Smartpens

=**SmartPens ** =

﻿ ﻿The **SmartPen** is a “computer” in a pen.” A student can **capture** a teacher’s lecture when they write in a special notebook by recording what is being said. When a student touches the pen to a keyword they have written anywhere on the notebook page the pen “**plays back**” what was being said at that particular time in the lecture.

One other feature of this technology tool is that the notes can be **downloaded** to a computer and the class **can access the notes** as well as the lecture via a school or home computer with a password.

As you can probably see, this technology tool could be very helpful for students with organization problems but also for the regular ed student who would like to review her notes and is not clear on a key concept. It really is a **comprehension too**l.

There are a number of different types of SmartPens on the market but the one I will highlight is developed by LiveScribe

There are two ways that the pens are currently being used in the classroom.

The first is that a **student** has purchased his own pen and is using it to capture notes and will have sole use of the pen, notes, and the recordings.

The 2nd use of the pen is that the **classroom teacher** embraces the integration of the tool into his or her classroom and circulates the pen amidst different students to take notes on the classroom lecture. The teacher then loads the notes onto a site hosted by Livescribe. All of the students have access to this site and can review any present and past lecture note. Each lecture is linked with the audio of the instructor. This can be an excellent tool for students who are out of class for a period of time due to an illness. A recent article in the NYT Sunday magazine highlights how a teacher is using it in his classroom.

====I've recorded a short movie reviewing some SmartPen basics. Go to: SmartPens movie on Screencast. ==== 