- Otter.ai
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Otter.ai is an online automated website/application that records your meeting notes. Not only does it record them, but it transcribes them for you, and can you assign people to each chunk of text. It’s not 100% perfect, so I usually have to go in and edit a few words and phrases here and there, but it has saved me so much time in trying to find and copy and paste important items from my meetings, classes and or interviews.
They offer various levels of subscriptions; however, I have only done the free version, which allows you to record 600 minutes per month and 40 minutes of transcription per recording. I’ve never run into any problems of needing more space, and if a meeting goes over 40 minutes, I just start another recording.
As a student journalist, I do a lot of interviews, that require detailed recordings and note-taking skills; however, thanks to sites like Otter.ai, I no longer have to worry about wasting so many hours taking as many tedious notes or transcribing my interviews. Otter.ai can also be used to record any other types of conversations, like Zoom or face-to-face meetings, class lectures, etc…
- Grammarly
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Whether you are a grammar aficionado or someone who struggles with it, Grammarly is your saving grace on papers, emails, text and anything you have to type out and send to someone else. Even though I have taken a couple of editing and grammar classes, I still make mistakes from time to time — we’re only human right? Right! Plus, I am a relatively fast typer and most of my mistakes come from that and Grammarly has saved my butt many times, especially when Google and Word spelling/grammar checks don’t catch everything.
Grammarly offers a website, chrome extension and an app that you can use on about any device.
- Canva
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Canva is a great resource for those that need or want to dabble or fully immerse themselves in the creative and graphic design world. I have used this app for several years after I was recommended by a friend. It is a super easy platform to use, and you can design videos, posters, social media stories, logos, presentations and so much more! Much like other graphic design platforms, they offer thousands of free templates, or you can start from scratch and create something brand new.
Canva has helped me create standout graphics for my internships and various class projects, and I couldn’t recommend it more!