# Bookmarks before transcripts > AI Lecture Recorder can transcribe a whole lecture. We still made a single tap to mark a moment the most important button in the app. - Author: Tina, Team Lead · Mobile & Web - Published: 2026-04-06 - Canonical: https://www.nexateam.dev/blog/bookmarks-before-transcripts - About: [AI Lecture Recorder](https://www.nexateam.dev/work/ai-lecture-recorder.md) When we started AI Lecture Recorder, the obvious headline feature was transcription: record an hour, get an hour of text. Students told us they rarely read a full transcript. What they wanted was to find the five minutes that mattered. So we organised the product around three moments in a student's day. BEFORE #### Start recording fast Open, tap record, put the phone on the desk. No setup screen in the way. DURING #### Mark what matters One tap to bookmark the moment the lecturer says "this will be on the exam". AFTER #### Find it again Jump straight to bookmarks, and transcribe only when text actually helps. ## Before: getting out of the way Lectures start whether you are ready or not. The app opens straight to a record button, and recording works fully offline. Nothing about capture depends on a network or an account. ## During: one tap beats a note The biggest button on the recording screen, after stop, is bookmark. One tap marks the current moment. A label can be added later, but does not have to be. Marking something takes less effort than writing it down, so people actually do it. > The most advanced feature is not always the most useful one. Sometimes it is a single button that fits the moment. ## After: review, not replay Reviewing a lecture is different from listening to music. You skip, rewind a few seconds, slow down a dense part, speed through a tangent. 1. **Record**Phone on the desk, screen off 2. **Tap to bookmark**Mark the moment, label it later 3. **Jump back**Playback starts just before the mark 4. **Transcribe**Optional, when text helps The study loop. Bookmarks do the finding; transcription is there when you want words. - Playback starts slightly before each bookmark so you hear the lead-in. - Skip buttons are sized for the short jumps people make most. - Speed control is one tap, not buried in a menu. ## Where transcription fits Transcription is still there, powered by Groq, for when text genuinely helps: searching for a term, copying a definition into notes, or reviewing in a quiet library without headphones. You want to… Best tool Find the exam hint Bookmarks Re-hear an explanation Bookmarks + playback speed Search for a term Transcript Copy a definition into notes Transcript **Optional on purpose** Transcription is a choice per recording, not a default. People decide when audio is sent for processing, and recording never depends on it.