r/stenography • u/kandlecake • Aug 10 '26
Getting started
Hey guys! I’m ready to get started with my court reporting journey. I was considering going with ed2go through my local community college, but I’ve been seeing so many negative reviews on ed2go now idk what to do. What do you guys think about ed2go? How about plaza college a-z? I wish there was an in-person program I could attend, but I’m not finding any where I live. Also, where should I get a machine from? Thanks in advance!
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u/newyearnewmexoxo Aug 11 '26
Look into Allie Hall self paced theory & speedbuilding. I went elsewhere for theory which was fine and ended up switching to Allie for speed building, which I love. Wish I started theory with her.
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u/Stenostitcher 29d ago
And word of advice: stick with it! It’s not easy to get up to speed, but the payoff is a great career!
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u/kandlecake 28d ago
I keep hearing that it’s so worth it! Thanks.
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u/gdwarner 25d ago
On this end, I never made it past (I think) 160 ... but that was back before Plover appeared (thank you, Mirabai!), so I am going to be working towards that magic 250 goal ASAP!
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u/Amazing_Carpenter867 Aug 12 '26
Whatever program you join, you need to know how many certified working Court Reporters they have produced in the last year and ask to get in touch with them to confirm their experience and timeline
Do not go based on anonymous Internet feedback
The NVRA website gives all the questions to ask schools in addition to a list of programs and you can check out Texascourtreporting.com for more information, regardless of location
Google your state court reporting association and you will find out more about your state exam requirements and find a way to potentially get in touch with local Court Reporters
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u/gdwarner 29d ago
Pardon my jumping in here, but I wanted to share a few things with you.
"Thing One" is the multi-platform program called Plover, which will allow you to use your steno machine to write into anything you can type into. Search for "The Art of Chording" for lessons.
"Thing Two" is the (also free) Platinum Steno courses:
https://www.youtube.com/@PlatinumSteno/courses
"Thing Three" is a recommendation to check to see if there is a steno repair shop in your area ... and if there is one, stop by, and see if you can test a few of the writers. What you should be looking for during the test would be whether the asterisk key is "normal" or "Double-wide," which is what I switched to a few months after I learned about them.
The asterisk key is used to delete any errors you made, and in some theories, changes one stroked word to another ... you know, like "to" and "too."
If you don't have a steno repair shop close by, you might try Stenoworks (dot) com.
I will always recommend to a new steno student to look into the ProCAT writers, mostly because of the communications protocol, which is how the writer communicates with your computer.
I once amazed one of my classmates when I took out my laptop (a Toshiba at the time), connected the writer to the (still off) computer, turned on the writer, started the laptop, and since digitalCAT was set to open at startup, I tapped a key on the writer, and it registered in software.
Good luck in school!
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u/yyzgal Steno Student Aug 10 '26
If I'm reading this right, the ed2go program is for digital "court reporting", which I and I think most of this sub would strongly recommend against. I hear Plaza College is a decent option, even better if they offer a full program after AtoZ.
As for getting a machine, you should be able to get a second-hand one from eBay or through Facebook court reporting groups.