Smartpen Makes Note-Taking Easier

In college classes, one of the biggest classroom struggles centers around listening to the professor, taking notes from the board, and formulating questions for comprehension. Students try to write down everything the professor says and yet cannot remember a thing that was discussed when the class is over. 

Last week, the Upper School's Glenn Teaching and Learning Center team visited a college campus and discovered something that assists students in note-taking -- the Smartpen. Developed and marketed by Livescribe Corp., the Smartpen and its accompanying notebooks allow users to record audio lessons that are synched to the writing on the paper. 

When students reviews their notes, they can touch the paper on a particular word and the audio that occurred while the student was writing will be played. This technology eliminates the student searching through hours of lectures to find a particular topic from the class lecture. Another feature of the Livescribe pen is its ability to synch with Evernote, which has been an essential digital notebook program for many years. Joining the two together will allow students to have recorded lectures cataloged for the entire semester and beyond. 

In addition to helping with note-taking, the Smartpen can support students with their math and science classes. Often times, students will copy down a problem but when they sit down to study, they have forgotten what the instructor said about the process to work the problem. The Smartpen's audio recording feature can be helpful in these situations. It also has a built-in calculator with trigonometry functions. Users only have to tap the pen on the problem and the instructions will be repeated to the student as often as he or she needs to hear them. The information can also be saved for review later in the semester. By providing visual and auditory information, the Smartpen helps students fully understand the concepts and master material.

Smartpens are extremely easy to use, but as students practice with them they can become more familiar with ways to utilize their features better. Starting to use them in Upper School would eliminate the learning curve in college. Student could practice how to link to Evernote, print lecture outlines on Livescribe paper, and become proficient when things are more familiar. 

Click here to see a demonstration. If you have further questions or would like further information, please contact me or any other learning specialist in the Glenn Teaching and Learning Center.