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Amish Technology
Choosing Well: Technology in Curriculum

Drooling

Thursday, July 31st, 2008

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Ok I admit it. I'm a geek. I like technology. I see possibilities.

I'm drooling over the Pulse pen top computer by and Oakland CA company called LiveScribe. It's killer app, at the moment, is the fact that it can record audio and link the audio content to the notes you write to accompany the audio. It can do this on a time index, which means that you can hit a word in your notes and start playback from that point.

Cool and useful application: print forms on the Pulse's specialized dot paper. Fill in the forms with the Pulse pen and then transfer for the data from the pen to the computer. No laptops necessary, not network access needed while in the field.

You can also access functions by writing the word that defines the function on paper, like "Define." At that point, you write the word you need to define and the computer on the pen says the word and prints the definition on the pen's OLED screen.

At this point this is about all the Pulse does (to my knowledge --I need to try one out), but the Pulse's operating system is open source. This means that if the pulse takes off, then software that takes advantage of the Pulse's capabilities could be written by anyone. Possibilities abound.

I'm thinking that this will enable new and interesting ways for teachers and students to blog, vlog, and podcast. It may also improve student handwriting! ;-)

Downsides and things to look for:

I have no idea how compatible the Pulse is with MS Office apps. Poor or no compatibility would be a bummer. I'm hoping that this little doo-hickey can be used to transfer hand written notes to text files. That would be very useful.
No third party apps (yet)
I can think of a few ways in which this tool can lighten the administrative load, but I'm fuzzy about how exactly its capabilities can be harnessed for instruction. This is usually am "Amish Technology" red flag. But I have a feeling, I'll come up with something.
It's not Mac compatible.

Daniel

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Comments

Alix Peshette said:
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 @ 2:06 PM
Daniel,
I too found the LiveScribe pen/computer and was excited to checked it out. The portability is the most outstanding aspect of this tech goody for me. The downside is that it requires special paper which one buys from the company - so there is an ongoing cost associated with it. The other downside is that I will have to sharpen up my handwriting and note-taking skills. LOL! This pen will only be as useful as the notes are accurate, descriptive and legible.

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Daniel Nestlerode said:
Thursday, August 7th, 2008 @ 9:38 AM
Alix,
Great points.
1)If I recall correctly, LiveScribe --not being in the paper business-- is working on a printable dot paper for the pen. That way the user can print paper that works with the pen from their reams of standard printer paper.
2) Hey, there's an idea! Bring back penmanship classes! :-)

Daniel

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