Study Groups

Creating a group, joining one, sharing the lectures you recorded, and reading what classmates share are all free, even on the free trial. The paid plans are for recording your own lectures. Roundtable bundles five Notebook plans for a study group at $49.99 a month, so a whole group records on one bill.

Share lecture notes with a study group

Most courses have a handful of people who actually show up and a handful who borrow notes after. Polmi study groups put both on the same page. One person records the lecture, Polmi turns it into a transcript, summary, key terms, and flashcards, and that whole package lands in a shared library your group can read.

No more screenshots of a friend's notebook the night before an exam. The notes are searchable, structured, and the same for everyone in the group.

How a group comes together

1. One person creates a group and names it (say, “Bio 201, Tuesday section”).
2. They invite classmates by link. Joining is free.
3. Anyone in the group shares a lecture they recorded into the shared library. Sharing your own lectures is free.
4. The group reads, searches, and reviews together. Flashcards and spaced-repetition review work on shared lectures the same way they do on your own.

What's free and what a plan is for

Nothing here is hidden at checkout, and groups cost nothing. These are free for everyone, free trial included:

• Creating a group and inviting classmates.
• Joining a group someone invites you to.
• Sharing lectures you recorded into the group's library.
• Reading every lecture your classmates share into the group.

What you pay for is recording your own lectures: your monthly hours and how long each lecture can run. That is what a Notebook, Binder, or Lectern plan buys. Reading what others share stays free, so a classmate can record the week you missed and you open the notes without a plan of your own.

Quick way to remember it: reading is free for the whole group, and a plan is for the person doing the recording. Plan limits and the Roundtable breakdown live on the pricing page.

Why share whole lectures instead of notes

Handwritten notes are one person's version of what mattered. They skip the professor's exact wording, the offhand “this will be on the exam,” and the worked example you only half-followed in the moment. A shared Polmi lecture keeps the full transcript, so the group can scroll back to the source instead of trusting one person's shorthand.

Each shared lecture brings:

• The full transcript, searchable by keyword.
• A summary and a key-terms list, so a newcomer can catch up fast.
• Flashcards and built-in spaced-repetition review for exam week.

The transcription itself is the same engine described on the lecture transcription page: record or upload audio or video, automatic language detection, a full transcript in minutes.

A note on recording consent

Recording a lecture is your call, and so is the responsibility for it. Some professors and some campuses ask you to get permission before you record. Before you share a lecture into a group, make sure you had the right to record it in the first place. We keep your audio encrypted and delete the original recording by default about a week after it's transcribed, and we don't train models on your content.

Where study groups fit in your workflow

For a lot of students, the group is the reason Polmi earns a spot on the home screen. You record the lectures you attend, your friends record the ones you miss, and the whole semester ends up in one searchable library nobody had to retype. See how the recording-to-review loop works on the how it works page, and if you're rethinking your note habits generally, our guide on how to take lecture notes pairs well with this.

Common questions

Can I share lecture notes with my study group for free?

Yes. Creating a group, joining one, sharing the lectures you recorded, and reading what classmates share are all free, including on the free trial. A plan only comes in when you want to record and transcribe your own lectures.

Does the whole group need to pay?

No. Reading is free for everyone, so a group can run on a single recorder. One person on a plan can record the lectures, share them, and the rest of the group reads along at no cost. Roundtable is for when several people want to record their own lectures: it bundles five Notebook plans on one $49.99-a-month bill instead of five separate subscriptions.

What does a paid plan add?

A plan is for recording and transcribing your own lectures. Notebook covers 8 hours of audio a month with lectures up to 3 hours each; Binder and Lectern raise those limits. Reading what others share into a group does not touch your plan.

How many people can be in a group?

Group size is not the limit. Anyone you invite can join and read what is shared. The only question is who records: each person who wants to record their own lectures needs a plan, and Roundtable bundles five of those for a group on one bill.