Unlocking Notability: A Guide to Student Discounts and Eligibility

Notability has become a popular note-taking application, offering a range of features designed to enhance the learning experience. This article explores Notability's subscription model, features, and how students can leverage the app for academic success. It also addresses the availability of student discounts and eligibility.

Understanding Notability's Subscription Model

Notability is available for purchase in the Apple App Store and offers a tiered subscription model to cater to diverse user needs. The subscription offers a range of features, each designed to enhance the user's note-taking experience. A web app subscription can be purchased through Stripe. Subscriptions are licensed and limited to your Apple ID.

The subscription plans include:

Starter: Notability's free subscription plan includes unlimited notes, syncing with Notability Cloud, Audio Recording, and all editing tools & content.
Lite: An elevated subscription plan from Starter that includes unlimited note editing, third-party back up, and access to all editing tools, content, and 20,000+ note-taking templates. Please note: Notability Lite can only be purchased on iOS, but can be used on the Web App by logging in with the same Notability account.
Plus: Notability's most popular subscription plan that includes everything in Lite, AI-powered note summaries, up to 400 monthly Quizzes & Flashcards, Audio Recording, automatic transcriptions after a recording has finished, and the ability to convert handwriting and math into typed text.
Pro: Notability's premium subscription plan that includes everything in Plus, real-time Smart Notes, unlimited Quizzes & Flashcards, unlimited Live Transcription for Audio Recordings, and the ability to Chat with Your Notes.

Features in Previous Versions of Notability (iCloud)

Starter: Includes unlimited notes, syncing with Notability Cloud, Audio Recording, and all editing tools & content.
Lite: An elevated subscription plan from Starter that includes unlimited note editing, third-party back up, iCloud syncing, and access to all editing tools, content, and 20,000+ note-taking templates.
Plus: Includes everything in Lite, AI-powered note summaries, up to 400 monthly Quizzes & Flashcards, Audio Recording, automatic transcriptions after a recording has finished, and the ability to convert handwriting and math into typed text.
Pro: Includes everything in Plus, real-time Smart Notes, unlimited Quizzes & Flashcards, unlimited Live Transcription for Audio Recordings, and the ability to Chat with Your Notes.

Eligibility for Student Discounts

While the provided information does not explicitly detail a specific student discount program for Notability, it does highlight the availability of a free version with essential features.

Schools managing devices will have free access to Notability for Organizations (full-featured).

Leveraging Notability for Academic Success

Notability is designed to work with Apple's latest operating systems, so it now only supports iOS 16 and macOS 13 or later. The app offers several features that can significantly benefit students:

Organization: Students can create different subject folders for their various courses and keep their notes organized by class.
Note-Taking: Actively taking notes can help you focus and better understand main concepts. Good note-taking will improve your active listening, comprehension of material, and retention. Taking notes on both synchronous and asynchronous material will help you better remember what you hear and see.
Planning: Use Notability's digital planners to keep your schedule of classes, deadlines, and extracurriculars organized.
Recording: Use Notability Learn to record lectures, summarize your notes, review topics in between classes, or practice before an exam.
Review: Part of good note-taking includes revisiting your notes. During this time, check for clarity, fill in definitions of key terms, organize, and figure out any concepts you may have missed or not fully understood in class. Figure out what may be missing and what you may need to add or even ask about.
Compatibility: If the version of Notability you're downloading is in your purchase history, tapping or clicking the button to buy Notability will make the App Store check your history, see that you bought the app, and download it for free.

Classic (Legacy) Users

Everyone who purchased Notability prior to their switch to subscription on November 1, 2021 is a Classic user.

Classic users have lifetime access to all existing features and any content previously purchased in the app. This includes unlimited editing, iCloud Sync, Third-Party Backup, and any features (Handwriting Conversion, etc) that was previously purchased through the Notability Shop. Future features they develop may also be included, depending on their complexity and cost to maintain.

Content such as planners and stickers is free for all users. Classic plans include a 1 hour trial of Audio Transcripts.

If a Classic user subscribes to the Plus Plan and it expires, then the grandfathered users are downgraded back to the Classic plan and will have access to any previously purchased features before the 11.0 update.

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Please note: Notability Classic cannot be shared and is only available to the original purchaser.

Edit Limits

Edits are directly tied to your usage of the app and are counted as any changes you make in a session like handwriting, erasing, or adding text or media.

Recording and modifying audio do not count as edits nor does adding or moving notes/pages.

If you're using the free version of the app, you will be given an editing allowance each month. You can track the status of your remaining edits in the settings menu, and at any point can choose to subscribe to unlock unlimited editing.

To View Remaining Edits

In your Library > > Manage Subscription > Tap on the circle icon in the Notability Starter section under Current Plan.

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Recommended Applications for Note-Taking

The following apps have been tested and reviewed for note-taking:

Genio (formerly Glean): Genio is an interactive note-taking and study tool. “Genio is not a replacement for a class, but a tool to augment learning and ensure students learn more effectively from the material being shared.” Anyone can purchase an individual license to Genio, however Fairfield University does have licenses available. There are different tiers of subscriptions, including a limited, free version. Students who prefer typing their notes will benefit from using Glean. Glean is an online platform that allows students to attach audio to their notes, organize them by course, and even create transcriptions.
Notability: Notability is a simple-to-use app that allows users to handwrite their notes on an iPad. This app is available for download on the App Store. Unfortunately, this app is not yet compatible with Android devices.
Goodnotes: Goodnotes is a digital note-taking and organization app available for iPad, Mac, and Windows devices. It allows students to create, annotate, and organize handwritten or typed notes efficiently within searchable digital notebooks.
Jamworks: Jamworks is a lecture recording and study support platform designed to make note-taking and reviewing course materials more accessible. It records lectures and allows students to capture key moments, generate summaries, and access transcriptions. The software’s smart features help students focus on learning during class instead of trying to keep up with extensive note-taking.
Otter.ai: Otter.ai is a popular tool for capturing live-meeting notes. It is ideal for interviews, class and meeting notes.
Zoom AI Companion and Notes: Licensed Zoom Users have access to the AI Companion and Notes.
Smartpens: Smartpens enable students to attach recorded lecture audio to their hand-written notes. Currently, Yale uses the Livescribe Symphony and Echo II smartpens. These devices work with a notebook tailored for the smartpen (SmartPaper) and a smartphone app that allows students to access their digital notes. Students will be provided a smartpen, a smartpen charging cable, notebook(s), and be set up with the Livescribe app.

Tips for Clear Recordings and Accurate Transcriptions

For clear recordings and accurate transcriptions, minimize background noise and sit close to the speaker. If you're using a phone or tablet, point the built-in microphone towards the speaker.

Where are my notes stored?

Notes are stored locally on your iPad unless you choose to back them up. We encourage you to enable both iCloud back up and a back up to another cloud server such as Dropbox or OneDrive.

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