On three Wednesday evenings, October 22nd, November 5th, and November 19th, ReporterWebinars.com will present a series dedicated to the cloud. If you keep hearing about “the cloud” and aren’t sure what it is, you’re not alone. In a recent national survey, when asked what “the cloud” is, a majority responded it’s either a “fluffy white thing,” the sky, or something related to the weather (29 percent). Despite the confusion, 95% of all the respondents were actually using cloud services at the time of the survey via online shopping, banking, social networking, and file sharing. It’s likely you are, too, so there’s no reason to be scared. The key is to learn what it can do for you, as court reporters, and the answer is a lot!

Reporters can securely store transcripts in the cloud, or can share them with scopists, clients, firms, or colleagues. Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office 365, among others, are all cloud services. Reporters can also deliver realtime transcript via the cloud. Bridge Mobile, for example, uses a private cloud server to provide access anywhere clients can connect to the Internet.

Smartphone apps enable reporters to scan business cards, or even exhibits, and store them in the cloud till they need them later. Or you can use apps for keeping notes regarding the job, due dates, special requests from the attorneys, a spelling list of words that came up, and more.

And you can collaborate online. Google Docs, Office 365, and Eclipse allow reporters and editors to share and edit the same document online. And so on. The list is large and growing all the time. Join Michael, Wil, and Keith for three powerful webinars that help you understand the cloud and how to take advantage of it to make your job easier and more efficient.

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Every reporter needs organization, but the process can be overwhelming. There’s so much to keep track of: job files, notes, audio files, exhibits, dictionaries, formats, include files, and more. The loss of your dictionary can have consequences that are almost unimaginable, and it’s no picnic to lose jobs or audio or anything else either.

Then there’s efficiency. We all want to save time, but reporters will deploy brute force, doing the same things over and over again, because they haven’t learned a faster way to get the task done. Join Michael for this webinar. He’s going to show you how to get it together, how to store and protect all your data, easily and efficiently.

For the past two years, in response to the continual requests and inquiries we receive about NCRA exam preparation, we have offered webinars covering the skills tests and how to pass them. This year we're expanding our series and will cover the Written Knowledge Tests for the RPR, RMR, CCP, and CBC as well as the Skills Tests for those same four certifications.

Not only that but we've added a distinguished panel of guest reporters: Adam Miller, RPR, CRI, CSR (DE), Freelance Court Reporter from Middletown, DE; Tami Smith, RPR, CPE, CSR (MI), Official Reporter from Lansing, MI; and Karen Yates, CRR, CCP, CBC, CART provider and captioner from Minden, NV. Each of these panelists will talk about career opportunities within their area of specialization, and will also address the importance of certifications, giving you their tips and advice for passing the tests.

It seems that everyone hates wires! Our recent webinar covering Wireless Realtime Transcription received many favorable comments, along with lots of requests to present another on the topic of realtime connections for steno machines. So, by popular demand, our next webinar will cover all the ways to hook up your steno machine for realtime.

Not all of those ways are wireless. Just as you can connect your realtime clients wirelessly or with cables, you can connect your writer either way, too. There are several choices and choosing the right one for you and your writer is essential. Another important aspect is making sure you're backed up. If one type of connection fails, how can you easily and quickly switch to another?

Michael and Scott will begin with an overview, explaining your alternatives, both wired and wireless. Since everyone wants to go wireless, they'll cover those options first, and work through hardware, software, and Windows considerations.

We all hate wires. They're cumbersome and can be confusing as well. So, it's not surprising that reporters want to go wireless when they connect their computers to their steno machines or when they hook up to their clients' computers. This can be a challenging and very expensive process involving multiple types of wireless devices, specialized and expensive viewing software, as well as one which can require a level of technical expertise most reporters don't possess.

Do you write realtime now? Do you connect with your writer only or do you connect both your writer and your clients? If so, or if you're simply interested in finding out more about it, this is a webinar you should plan to attend. You'll learn a lot and you can earn CEU points, too. Keith Vincent is going to walk you through everything you'll need to know to use the StenoCast devices and to use Bridge. This webinar will provide you with lots and lots of useful information, information that will help you improve your realtime services for your clients and which can help you earn more as a realtime provider.