share everything with anyone.
• Scanning capability.
• Integrates with Google Drive, Outlook, Salesforce, and Slack.

• https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/categories/10681-Using-Evernote.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMayVLAKAvU&list=PLAzfmm1gS2_XNMhxQJoomJLKc-GG-1Ux6.

• Accessibility is mediocre according to reviews from various websites.
• Windows: The accessibility on the Windows version and the Web version was confirmed as mediocre. There are many shortcut keys for various tools in the application, but not all tools have a shortcut key. Also, in both the Windows and Web versions, there is no way to use keyboard navigation to access the drop-down list items for your Account Name. In the Windows version is a Menu Bar and I tried to use keyboard shortcuts as well as TAB and Arrow Keys to access it, but the Menu Bar is not accessible to keyboard navigation in the traditional sense. You have to use shortcut keys and even then, not all options have a shortcut key mapped to it. A screen reader can read items in the Windows version as well as the Web version without keyboard navigation, but since keyboard navigation does not work with various tools or options, the software must be considered not accessible. Furthermore, even the items you can get to with keyboard navigation using shortcut keys, arrow keys and/or TAB, is cumbersome and frustrating. Keyboard navigation is not easy. At least in my opinion. Here is the link for the list of shortcut keys in the Windows version: https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209004807-Keyboard-shortcuts-in-Evernote-for-Windows.
• iOS App: The accessibility for Evernote on an iPad is mediocre even when Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver are both enabled. VoiceOver will not speak most of the tools on the formatting tool bar at the bottom of the application. Also, at the bottom of the application is a toolbar to show keyboard or hide keyboard when you type into the note. However, when using the keyboard to navigate, you can’t access the dismiss keyboard button. It seems to only work with touch. So, there are critical accessibility issues when using the application.
• Android App: The accessibility for Evernote on an Android Tablet is good when TalkBack is enabled.

(Back To Top)

• Apple devices only: https://www.gingerlabs.com/.

• Free and Pay: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4.

• Combine handwriting, photos and typing in a single note.
• Wide range of note-taking and sketching tools.
• Add and annotate PDFs.
• Record audio and sync audio to written notes.
• Customize hand written notes and sketches.
• Combine sketches, outlines, and type.
• Share notes with anyone through Google Drive, AirDrop, Email and Dropbox.
• Markup photos, annotate PDFs, or create original content.
• Notes synced on iCloud.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbf95sEiAwI.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57_vf3F2bFw.

• Accessibility is good for low vision, but mediocre for other disabilities according to various websites.
• iOS App: Using the Free Starter Edition, the accessibility for Notability on an iPad is mediocre even when Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver are both enabled. With keyboard navigation, it does not allow you to access some tools in the application. For example, you can’t access 2 tools (Help and Notability Plus) next to the Settings tool at the bottom of the application. VoiceOver will not even let you know these tools exist. All other tools are accessible however. Based on the 2 tools not being keyboard or VoiceOver accessible, the accessibility of this application is mediocre.

(Back To Top)

• Apple Only. Comes installed free with any Apple device.

• Create text notes of all kinds.
• Easy to use and clean interface.
• Pin important notes to make them easier to find.
• Create folders, organize notes, draw, create checklists, scan and sign documents, and add attachments.
• Save your notes to iCloud to be accessed by other Apple devices you use.

• https://support.apple.com/guide/notes/keyboard-shortcuts-apd46c25187e/mac.
• https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT205773.

• iOS App: Accessibility of Apple Notes on an iPad is good. You can access most features with the shortcut keys, but for the most accessible experience it is best to enable VoiceOver. In doing so, you will be able to navigate the app features with your keyboard using Arrow Keys and Return key when using a smart keyboard. This makes it so much easier than trying to remember tons of shortcut keys. Therefore, when Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver are both enabled, this application is very accessible.

(Back To Top)

• FREE for iOS, Android, Google Chrome, and Web Version: https://www.google.com/keep/.

• Syncing notepad that connects to Google Drive.
• Supports photo notes, voice notes, and checklists.
• Universal search for titles and note contents.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_TKmYg9M6o.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HZkasJcbGA.

• Web-Based: Good with keyboard navigation and screen reader.
• Google Chrome Extension: Good.
• iOS App: The accessibility of Google Keep on an iPad is excellent as long as you have Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver enabled. This will allow great keyboard navigation using TAB or even better, the Left and Right Arrow Keys, as well as excellent keyboard focus, and VoiceOver speaks every tool in the application very well.
• Android App: The accessibility for Google Keep on an Android Tablet is good when TalkBack is enabled.

(Back To Top)

• Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Web Versions: https://www.notion.so/pricing.

• FREE and subscription plans: https://www.notion.so/pricing.

• Plan features compared: https://www.notion.so/pricing.
• This is a notetaker, planner, organizer, and collaborator. An all-in-one tool.
• No audio recording capability. However, if you use a Touch Keyboard like Windows has (Apple devices have a similar feature.) and enable that while Notion is open, you can select the microphone in the Touch Keyboard and speak your notes. When you are finished speaking, the Touch Keyboard will automatically insert what you said as text into Notion. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbkKtltteFk.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=536Q_kIImWk.

• Accessibility is mediocre, but is best using the Web Version: https://www.reddit.com/r/Notion/comments/tfzotl/how_accessible_is_notion/.
• iOS App: The accessibility of Notion on an iPad with Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver is poor. Even though you can navigate to all tools in the application using the keyboard TAB and Left and Right Arrow Keys and keyboard focus is good, VoiceOver is poor because on most tools in the application, all VoiceOver says is “button”. It doesn’t tell you what the tool is you are trying to use. So, based on the VoiceOver issues of this application, the application is not accessible.

(Back To Top)

• Windows, Mac, Linux Versions: https://zoom.us/pricing.

• Automatic transcription of audio saved to cloud.
• Option to display transcription in video similar to captioning.
• Transcript divided into sections, timestamped and editable.
• Utilizes the Otter.ai transcription service.
• Only supports English.

• https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/115004794983-Using-audio-transcription-for-cloud-recordings-.
• https://marketplace.zoom.us/apps/MmQJIMXUTYiCdPX5anvKVw.

• Windows: The accessibility of the Windows Zoom Desktop Client for Meetings using JAWS Screen Reader Pro 2019 and keyboard navigation works well. However, minor accessibility issues are poor keyboard focus when using keyboard navigation on the meetings navigation bar list under Meetings, the contacts navigation bar list under Contacts, and the settings navigation bar list under Settings.

(Back To Top)

• Web-Based, iOS, Android: https://otter.ai/pricing.

• Create notes for any voice conversation.
• Powered by AI (Artificial Intelligence).
• Can use as a stand-alone recorder and transcriber or in conjunction with Zoom meetings.
• Convert existing audio into text.

• https://help.otter.ai/hc/en-us.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkF1cE7ARTE.
• https://blog.otter.ai/how-to-transcribe-any-videos-with-otter-ai/.

• Web-Based: The accessibility using Google Chrome after signing in with an account in Otter.ai found that the links below the 3 fields on the Home tab in Account Settings are not accessible to keyboard navigation. Also, links in the Apps tab and Notifications tab in Account Settings do not have good keyboard focus. The keyboard focus is better when using keyboard navigation in conjunction with JAWS Screen Reader because JAWS has a built in highlighting system as you navigate with keyboard using a web browser. Even so, since keyboard navigation does not work on the links below the 3 fields on the Home tab in Account Settings, the website is not completely accessible.
• iOS App: The accessibility of Otter.ai on an iPad is excellent as long as you have Full Keyboard Access and VoiceOver enabled. This will allow great keyboard navigation using TAB or even better, the Left and Right Arrow Keys, as well as excellent keyboard focus, and VoiceOver speaks every tool in the application very well.
• Android App: The accessibility for Otter.ai on an Android Tablet is good when TalkBack is enabled.

(Back To Top)

• Windows 7 or later, Mac OS X 10.8.5 or later for the Echo Desktop software: https://livescribe.helpscoutdocs.com/article/1364-80903-echo-pulse-system-requirements-for-echo-desktop.

• Record everything you hear, say and write, while linking/syncing your audio recordings to your notes.
• When tapping with the pen on a specific location in your notes, you can hear what was recorded at that specific time.
• Echo Desktop software allows you to save, organize, and play back interactive notes.
• Share notes and pencasts as images.
• Tap anywhere on your notes to play back audio from that exact moment in time you took the notes.
• Requires the use of special paper called Dot Paper for notetaking.
• Requires the use of ink refills.

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qo72cetlSY&list=PLRZlWFj5ofWmFrLfUSXNFE7czZUxbGGrr.

(Back To Top)

• Plug-and-play setup doesn’t require the installation of drivers.
• Charges through the computer’s USB port.
• Impervious to GSM noise from other wireless electronic devices.
• 128-bit encryption for HIPAA compliance.
• Wireless design.
• Mic gets paired with base for wireless communication between presenter and recipient.
• Plug base (receiver) into computer via USB, lecturer wears the transmitting mic, audio wirelessly gets transmitted to base (receiver), remote transcriber can hear audio and create a transcript of audio in real time for individual requiring captioning services through Skype, Zoom, or other web conferencing application.

• https://uc.yamaha.com/products/microphone-systems/personal-microphone-system/.

(Back To Top)