Local start-up helps students turn lecture notes into cash

Exciting news for brown-nosers and slackers alike: a new Canadian start-up offers university students a virtual community for buying and selling notes. Founded in late 2010, NoteWagon lets keeners upload lecture notes, study guides, chapter summaries, lab outlines and cheat sheets from schools across North America. With roughly 25,000 registered users and substantial private investment, it's no surprise the site dubs itself the "fastest-growing student-content platform in Canada."

The set-up is simple - students sign-up for free, then upload all kinds of (original) course material. Once the notes have been posted, potential buyers can see the note's reviews, comments, and even a quick preview before they make their purchase. Posters earn money for every download, and less diligent students can solicit lecture notes and revision materials by sending out a "signaling flare" when they need help. (Because who needs a TA when you have the internet?)

The site was founded in October by Saif Altimimi, a student at the University of Guelph. After a rough bout of what he calls "Pre-Test Stress Distress," he launched a closed private beta version of the site which saw enormous popularity among bleary-eyed university students. With its third (and open) version to be launched in September, NoteWagon now spans a variety of schools including the University of Toronto, Waterloo, York University and Seneca College.

While the site is not the first Canadian note-sharing website of its kind (Notesolution and Study Monkey offer similar services), anything that lets students earn money off their humanities degrees is probably worth celebrating.

Writing by Riva G.