Paper-Based Computing

Faculty have a great deal of control over their lectures, lecture notes, and slides. This article discusses a coming wave of recording devices and other classroom technologies--this time wielded by the students--which will test this control and force serious conversations about how to best help students learn, what it means to own an idea, and what is meant when talking about developing a community of learners on campus. The harbinger of this wave is the Livescribe Pulse smart pen, created by an MIT engineer and initially aimed directly at the college student market. The smart pen points a tiny camera at specially marked paper, captures what is written, and converts the writing to PDF files and plain text in what is being called paper-based computing. The pen comes with microphones that capture audio and software that synchronizes it with the written notes. A student can replay an entire lecture at a later time, either by interacting with the written notes or through a computer. The pen's software also makes it easy to share recorded class sessions with other students at the Livescribe website or through Facebook. (Contains 4 endnotes.)