Audio-recording devices: A college student's ally

     Throughout my entire college coursework, I have known students who diligently record their class lectures on audio-recording devices.  I have always considered this to be a wise act of active dedication to mastering academic material.  In spite of this, I personally have yet to take the initiative of bringing an audio-recorder to class. However, since I am currently taking a class, in which after having taken the mid-term exam I realized that the most essential notes were actually delivered orally, I am compelled to start using a recording device. Audio-recording devices are truly a rather basic technology that has existed for several decades. Unlike earlier versions which were bulky apparatuses that required a cassette to store content, modern audio-recorders come in slim sizes and have a built-in storage space.  One does not have to necessarily sit right in front of the teacher for the recording to come out at a decent volume.
     The advantages these devices extend to students include being able to store the oral development of their class meetings, in order to then replay it at their own pace and availability. This resource is ideal for lectures in which large quantities of important content are covered at a unreasonably accelerated pace.  It grants you the privilege of being able to revisit the main points of a class discussion & take elaborate notes at your leisure. This unquestionably rids you of the stress of having to frantically copy down sloppy notes that may even need to be rewritten. I have heard accounts involving audio-recorders in which the instructor forbids his/her pupils to record his/her class lectures.  As a future educator I disagree with this type of policy, yet I do understand why these teachers would be unwilling to have their voice recorded. My belief is that if my students will significantly attend to the class material and learn more efficiently by recording the class's oral content, then it is an approach worth trying.  I am aware however, that there is a risk involved since trouble-making individuals can proceed to use someone's voice for pranks using voice editing/altering software.