In a science classroom, notes are a
necessary evil. Fortunately, there's this really cool pen that's making it easier than
ever to take notes. The Livescribe Smartpen not only captures everything that
is written, but also what is spoken. It's had rave reviews from students all
over. The loudest champions are those with learning disabilities.
With no extra instruction, a child can use one to
write or draw something on special paper and record whatever audio its
microphone hears. After a 10-second sync to my laptop, I can post and share the
video replay of whatever the student wrote on the paper with the audio as
voice-over. Students use them to explain tough concepts, record team
brainstorming sessions, and even capture classroom notes for students who are
absent.
Smartpens capture
everything you hear and write so students
can be confident that they won't miss a word. No matter what their
learning style, this pen lets them capture words, scribbles and
diagrams and syncs everything to what is
said. Students can then transfer all the smartpen notes and recordings
to their computer to search for key phrases
and create custom virtual notebooks to better organize notes. There are
even play back controls on the Livescribe paper that allow
students to slow down or speed up the audio recording, control volume and even bookmark key information. Livescribe
helps find and focus on highlights from a lecture. They can play back only the
key material from a semester’s worth of notes with a tap on their
notebook, Mac, or PC. This pen is a miracle for many children suffering from
learning disabilities.
