Technology is ever changing and consistently coming up with new ways to make our lives easier. In this podcast by Cheryl Oakes, Alice Barr, and Bob Sprankle, an interview is done with teachers from Massachusetts. One of these teachers, Jen Bogart has the incredibly difficult task of getting her third grade class in South Berwick, MA to write wholesome and worthwhile stories. Of course, not too pride to ask for help, she contacted one of her previous teachers from Leslie school in Cambridge to come up with a way that these students could get more out of planning for their stories. The solution: Livescribe.
Now as anyone knows getting started on writing a paper is a challenge in itself. Many people have many different techniques they deploy as far as planning, drafting, and writing a final piece they can present. In this instance, the students were in 3rd grade so they hadn't really effectively been using their planning and at the same time wouldn't do much by way of revising after a first draft was down. The incredible device Mrs. Bogart was able to obtain for these students, through a grant, was the Livescribe pen. A pen that write while recording your voice. They capture everything you hear and write with a simple 'tap'. Mr. Sprankle calls it a "reporter's dream." Echo Smartpens link the recordings to the part of your notes you want to highlight. It does require special Smartpen paper, however it looks entirely like typical notebook paper.
We never have to worry about missing a note or important phrase even from lecture. It's really a remarkable tool I want to have the opportunity to try out. Students from Mrs. Bogart's class used them with success. Suddenly, not everything was trying to be tied down in the students' minds but they could release some of their ideas vocally and record what they said. This helped immensely, making work and planning come together in an absolutely efficient manner. They are working in schools and starting around $100 they can be bought from the Apple store, Best Buy, Target and plenty of retailers. I see these pen becoming much more ubiquitous as time and technology drive on. In short bring down the cost so everyone can benefit from these devices.
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