Sunday, September 8, 2013

LiveScribe Pens and Contextualized Math

By Laura Van Deusen

As an adjunct developmental math instructor, I was approached to help contextualize developmental math with the Integrated Energy program in an online format.  This request was to help satisfy part of the TAA Grant.  Now, I’m not the most tech savvy person, but I felt comfortable with Canvas and figured some technology out there would be easy to use to video math problems being solved and then uploaded into Canvas.  (Videos, that is, where I didn’t have to stand in front of a camera.)  After testing an iPad application and the LiveScribe pen, I decided the best choice would be the LiveScribe pen.

Being a visual learner, I know I learn best (esp. with technology) by being shown how to use the item, and then I’ll get it down.  So I have to say my biggest complaint about the LiveScribe is that I found their online technical support (including video support) to be weak.   I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out the best way to use the pen, store and upload the information and then be able to upload it into Canvas.  And even there I just scratched the surface.   However, once I got the basics, I started flying through the videos.  In the video you can hear my voice, and when I start writing, the writing becomes highlighted on the page.  Students can see my “write” as I talk.  They can rewind, fast forward or pause the video as they take the information in.  
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Now that I’ve completed these videos for the project, I’ve realized that I could easily make sample videos to put on Canvas for my developmental math classes.  These videos could highlight problems already covered in class, so that students could remind themselves of the process used to solve the problem.  I haven’t done it yet because I handed the pen on to our math faculty so she could test it out for that same reason.   It is a great tool that could have many great uses in a class.  

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