Before anyone jumps to any conclusions here the answer is “no”. No, I am not a salesman for the company Livescribe and its clever writing utensil the Pulse Smartpen. I think this will become clearer as I present the pros and cons to this item.
The Pulse Smartpen is –well- a pen. This pen, however, can record a teacher’s lecture as the individual using it records notes. It’s a lot like having a tape recorder running during a class lecture as you are taking notes. The advantage is that you can later tap the pen on specific words or bullets you’ve written and the recorded lecture will pick up at that exact spot. This is certainly a big step over forwarding and rewinding to locate information on a tape or digital recording. Another nice feature is how the recorded notes and audio from the pen can be downloaded directly to a computer hard drive. This can make for some very comprehensive coalition of data, as simply clicking on a key word can call up every time that audio was recorded. That’s impressive.
There are several drawbacks that came to mind immediately. First, the pen, its accompanying software, and its non-reusable writing pads can run quite a tab. The site shows some packages running around 250 dollars. That’s prohibitive for many. Second, the item is clever, but also in many ways simply a glorified tape machine. Hey, I’ll be the first to admit that as true as this comment may be it’s still a cool gadget I’d like to own. The promise for me with such a tool is that it’s a clear precursor to things to come. Third, the pen is not ideal for all students. It does seem best fitted to the college student where is can be used as a tool and not a gadget as so many younger students might make use of it. Also, younger students are prone to recording everything, which is simply too much information to revisit as an audio later.
I noted that I could see this technology eventually growing cheap enough to become commonly used. This is one of those blessings and curses for me. It’d be nice to see the student that is slower when recording notes having the means to follow up later. It would also be satisfying to know that student’s will be receiving the definitions, examples, and information I, as a teacher, intended to impart. The curse is born of that very same blessing though. I’m not sure I want every word I say recorded. Would you? Bottom line: The site is worth visiting though if only to have a peek at the near future.
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