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For a Future in Court Reporting...From Day One

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  

 Marlene Struss, NCRA Certified Reporting Instructor (retired)
 Owner, StarTran Transcription Service      

When I started teaching court reporting in the late '70s it was an exciting time because computer-aided transcription (CAT) was just coming into being.  The idea that a computer would be able to read our stenographic notes and save us the drudgery of dictating for a typist was met with mixed reactions, relief but also fear that one's notes might not be accurate enough for a computer.  As a theory teacher, I grasped immediately that computers had a problem too, no brain, and that in order to use them effectively we would have to make fundamental changes in the way we taught and learned theory, the stenographic language.  And I wanted to give my students a relevant education.  I wanted them to be ready to work in the new computerized world when they graduated.

"I'd like to offer my compliments and congratulation.  I do particularly like the way your theory is presented, with sample exercises after each principle.  Congratulations on a great idea!"

GRANT MORRISON, Author
Theorie francaise de stenotypie pour la transcription par ordinateur

In the early days there was only one "conflict-free" theory geared towards computer-compatible writing, but it was not written by a teacher or even a stenographic writer, and I was disappointed with its inherent flaws and weakness as a textbook and teaching tool.   Quite simply, StarTran Realtime Theory is the result of the old maxim "If you want something done right, do it yourself" -- although it wasn't simple, it took many years, and I had lots of help from family, friends, CAT experts, court reporters, court reporting teachers and especially the many StarTran students who gave feedback and suggestions all along the way.  Together we have done it right!    

Developing StarTran has, literally, enriched my life in many ways.  For one, I have earned the satisfaction of knowing that my goal of creating the fastest, most efficient court reporting theory possible and presenting it in a way that gives both students and teachers the best possible chance of succeeding has been realized.   

I am very impressed with the teaching technique of your lessons.  It is quite obvious that you have many years of teaching experience, as quite a bit of what I read in your texts reflects exactly my thoughts. In many ways your theory is superior to the one I have been teaching."

MONA CROSS, Program Dir.
Wilson College

Another outgrowth of the process is a thriving business in stenoscriptioning, or high-speed realtime tape transcription.  Rather than being just  "theoretical" like other theories, I began putting  StarTran to the real-life test in  StarTran Transcription Service, working on many interesting projects for companies such as National Public Radio, ABC Broadcasting, Prevailing Winds Magazine, public entities  such as the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, Public Works, the Environmental Defense Council, the University of Santa Barbara, and the County Mental Health Facility, just to name a few, in order to prove to my own high standard of satisfaction that StarTran really works.  Every word and specialized term from this vast array of subject matter over the last fifteen years has been saved and entered into the StarTran translation dictionary.  StarTran Theory's unique word-building properties working with these over 85,000 entries makes StarTran effectively the largest and most powerful translation dictionary on the market in the world, consistently translating our work at almost 100 percent!  

This dictionary is free to every StarTran student.  Whether you go into court reporting, captioning, or stenoscriptioning, it will save you years of "building" your own dictionary, as most reporters have  done, and countless hours editing untranslatable portions of your work, thus assuring that you get the most out of your career and all the hard work you put into achieving it.                         

StarTran Realtime Theory users interested in stenoscriptioning:  We can use skilled writers.   You are invited to e-mail StarTran Transcription Service a resume and briefly tell us about yourself.     

 

Besides developing the StarTran theory program and the transcription service, my experience in court reporting includes graduating from court reporting school, teaching all reporting subjects including English and verbatim punctuation, coordinating two court reporting departments, proofreading for Superior Court,  scoping for several reporters, and achieving NCRA instructor certification.  It's safe to say I know what I'm talking about when it comes to court reporting education, and I would enjoy sharing my experience and, most of all, my theory with anyone who desires to teach or learn the high and respected skill of realtime writing.

"I found a lot to like in StarTran. [Practice Habits]  really point the students in the right direction and help keep them focused on the goal of achieving mastery of the steno machine. It is nice to find affirmation from an expert in the field. [Your theory] was very educational and actually enjoyable."

RON WAY, Theory Instructor
Houston Community College