Learning and Leading - August 2012

BUYER’Sguide

Writing instruments have volved from sharpened stones used to draw on cave walls to feather quills, elegant fountain pens, felt tips, and ballpoints. The newest and most powerful writing devices are electronic “smartpens.” For years, the military, health care, and many other industries have used electronic pens for surveying, filling out forms, and taking field notes. Educators are now discovering how these tools bring the simple task of writing on paper to a new level.

All of the pens listed here translate handwriting to an electronic form that teachers and students can save on a computer. Optical character recognition (OCR) software, which converts handwriting into text, allows you to search and edit your writing using a word processor and share just as you would any other text file.

Whiteboard in Your Hand

The Penveu is the newest type of smartpen. It functions as a presentation remote control as well as an interactive whiteboard pen, and you can easily toggle between pen and mouse modes. It can turn any surface into an interactive display, and teachers can use it up to 40 feet away from a screen.

Never Miss a Word

Two Livescribe pens go a big step further. The Pulse Smartpen, released in 2008, is Livescribe’s original release. The Echo Smartpen, released in 2010, is the next generation. A Livescribe pen is larger than a traditional pen and can accommodate a microphone and video camera that record what an instructor says as students take notes. You must use the pen with Livescribe paper, which has a grid of small dots and comes in the form of journals and notebooks. As a student writes, the pen tracks every stroke of handwriting and time-syncs it with the recorded audio. Later, when the student clicks on a word or image, she will hear what the teacher said at the time, allowing her to review and reinforce class discussions.

Cost

After the initial investment, there may be ongoing expenses. Some pens have rechargeable batteries, yet others require replacements. Ink refills are necessary, but prices are reasonable. The special paper required for the Livescribe pens costs $25 for four notebooks of 100 pages each. Dictionaries and other reference apps are available for the Livescribe and range in price from free to $14.99.

There is some controversy about using recording devices in the classroom. Some teachers, particularly in higher education, may not want their lectures recorded because of intellectual property issues. Others, at any grade level, are concerned about student confidentiality. However, when students have special needs and an electronic pen can assist them, teachers often welcome and encourage their use.

If you or your students would rather handwrite than type notes, or if you would benefit from “pencasts” (the audio playback feature with some pens), you should definitely consider a digital pen.