| Scoping Made Affordable (SMA) |
| "And you are a pleasure to work with! Thank you for your efficient working habits!" Cindy Hodges, CPR ERSA Court Reporters |
****************************************** This is a completely self-paced training program to best meet the needs of your busy lifestyle. All coursework will be sent to you via email. ******************************************* |
1. What is scoping?
Follow this link.
2. What is the difference between proofreading, scoping and transcription?
Proofreading may be done within a computer-assisted transcription (CAT) program or outside of it.
Proofreading is reading through for contextual, punctuation and minor formatting issues within the
transcript. In my opinion, if you have not been an editor previously, you cannot proofread until after you've
been scoping for at least a year.
Proofreading is never done with audio.
Scoping is when you take the translated version of the transcript from its "raw" editing stage to as error
free as possible for the proofreader. This is usually done with the audio file, especially for videotaped files.
Transcription is typing into a program or CAT program strictly from an audio file.
3. Will scoping become outsourced like the medical transcription field has?***
According to the veteran court reporters that I have questioned about this very topic, no, this work will not be
outsourced. The reason is because the judges and attorneys from the U.S. know the importance of having
a clean record of the proceeding and how that can affect the outcome for their clients.
4. Will recording devices replace the court reporters?***
Recording devices may be used in low-profile cases, but not in the high-profile cases where, in fact,
videographers are also utilized to the record the proceeding. In situations where three or four people start
talking at the same time, there has to be a court reporter present to stop the situation in order to make the
record clear. Also, sometimes even when a court reporter cannot understand a word that a speaker says,
the court reporter will ask them to repeat it. With a recording, you cannot do that.
This topic has been in discussion for years and veteran court reporters will tell you that the recording
devices will not be tolerated by others in the field for the previously stated reasons.
***A special note regarding numbers 3 & 4:
I see the questions and concerns that medical transcriptionists are sharing on the MT forums. One thing
you will not find from SMA ever: No sales pitch, hype or lies to mislead you. And I'll never hound you to
sign up. I won't do that because I don't need to. That's how well the SMA training program works. There is
one scopist who I began mentoring two years ago. She is going at a phenomenal speed and still can't
keep up with the amount of work she has coming in.
5. How long will it take me to finish the training program?
This scoping training program will take approximately two to three months to learn the basics, depending upon your
work and study schedule. The fine-tuning of your skills will continue in the following three months. Since there is so
much to learn and sometimes our brains cannot handle it, one should plan for six months of training before
marketing their scoping skills.
Once you've gone through the basics, then you will be working on transcripts. It is during this process that SMA will
be able to measure your level of punctuation and contextual reading skills. I will be assisting while you begin
working with court reporters because there is so much to learn.
SMA recommends that you keep your current position until you start to have court reporters sending you work on a
regular basis while you gain efficiency in your scoping technique.
An exit exam will be given to the graduating students so that both the scopist and court reporters will know
that the SMA scopists are prepared to tackle the work at hand.
6. How can I know this is the kind of work I can do?
By taking the prescreening test, SMA can quickly ascertain your skill level for scoping work. Go here. Once the test
is received, SMA will send an email response to you informing you of the results.
Anyone who enjoys reading, has an eye for detail and is willing to assert themselves into the scoping field . If you
are looking for the work to simply be handed to you, you will not be successful in scoping.
SMA provides you will all the marketing tools you will need. But it is up to the individual to do the marketing for
themselves.
7. Why Choose SMA?
Follow this link and you will be taken to a page that explains the many reasons why SMA has become so successful.
When one enters the field of scoping in the 21st century, they bring in a completely different
perspective of one who has been in the field since the 1980s. And when that is the case,
oftentimes the curriculum that was developed during that time frame cannot help but become
antiquated. The same holds true for websites that are not updated on a regular basis. If you
don't update the material, regardless of what it is used for, you'll lose customers. This is basic
common sense, along with good business sense.
The perspective that SMA brings to scoping in the 21st century is considerably different than its
predecessors. Because the previous experience of the SMA instructor has been in the field of
education, she has an understanding of how our brains are able to absorb this overload of
information in order for us to be successful. As with many other skills, scoping cannot be
learned or mastered overnight. Points of frustration will occur during the learning process.
Because SMA anticipates these points of frustration, it has developed several ways to make the
learning process much easier and less taxing on the brain.
In the classroom portion of the training, we have the opportunity to experience a fun class that is
called "Contextual Reading." Even though most students think they have an "eye" for detail,
invariably there is some portion of the exercise we work through in class that trips the student
up. This is where a great awareness of what our brains are doing to overcompensate which
results in the recently trained scopist to read right past the error.
There is nothing more exciting than when a student says "I get it" or "I see it now" that brings a
teacher so much satisfaction.
Although other training programs "claim" to provide these same services, the results from those graduates who take
the "scoping transcript test," are quite evident that they did not receive any feedback on their scoping work. If their
claim was true, then there would be no need for the Scoping Intern Program (SIP). Currently, over 50% of the SMA
enrollment is from scoping students who came from other programs who recognized that they needed more.
8. What does a file look like when I receive it?
Metatranscript.com has been gracious enough to allow Joyful Scoping/SMA to link to his sample e-transcript through
this link.
When you follow the link and click on the blue time stamps, you will hear the spoken text of that line. This is a great
example of what you will be working with. You may receive an unedited sample transcript and the edited version to
compare it to to see if "scoping" is the right fit for you. Simply place your $5 order here:
9. Can I talk to some of your students or graduates regarding their experience with SMA?
Absolutely. :) Follow this link to find the SMA Graduates.
And here is the link to the Student Feedback.
10. Which CAT programs do I choose from and can I get enough work from them?
SMA provides training on Eclipse, Case CATalyst, and DigitalCAT.
Eclipse and Case CATalyst are the most used CAT programs in the field.
11. How will I learn how to use my CAT program?
SMA has created many training tools to efficiently and hopefully effortlessly ;) learn your CAT program. This is
provided through charts in the WiZiQ classes where the CAT program is used right in the classroom and with
one-on-one support by phone with the instructor.
12. How will I find court reporters to work with?
SMA provides a class and guidance with the marketing information that enables you to write your
marketing letter to promote your scoping skills. And because SMA networks and is constantly marketing,
court reporters are very pleased when they find Joyful Leads which is the service that Joyful Scoping
provides to help court reporters get matched up with scopists who have been tested and found qualified to
provide excellent work product. SMA graduates will also have a lifetime free subscription to the Joyful
Leads scopist inquiries.
13. How quickly will I connect with a court reporter to work for?
The SMA graduates have connected with a court reporter within two weeks to a month of their graduation.
Some have also connected within three to five days which confirms the amount of work there is
available.
A couple of students chose to market themselves before graduating (which I do not advise) and were hired
by court reporters even before they graduated!!
14. How will I be paid and how much can I expect to make?
Follow this link to the Scoping Income page.
15. What kind of payment options do you provide?
You may choose from the following options to pay for your training:
Payment in full, two-month payment plan, a six-month payment or an eight-month payment plan.
The eight-month payment plan requires the Student Agreement Plan Form be completed.
All online payments provide you the option of either credit card or PayPal.
16. How soon will I receive the training material?
Once payment is received, you will receive the link to the registration form. After that, SMA will start
sending the training materials to you via email.
17. What if I miss a payment?
Simply communicate with SMA the situation and resume your payment schedule ASAP. Otherwise, when
payments are delinquent, you won't receive training material. A $20 late payment fee will incur.
18. How can I get started today?
Sign up today through the Package Programs link.
Feel free to contact me via drscoping@gmail.com if you have a specific question you would like
addressed here.
SMA's philosophy is: My success is dependent upon your success!!
| Tuition Rates Step 1 - $537.50 Step 2 - $806.25 Step 3 - $806.25 Total $2150.00 Package Programs save you money. |
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| Frequently Asked Questions |
| What Makes SMA stand apart from other programs? Why is Scoping Made Affordable providing training in the manner that it does? 1. Because of my own personal experience of going through a training program that left me unprepared for the work. 2. Because when a court reporter goes to work with a scopist, the court reporter expects that the scopist has received enough training to competently do the job. When they discover the scopist has not received enough training, they may drop the scopist because they don't have the time to "finish training" a scopist. In my opinion, a scopist who has not received the specific guidance and instruction that SMA currently provides to its students is going to do two things: 1. It's leaving the scopist in a precarious position at best. 2. It lets court reporters down who need this valuable service which is only a disservice to all others trying to work in the field. That's a huge disappointment. An addition to the comprehensive training that the students receive, SMA will be adding in a 2-month checkup for graduates to be sure everyone continues to progress in their scoping skills. Those of you who are near completion of your training and current and past graduates are quickly realizing how much there is to learn in scoping. SMA believes in strong work ethic and abides by this through both its students and through the court reporters she works with on a daily basis. Scoping Made Affordable graduates know how to: Catch the tiny details you need caught to give you an excellent final product Punctuate and format your documents according to Lillian Morson's English Guide for Court Reporters while also understanding the various preferences that court reporters may have. Format numbers in the various usages needed throughout the transcript. Contact court reporters regarding any question in their scoping work. Research for the technical terminology, streets, businesses and other unusual entities which require unique formatting. Scope videotaped transcripts with all of the subtleties captured. Flag items throughout the transcript which need the court reporter's final okay given to them. Upon completion of the SMA program, graduates will receive a certificate of completion and are asked to fill out a questionnaire that allows them to give feedback on whether or not they felt that the program provided what SMA advertised it would do. The responses to that particular question have been a resounding "YES!" When asked if their tuition price should be changed, the graduates felt SMA should be charging more because of the amount of material that is covered. SMA Graduates |
Devon Roberts New Hampton, Iowa Early Childhood Education (B.S. from Iowa State University) Worked with a contractor and established the first day care center (Great Plays Day Care Center) for infants through 10 year olds in New Hampton, IA (It's still in operation today.) Family and Parental interactions (ECE consulting with 15 communities and libraries) Written material (ECE Promotional material and website building) Literacy (ECE brochures for parents, creating programs, curriculum development, educating day care providers) Grant Writing Medical Transcription Certification Psychology Mental Health Scoping November 2006 – Present Joyful Scoping Owner Email: drscoping@gmail.com |
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