LiveScribe: Unobtrusive Technology

Somehow I picked up the idea that technology is supposed to make our work and our play simpler, richer, or more fun. Too often technology disappoints these expectations and just seems to get in the way. Laptop screens around a meeting table make a wall isolating each person in their own work space, and though a tablet (like an iPad) in the middle of a group can more easily have shared focus, there can be some degree of learning curve impeding everyone's easy use. The best solution is sometimes the simplest solution, and in the case of a working with a group the best way to have a good discussion might be just to talk and ask someone to jot down some notes.
What intrigues me about LiveScribe pens is that they are an unobtrusive technology. Writing with a pen on paper is simple. It interferes little with discussion, and all of us can do it without a lesson. The benefit to writing with a LiveScribe pen over a Bic is that the notes and the discussion can be replayed together; either directly from the pen's built in speaker or from an interactive PDF document which can be saved, emailed, or posted to a website like Moodle.

An Idea in Progress

LiveScribe pens are not perfect. As I have been trying them out I find there are some things about the way they work that are a little awkward. They require special paper and software installed on a computer to transfer information from the pens into PDF files. The technology is young, but developing quickly, so these inconveniences may yet be resolved.
Despite the limitations, I am curious to see if a device like this would be beneficial to my classes. Could they help to improve the balance and quality in student group discussions? Could I use them to explain and demonstrate a skill? Could they help a student to scribe for others in class?

See Also

• Wired Magazine's review of the LiveScribe Pulse pen (http://bit.ly/rRlukr )
• The LogiPen, a competitor of LiveScribe which does not require special paper ( http://bit.ly/tpr56W )
• The LeapFrog Tag system, which uses a wand like a LiveScribe pen to read books to kids ( http://bit.ly/utQFZd)
• Current cost of LiveScribe pens and paper atSmartpen Central ( http://bit.ly/w35erF )