I need practice material for CRR test...

[Diane Hickman]

I want to take the next CRR test but I have no clue as to what is going to be thrown at me. I've been slowly developing my theory to adapt to writing realtime, but I don't really know where to find material (hard copy with/or/and practice tapes) to hone my skills. If anyone can direct me to hardcopy material I sincerely would appreciate it. I have the NCRA Realtine booklet with the tape that comes with it, but some practice tests would be helpful also.
Thanks...Diane Hickman

[Mike Rowell]

If you haven't checked out RealTimeCoach (the NCRA online learning tool), it's not a bad way to practice real time. I find it valuable as a student, though it's far from perfect and has it's share of technical bugs. I wouldn't recommend it to somebody who's easily frustrated with trouble-shooting (you may or may not have issues with your browser or software), and as a student I think it's over-priced. However, I also think it's a great learning tool. Your transcripts can be graded as soon as you're finished, and you'll see which strokes you missed and any dictionary adds you might want to make. There's a variety of material on there, heavily leaning towards literary. For a student, the selection can be a little disappointing at times after progressing into a new speed, but only because the material might seem to all be dense (only ONE jury charge at 140, what the hell!). If you can get past shelling out a few hundred dollars for a year's use of the program, I would definitely recommend checking it out. http://ncra.learnrealtime.com I didn't have it for a few months after switching schools but recently picked it up again and am pretty happy I did.

[Diane Hickman]

That's okay. My next goal is RPR. Yesterday I received my CRR test practice CD and I'll be using it this week. Thank you for your encouragement.

[Jenny Griffin, RMR CRR CCRR CRC]

Diane, Unfortunately I know you must pass the RPR before sitting for the CRR because I re-passed the RPR in November '06 and passed the CRR May '07. I had let my NCRA membership lapse over 25 years ago. I passed the CRR exam along with 19 other reporters because I really, really practiced those NCRA CRR tapes! It can be done! Good luck - Jenny

[Diane Hickman]

Real challenging, huh? Boy, glad you told me. I probably would have listened to them and had a heart attack (hehe.) I have the NCRA Realtime writing book and it is a big help. Is it still true that you have to have passed the RPR before you can take the CRR test?

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Hey, Diane. NPR stands for National Public Radio, pardon me for writing acronyms without explaining what they are. There are lots of good shows on that station -- as they say, check your local listings. NPR can also be found online. And I noticed I wasn't very clear in my last post, but iTunes has podcasts of the president's weekly address, great speeches in history, All Things Considered, which is a show on National Public Radio, by the way. The podcasts as well as NPR, also make for good listening as well as writing practice.

As far as writing realtime goes, it takes time to work out the kinks. The NCRA book is a good start, they also sell a book written by VITAC Captioning -- I think it was Kathy DiLorenzo and Amy Bowlen who wrote it and my opinion was that it took the Realtime Writing Second Edition book and made it better. The NCRA CRR practice CDs are very challenging and I use them for a real workout.

Good luck and feel free to contact me.

[Diane Hickman]

Hello Anthony. I will give the iTunes a try. What does "NPR" stand for? Also, after posting my blog I checked NCRA store and bought their CRR practice tests CD. Your suggestion reminds me to use the CSPAN channel as another writing source. I guess it all comes down to practicing. What grips me is when taking theory classes you're given instructions on how to write, but when it comes to writing realtime, there is no one set of complete instructions on how to write. I like being shown how to do it, then I can take off from there if I want to. (sigh) I'll keep trying and eventually I'll get there. Thanks for your input.

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Hi Diane, have you tried NPR online or iTunes. They are a great source for really good literary material which is both challening and is great for putting new words in your dictionary. Also, you can find free material on iTunes such as the President's weekly address and speeches.

[Diane Hickman]

Judy, I just sent you an email. thanks

[Judy]

Oops, I meant [e-mail]. For some reason I can't fix the above post, and I used to be able to.

[Judy]

Diane,

e-mail me at www.depo911.com.

Judy