Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

I’m drawn to Tom’s post about his latest gadget, the Livescribe Pulse Smartpen and have added one to my Christmas present list. Indeed not just for me, but I can see how useful this might be for so many people I know. If you take notes at meetings, in lectures as a student, or just need to be reminded what the hell that scribble or doodle was all about, then this is the ICT tool for you.

While writing notes with the pen, it records the audio around it and what is being written (rather like a tablet PC), but the really clever bit is that when you press the pen against the text later, it finds that piece of audio and replays it. You can also share the written pages online so that others can follow using your notes as well using the Livescribe site or social networking sites like Facebook. The special paper uses microdots to reference the position of the pen in order to find the correct point to replay the audio. Livescribe sell notebooks of this special paper, but their software also allows you to print your own paper using a laser printer. The pen is more than an input device though and allows other applications to be written for in it Java. Among the early applications are a language translator,

Tom’s view is that the obvious application is to use it in more traditional ‘chalk and talk’ situations but his personal expectations are wider than that. Here’s my first ideas where such a device might be useful:

1. Ask younger students to draw their family, home, or a story they have just heard and explain what they are drawing while they are doing it. Use the “Paper Reply” facility to assess their understanding of the story, or to assist with moderating the work;
2. Print a drawing on the replay paper and provide a commentary or ‘naming of parts’ interactive diagram for students to recall later as a learning tool;
3. Get students to create a mind-map on paper and talk through their thinking as they do it;
4. Use the translator application learning a second language to allow them to check their own work.

Watch the demo here:

Tags: mobilecomputing, pen computing