In a previous post    I mentioned how simple the Livescribe pens were to use.  I think I should be very truthful –they are simple to turn on, simple to demonstrate, simple to practice with but when you travel to an elementary school and use them with your Grade 2 buddies they are far more complex!

When my English students and I met for class the day after our visit to Eagle View Elementary we quickly discovered that only 1 out of 4 recorded sessions was successful.  I was disappointed about the failure to record properly but my students were excited  to partner up again for a “do-over.”  We are not sure why three books with writing and dots did not record but  students’ inferences include: making a dot and then pressing record, not pressing record at all, or allowing our little buddies to “take control” of the pen and not checking to ensure that recording was happening.  We decided that we would need to practice retelling the story again with the pen to ensure that we knew how to record successfully.  One of my boys, did not want to re-try using the pen ( “it’s gay and I’m probably gonna be away on that day, anyways”) but was perfectly happy to type out the instructions on a googledoc.   I showed him how to copy an image into his googledoc and he marveled at how ‘legit’ his instructions look with the addition of a digital image.  With the help of our CYC worker my student was able to go to our District Resource Centre later in the day and laminate his instructions!

These instructions will be included in every Livescribe pen, book and envelope set.

We listened to our one successful recorded session and my students were quick to note that  background noises were very audible.  One student stated that he and his group had a hard time  focusing on recording their rendition because they could hear a group in the room talking about a different part of the story when they were recording.  Recording in a private room was suggested as the best option.  Two students created a list of available offices or empty classrooms in the building during this block so that groups could record privately.

As we played back the successful recording I was dismayed to hear myself speaking so much and so loudly.  My student does a great job of being a big buddy but you can barely hear him as he is very quiet.  He is very patient and guides his buddies gently with guided support and instruction.  As a class we discussed how we could get better quality voice and sound during our recorded sessions.  I suggested telling Mrs. Walkus to “can it” which was good for a few cheap laughs.   My students suggested a trial recording session with their buddies first– a “sound check” prior to recording.

Another factor that contributed to poor sound quality was that when a student drew with the pen we could hear the scratching of the pen during the recording.  This was not so noticeable when a child spoke clearly while drawing but it was very noisy if they colored-in an area for an extended amount of time. My students felt that telling their buddies to use the pen to outline only would alleviate that problem.

This Livescribe adventure has been a learning journey for myself and my students.  We have worked together on problem solving how to make the next session with our buddies successful.  I have learned that it is not just about a “good idea” it is also about the execution of the idea.  We may  always get things right the first time but we can figure out how to get there next time.   The Livescribe pens and Grade 10s experience has taught me to model that learning (with/about technology) is a process–it can be disappointing, frustrating but also very exciting and rewarding.

The next learning step for me will be downloading the pen’s data to my computer and posting a pencast.