Harper harnesses AI to enhance support for students with disabilities

Second-year Harper College student Eva Walanski is studying health science and dreams of becoming an emergency room nurse. The 19-year-old is hard of hearing, and even with her hearing aids, taking lecture notes has been a challenge.

Recently, the Cary native began using Otter AI, an AI-powered notetaker provided by Harper’s Access and Disability Services (ADS). The app allows her to connect her hearing aids to her computer, and record and transcribe lectures. It also creates lecture outlines and quizzes to help her organize and assess what she has learned. Eva said her grades have improved, and she has had a better college experience since using the app.

“Before I had Otter, I would sit with my friends and, when they were going through their notes, I would be like, ‘When did you hear this?’ because I never heard any of it,” she said. “Now I can actually sit with my friends and have the same notes and accuracy they do.”

In fall 2025, ADS, which provides accessible programs, services and support for Harper students and employees, acquired several AI-powered tools to better leverage assistive technology designed to support studying and expand accessibility. The tools include Otter AI and Genio AI, another app that provides real-time transcription and note-taking assistance.

Robert Uhren, coordinator of digital and adaptive technology at ADS, said the note-taking apps help students with limited hearing experience lectures in a new way.

“The students have been very happy,” he said. “They’re telling me that they’re able to capture the lecture and that they’re able to review materials auditorily as well as visually. Especially for the deaf students, there are visual benefits to it as well.”

Students with a wide range of disabilities are finding success with the apps, which are designed to support diverse learning needs across campus.

Mount Prospect native Dena Castillo has ADHD and is studying to become a special education teacher. Dena said ADHD often limits her focus to 30 minutes to an hour and that Otter AI helps her take and review notes for all of her classes.

“It’s been helping really well,” Dena said. “When I’m listening to the instructor, I use Otter to take notes for me as well as give me an overview of what was gone over in class and to make sure I didn’t skip over any lecture notes because I tend to skip over them and it gets to a point where it’s really crucial and I can’t remember at the exact time I’m supposed to.”

Interim ADS Director Rebecca Ramirez-Malagon said up to 300 students request note-taking assistance per semester. Traditionally, other students have filled the role, signing up to share notes with their classmates. However, there are not enough human note-takers to meet the demand. The AI-powered apps fill an immediate need.

In addition to note-taking support, ADS has expanded its offerings for students with visual impairments. A newly acquired app, Aira, connects individuals who are blind or have low vision with a trained visual interpreter who provides on-demand, real-time assistance. Using their smartphone, students can stream live video to an interpreter who can describe surroundings, read text aloud or help navigate campus spaces, offering students greater independence and confidence in managing their day-to-day academic experience.

Rebecca said the AI-powered apps are just the beginning of expanded support for students with disabilities.

“I feel fortunate that at Harper, we have the resources to offer cutting-edge technology, that we receive the support from administrators to try new tools, and that we’re always trying to be innovative,” she said. “The fact that we have Genio and Otter and Aira, which are software that schools like Harvard and Big Ten schools are using, speaks to the commitment that we have to students.”