Instructors FAQs on Genio Notes

What is Genio Notes?

Genio is a note-taking software provided to eligible students with disabilities as an approved academic accommodation through the Centre for Accessibility (CfA).

This cloud-based software is designed to create equitable access to the notetaking process for students who require this as an approved accommodation. Genio integrates multiple note-taking technologies into a single tool, including recording and transcription technologies. It allows students to capture, organize, and refine notes, making them accessible.

Like all accommodations, this notetaking accommodation is only assigned to students who require it for equitable access to their academic courses. It offers no academic advantage.

For students using Genio as an accommodation through the CfA, the AI Outline and Study Notes Summary features are disabled. The Quiz Me feature remains enabled because it supports retrieval practice, a learning strategy that can help address disability-related barriers associated with executive functioning and information recall.

Has Genio been vetted by UBC for privacy, storage and security purposes?

 Yes, Genio has successfully passed a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) conducted by a UBC Information Security Risk Advisor to determine that it complies with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), Information Systems Policy (SC14) and UBC Information Security Standards (ISS).

Audio is encrypted in storage (at rest) and in transit, cannot be downloaded by students, and cannot be shared within the platform. The PIA specifically reviewed the question of UK-based data storage and found the arrangement compliant with all relevant UBC policies and the law. 

What happened to peer notetakers?

Note-taking support for students with disabilities is not new, nor is assistive technology to deliver this accommodation. Historically, peer notetakers and/or a range of audio-recording tools (none of which were vetted for privacy or AI use), were the only available options to address the access barrier presented by traditional notetaking.

Both models are outdated and no longer reflect contemporary best practices in the field of disability accommodation.

New advances in assistive technology remove reliance on non-disabled peers, address risks related to privacy and empower students with disabilities to manage, engage and format their notes as they require. UBC is obligated to afford a high degree of dignity and privacy to students with disabilities when reasonable options, like Genio, are available.

How are faculty notified that a student is using Genio?

Instructors are notified if a student has an accommodation to use Genio via an official Letter of Accommodation.

What agreements govern the student’s use of Genio?

If used as an accommodation, Genio recordings and transcripts are strictly for personal study purposes only. Students are entitled to this accommodation under BC Human Rights law and UBC’s LR7 policy. Students assigned this accommodation sign a Genio Agreement with the CfA.

It is important to note that thousands of students who are not registered with the Centre for Accessibility and who do not have formal accommodations or a disability might be using Genio, or other notetaking tools. The CfA has no oversight on how students are using these technologies outside the scope of formal accommodation.

What about the privacy of other students in the class?

We encourage instructors to add the following statement to all their course syllabi and Canvas:

During lectures, recordings may be made by students with note-taking accommodations for disability purposes, using Genio Notes. These recordings utilize the device’s microphone and/or content displayed on the screen and are exclusively for the student’s personal use to support their disability-related accommodation. This service is provided by UBCs Centre for Accessibility and has met all UBC privacy requirements. All users have signed agreements related to the appropriate use of recordings.

What about my own intellectual property?

This tool is only for personal study use (like a student’s pen & paper notes); ownership of the content remains with the instructor and does not transfer to the user or to Genio. Please review Genio’s resources for faculty to learn more.

No, Genio for Education does not infringe on copyright law. The recordings and transcriptions created by Genio for students with disabilities are permitted based on an exception in the Canadian Copyright Act (Section 32). This section allows individuals with disabilities to make copies of works (including recordings and transcriptions) for personal use, including for educational purposes as long as these copies are not for commercial distribution. This exception enables students with disabilities to use tools like Genio to access content in a manner that accommodates their needs.

How are the recordings and notes made on Genio stored?

Audio recordings and electronic notes are stored locally on the student’s device in a Genio-readable format. Data is also uploaded to Genio’s cloud storage, which is hosted across Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud platforms in UK data centres.

Genio follows the rules of the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDRP) for all personal data handled (including personal data handled in Canada).

Learn more about Genio Data Security Policy and Genio Privacy Notice. You may also be interested in reading Where and how are my Events Saved? from the Genio user guide.

Storage and privacy considerations for personal study use differ significantly from institution-wide systems. Additionally, legal exceptions related to human rights and copyright exist for the purposes of disability accommodation.

How does Genio use AI?

Multiple assistive technologies – from speech to text programs, powered wheelchairs and even many hearing aids – utilize AI. The presence of AI-related features alone is not a sufficient basis to not adopt the accommodation practices or assistive technologies intended to address disability-related barriers. 

Genio Notes uses AI for certain functions. 

Genio is a self-contained, non-scraping, off-line first system. Students cannot use Genio Notes to search the internet, conduct research, generate assignments, or compile information from external sources. In this respect, it differs fundamentally from general-purpose generative AI tools. 

Genio is careful and intentional about its use of AI and is designed with the post-secondary landscape in mind. While Genio utilizes the service of third-party processors to provide accurate and efficient transcription through Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology (converting speech into text), the boundaries of the tool’s AI features and agreements relating to AI are clearly explained on their website. 

Genio does not train models on recorded content — this is a firm contractual commitment. 

What features of the tool are enabled?

For students using Genio as an accommodation through the CfA, the AI Outline and Study Notes Summary features are disabled. The Quiz Me feature remains enabled because it supports retrieval practice, a learning strategy that can help address disability-related barriers associated with executive functioning and information recall.

I am concerned that the use of Genio will adversely impact the quality of class discussion. Who should I speak to about an exception?

An instructor may ask all students to refrain from notetaking during sensitive course content or discussion. If they do make this request, students using Genio for the purposes of accommodation would be expected to pause the recording. In this scenario, it is important that instructors do not assess students on the content of the course material during the ‘no notetaking’ discussion/ activity.

On rare occasions, the structure or format of a course may mean alternative notetaking support is appropriate. However, this is highly unusual and requires careful consideration by the student’s Accessibility Advisor in consultation with the Office of the University Counsel. Legal obligations to the student do not change based on the personal preferences of instructors.

Ultimately, the legal threshold for an exception to this accommodation would be rare and need to be discussed with the student’s Accessibility Advisor.

I don’t allow audio recording or any technology in my classes. Can I ask a student with accommodation not to use Genio?

Audio-recording and transcription are standard accommodations across post-secondary institutions, nationally and internationally. When used by students who have formal accommodations through a disability services office (Centre for Accessibility), the use of this technology is an exception that must be made to meet UBC’s legal duty to accommodate. Please refer to LR7 to review instructor responsibilities in the accommodation process. For questions related to the legal obligations of accommodations, please reach out to UBC’s Office of the University Counsel.

Can I require that students delete all course related recordings and notes after the term?

Students who are eligible for Genio as a disability accommodation utilize recordings, notes and transcripts in lieu of the ability to take notes via traditional pen/ paper format (or typing in a word processor). Therefore, asking them to delete these materials could be seen as discriminatory, unless an instructor asks all students to delete or destroy notes in any format. There is no effective way to enforce a course policy like this, but you are welcome to ask students to delete recordings. Please see the CfA Genio Agreement for CfA student guidelines on this.

I am concerned about transcription accuracy in this tool. What happens if a student is not getting accurate transcripts?

Genio produces transcripts rather than live captions. Because transcripts are processed after recording, they can generally achieve a higher level of accuracy than real-time captioning. Genio’s accuracy benchmarks ahead of Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, and ElevenLabs. If persistent accuracy issues arise for a particular instructor, course, or speaking environment, the Centre for Accessibility can work with Genio’s technical team to explore potential solutions.

Genio combines audio recording, transcription, note-taking, and annotation tools to support students in managing their own note-taking and learning processes. As with other note-taking accommodations, including peer note-taking services previously used at UBC, the accommodation is intended to support access to course content rather than provide a perfect or verbatim record of everything said in class.

If a student experiences transcript accuracy issues that significantly affect their access, they are invited to discuss those concerns with their accessibility advisor. Where additional supports are warranted, accommodation needs are assessed through the CfA’s usual processes and communicated to instructors through the Letter of Accommodation.

Based on feedback from students using Genio and discussions with institutions that have used the platform for several years as an accommodation tool, transcript accuracy has not emerged as a widespread or significant barrier to access. However, individual circumstances can vary, and concerns raised by students will be reviewed and addressed through the normal accommodation process.