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.
—Maureen Yoder, EdD, is on the faculty of
Lesley University’s Technology in Education
Program.
Company
Dane Digital
www.danedigital.com
Electroflip
www.electroflip.com
IOGEAR
www.iogear.com
Livescribe
www.livescribe.com
LogiPEN
www.logipen.com
Penveu
www.penveu.com