Pencasts are a very popular feature of Livescribe’s digital pen platform. For teachers, there’s several key benefits that can be immediately realised from creating and sharing Pencasts of lesson content.
1. Put Lesson Content Where It’s Needed
Pencasts allow Teachers to create mobile learning and distribute this content in a variety of ways – including via Facebook, email, embedded into a blog or sent directly to a parent.
Because of their versatility, Livescribe smartpens are being used by teachers in every subject, but math and science teachers have found them particularly useful, due to the step-by-step nature of those subjects, according to Holly De Leon, vice president of sales for its Livescribe’s K-12 division.
“A lot of math and science teachers are using it to be able to ensure students get all the parts (of a lesson),” she says. “If a student got parts one and two, and then was stumped on three and four, they can listen to just the portion they’re stumped on.” (Holly De Leon)
2. Monitor When the Pencast is Viewed
It’s all very well to create content to help the learning experience – but are students viewing the content – using it as part of their own study time? This is particuarly useful where students may be struggling with a specific subject – the teacher can monitor whether they are viewing Pencasts.
3. Gain an Insight into How Students Learn
For subjects like maths and science Pencasts give teachers the opportunity to gain an insight into how students are applying concepts.
Blumberg says that the advantage of Livescribe for students is that they can draw symbols while describing the process they’re going through, an important metacognitive process in learning math. And for teachers, they can see students’ metacognition in play.
“Kids can write down how they’re solving problems with sketching, with formulas, and talk through it at the same time,” she says. “Then the teacher can determine how fluid the child’s understanding is.”
These are three simple ways Pencasts can help teachers, students, and parents. If you have any stories on how you have used Pencasts – feel free to leave a comment – we’d love to hear from you.
