Livescribe Smartpen

Introduction: 

I remember when I was younger, my older brother won a national handwriting contest. The prize you ask? An elegant, hand-crafted pen and letter-opener set worth $50. I remember thinking that a pen was a LAME prize. Well in the 16 years since my brother has been out of the 6th grade pens have come a long...long....long way. 

One month ago I became an Education Ambassador for the Livescribe community. The mission of the Livescribe Educator Ambassador Program (LEAP) is to share with other educators the innovative ideas and accommodations that a Smartpen can provide to the classroom. The program consists of 4,000 teachers nation-wide. Each teacher was given a refurbished Smartpen, a one-subject notebook of "Dot-Paper," and an online subscription to a 101 Course for the Smartpen. While at first I was excited to have a new "toy" in the classroom for my students, it didn't take long to realize how this new form of technology could benefit many different populations of students. I bet you are wondering, "But Jenna, What IS a Smartpen in the first place?" A Smartpen allows the user, when writing on special "Dot Paper" ($7.95 for a 3-subject notebook)  to record his/her voice as well as write notes, record thoughts, hear a play back of the teacher or professor speaking, and so much more. Features of the pen include: 

• A microphone
• Built in speaker that allows automatic play-back of notes/lectures
• Replaceable ink-tip

While these pens sound great you HAVE to see them in action to gain the full effect. I don't know why this form of technology has been kept quiet, but these pens are a must for any classroom (especially in math where there are many step-by-step processes). While previously they seemed very pricy (especially on a teacher's budget) a refurbished Smartpen available at the Livescribe Homepage goes for $49.95 and a new 2GB is priced reasonable at $99.95. 

This year our special education staff is stretched to their limits because of reduced funding and "balancing" the need for staff across the district. This has left many students in an inclusion setting with one teacher to provide modifications. As a second year teacher I have struggled to provide one-on-one support for these individuals while maintaining classroom management and continuing to push my "high-flyers." The Smartpen has allowed me to differentiate, become more hands-on in the classroom, and allowed me freedom to create "Writing Think-Alouds" and "Reading Think-Alouds" which has made previously abstract writing and reading practice concrete and tangible for all students.

Classroom Applications: 

• Pencasting Writing Think-Alouds: Thinking aloud is a research-based approach to education in which a "master" (usually a teacher) engages students in an apprenticeship. The master reader/writer/historian/ scientist/mathematician vocalizes the thought process and explains the process of becoming a master to the novices. While this process is valuable it is also time-consuming, and if you are a newer teacher it can be hard to explain or think through every step along the way. Some things just come naturally and it takes some time and planning to think of just the right word to explain a concept to the impressionable minds in the classroom. If you are like me a Pencast is the way to go. Pencasting allows the user to write down notes or visually show a step-by-step process while also recording vocal cues or notes as well in real time. If you are a tenured teacher you may also find Pencasting handy. If you teach in the secondary realm and are tired of repeating yourself over and over again, record yourself during your first period class and replay the lecture or lesson for the next several classes. This will free up your life to roam the room and pick up miscues that you may have missed if you were stuck at the board writing and directly lecturing. In order to replay your notes in a movie-like format. Download the files from your pen to your desktop and hit the play button. Doesn't get much easier than that. You will notice in my example (at right) that some of the words written are coded green. This means that their is audio attached to that word, phrase, sentence, or even paragraph. These pencasts can easily be emailed, facebooked, or linked to Angel. 
• Classroom Notetaker: Being absent from class is hard enough, but if you miss a lecture or notes, a student feel lost for a week or more. With the Smartpen, teachers can keep everyone on track with the addition of a classroom notetaker. If a student is sick or absent assign a classroom notetaker. Make them comfortable in a special chair in the front. Have the student write notes for the student that is sick. The pen will also record audio so if the notetaker gets a little lazy there is a backup plan in place. Have the student upload the notes to their sick classmates Facebook or shoot them an email with the file as an attachment. When they get back from vacation or their deathbed they will be caught up and ready to move on instead of being left behind. 
• Accommodations Made Easy: An inclusionary setting is best for many students. The social nature of the classroom and peer mentors work wonders in helping students become independent and successful despite their area of improvement or disability. This puts an added stressor on the teacher, especially if there is a lack of support in the room. Many times accommodations for testing include the reading of tests aloud to students. With the help of the Smarpen this accommodation can be easily met. The "Dot Paper" included with the pen is normal (8 1/2 x 11 in.) in size once removed from the binding. This allows the paper to be used in any printer or copier. Once printed, create a system of codes or shapes with the students that signal a vocal cue. Place the shapes on the paper and record your voice reading the directions, answer choices, or clarifying terms. Students only need to tap on the shape once to hear the recording. In a testing situation, students will find it helpful to use the low-key earbuds so that they are the only ones that can hear the vocal reminders or directions. This process allows the student to become completely independent. Independence. The ultimate goal of any student can be achieved with a little help from the Smartpen. 
• What were They THINKING?!: As a teacher you practice, review, and finally it is time for the test, you assume everyone in your class has mastered the material and will perform wonderfully.... BUT you find out that some of your students have bombed the test. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! Well, now, we might be able to get a glimpse into the mind of the students. Using the Smartpen have the students perform their own think-aloud while performing steps in math or writing a piece of text. Have them explain their thinking and why they are making the decisions that they did. When you grade the test and discover the miscue, with the Smartpen, tap on the text that they messed up on and you will hear what was going on in their head as they were making that fateful decision. We finally can see inside the student's mind. Then, we can change their thinking for the better through reteaching and relearning opportunities. 

"Pocket Mods" for Education

Introduction: 

Two years ago in an elementary math methods class I was introduced to the idea of creating an eight page book out of one one sheet of paper. Recently I came across the website http://www.pocketmod.com/. This site allows a user to customize the eight page book to meet the needs of the classroom. By folding the piece of paper, students can easily have their notes on-hand at any time in this small pocket size books. "Widgets" allow the user to customize the booklet to the needs of the classroom. Widgets available on the website include:

• Lined paper
• Large, medium, and small grid paper
• Tables 
• Story boards for writing
• Music Staff Sheets 
• Calendars 
• Task lists with check boxes
• Contacts
• Conversions for volume, length, area, mass, temperature (great for math classrooms!) 
• Formulas for geometry 

 When printed the books look like the picture at the right. Follow the easy to follow folding instructions on the site and PRESTO! You have an easily transportable study guide, anticipation guide, evidence of center work, or notes from a lesson.

Classroom Applications: 

• Center Time is usually reserved for the elementary realm of teaching. I love to use this form of learning for reviews where students can independently work and manipulate what they have learned previously from direct teaching. Create six centers, one for each page in the book that focuses on a specific skill or concept that you would like the students to work on. For example this week my students are learning about the elements of fiction: setting, characters, plot, theme, and point of view. For each element I chose a children's book that exemplified that particular trait. At each station the students not only had to identify the setting, characters, plot, theme, or point of view but had to explain what each element was in 12 words or less in kid friendly terms. 
• Anticipation Guide: Anticipation guides are a great way to get students involved and thinking critically about material before a unit has begun. Create an anticipation guide for material using the booklet template. Place a statement (either true OR false) on each page. Have the students mark the statements agree or disagree before the unit. As they learn about the concept have them revise their answers and correct the false statements so that they are true. This allows the students to face their misconceptions and miscues themselves. 
• Give-One-Get-One/Jigsaw Reading: If your classroom requires a lot of non-fiction reading this idea is for you! Jigsaw the reading by dividing your students into six groups. Have each group read a separate section or subheading and summarize the text in 12 words or less. This makes the readers summarize the reading in clear, precise language (every word needs to count!). Have the students roam around the room sharing their summary and what they learned from the section with other students from other groups. They will then write down the new information on one of the pages of the book. This allows them the opportunity to "Give and Get" from others in the classroom. Review the summaries to make sure that all "need to know" information was covered by the summaries. If you are in need of extra incentive to keep the students on track allow the students to use the summary booklet on their next test or quiz. 

QR Codes for the Classroom

Introduction: 

QR codes or Quick Response codes are a great addition to any classroom. The QR code works like a bar code which can be scanned in order to obtain information, a link to a website, or even a video. QR scanners are available for many operating systems including Android as well as the ipad or iphone. Searching for a QR Code Generator or Scanner is made simple by searching "QR Code" on your "Android Market" or "App Store." If you already have a QR Scanner downloaded, scan the code to the left and you will be directed to my classroom website!

Classroom Applications: 

• Word Walls are research based and allow learners to have a daily visual reminder of classroom vocabulary. I struggled as a secondary teacher with placing the definition of the word on my word wall because last year I had to constantly remove and replace the words for assessments. This year I created a classroom word wall using QR Codes. By using a simple template I type in the vocabulary word that the students are focusing on for the week. Then, I create a QR code using the Kaywa QR Code Generator (http://qrcode.kaywa.com/) and upload the picture file to the template. During each one of my three periods of reading the students "discover" the meaning of their new word by scanning the QR codes on the classroom Word Wall and record the meaning. Students draw pictures to represent the meaning of each word to complete the word wall addition.
• Sorting Activities: Since QR codes allow you to embed links, pictures, and definitions, students get the opportunity to watch movies or examples of the concept as well as record the definition. This week the students learned about the differences between similes and metaphors. While traditionally I had printed off slips of paper with examples of similes and metaphors and had the students sort them, this year with the addition of three ipads in my classroom I decided to put an extra spin on the activity. By creating QR codes with links to popular songs and video clips the students sorted the QR codes into similes and metaphors by viewing the clips and deciding if the lyrics had an example of a simile or a metaphor. 
• Resource Links on Classroom Handouts: If students are struggling to understand a concept a QR code link might make the difference. Place a QR code with a link to online notes or resources strategically on the handout. This allows students either at home or on a bus to activities (such as sporting events), to see notes or materials from that day's lesson. The easiest way that I have found to complete this task is to create a QR code link to my classroom website. I can then use the SAME QR code, but change the page to accommodate the lesson of the day.