Three Top Websites That Offer Free Online Stenography Courses
Higher Education Articles December 20, 2012People refer to stenography as shorthand writing. The three basic types of shorthand writing available are called Gregg, Teeline and Pitman. In this article, we will discuss various free online courses available with respect to these three main types of stenography.
Here is how students should proceed, if they wish to avail themselves on these free courses:
a.) Learn from online video lessons that are available.
b.) Earn real college credit by passing an examination.
Shorthand or stenography are used by court stenographers and secretaries among other professionals. Students can learn one of three basic types of stenography, namely Gregg, Pitman and Teeline. We have listed some websites below that students can use to learn shorthand; these sites provide lessons through the devices of audio files, videos and lessons in text form. The instructional materials are intended as self-study tools.
No grades are received by users though they get awarded credits. For optimum benefit, a user should make sure they have an updated version of the browser to get best results from a video or audio file. Currently, no accredited university or college offers free stenography courses on the Internet. However, here we have listed websites that may be useful to students.
Gregg Shorthand Tutorial
A tutorial on Gregg shorthand is extensively available online. Visitors to the site can read about a history of the Gregg shorthand system that is a kind of stenography involving the use of a pen; the site allows visitors to read subchapters that can be accessed freely on the right hand side of the web page. Each subchapter covers a different aspect of the Gregg shorthand system and gives background information about it; such aspects may deal with punctuation, phrasing, etc. A brief tutorial on using the method concludes the subchapter, allowing visitors to use the material to learn stenography at a pace they are comfortable with.
Teeline Shorthand Tutorial
There are eleven lessons in audio form in this stenography tutorial. Students who use this tutorial need to have Real Player on their computers in order to access the lessons, as the audio files are only compatible with Real Player. The audio lessons include various topics such as writing of sentences, joining of consonants and the alphabet. Users can use graphic forms of the exercises available to check the solutions after they have completed the exercises.
The Joy of Pitman Shorthand Tutorial
The home page has three ‘Youtube’ video lessons, explaining the Pitman shorthand system, and each video are eight minutes long. Visitors to the site can access writing samples crafted by using the Pitman method as well as graphics demonstrating the fundamentals of the Pitman shorthand method. Visitors will get a history lesson on the method and be able access links to relevant websites.
Students Can Earn Real Credit from These Courses
Though students do not get awarded credits directly by these courses, it is possible to earn credits by taking an exam; students can transfer the credits to their school. To avail credits, students can opt for one of two affordable choices of exams that enjoy wide recognition:
CLEP Examinations
The thirty-three CLEP examinations conducted by the College Board permit a candidate to test out of their general education needs. Two out of three universities and colleges in the United States accept the credits.
Credit by Examination conducted by Excelsior College
There are over forty examinations offered by Excelsior College that leads to transferable credits. Three full degrees can be earned by students, if they wish to take the free online courses and receive their credits via examination.
