One of the key points we stress to smartpen users time and time again is to use the Livescribe pen effectively – and in many ways this may mean you need to rethink how you capture notes or minutes during meetings. With the Livescribe pen, you’ve got technology in your hand that allows you to worry less about writing fast or missing key points, because the pen is capturing the spoken word – it’s doing the heavy lifting for you.

This comment from a Victorian user – Shakti Love on our Facebook page sums this up nicely

The key point that Shakti is making here is that she uses her pen to remove the pressure on her to hear, comprehend, and then write down key points from business discussions.

If you need to take lots of notes in meetings, if accurate transcriptions and meeting records are critical – then it might be time to trade in your dumb pen for a smartpen

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.

I’ve been aware of Evernote for some time – particularly when it was included in the launch pack of connectors for Livescribe Connect.

Given I travel a lot I was frustrated at the note taking app on my iPhone so I finally bit the bullet and registered for the free subscription upgrade.

I have to say – I’m very happy I did. Evernote is a great application and it’s been a pleasure using it. Some of the features I like include:

• The iPhone app is exactly what I was looking for – now my notes are synced between my phone and Mac
• I can send hand written notes from my Livescribe notebook directly to Evernote. This allows me to include Pencasts in folders with other content.
• I can capture images, video, random thoughts and scraps of blog posts anywhere I want to and then organise them via Evernote.

If you haven’t tried Evernote – I’d recommend giving it a go. The offer of 12 months of Premium finishes 31 January 2012.

“There might be a scrap of loose paper, nothing more than that”

In this age of digital devices has the timeless act of taking notes fallen this low?

Clearly there is a role here for simple devices like our Livescribe smartpen. Some of the ways the smartpen will help include:

1. A user can quickly capture detailed notes and audio, records of conversations – all via a device that requires no more technical skill than being able to push an ‘on’ button, and use a pen
2. Notes that can be immediately shared, annotated, or transformed depending on the needs of the user or specific end user

It’s worth noting that given the sensitive nature of what the ASX and ASIC is dealing with, we’ve also got the option of providing smartpen’s that can work within a totally closed, controlled environment for both entities. This is an important new development that would allow either or both parties to use the Livescribe smartpen within their own private cloud environment.

“records of the advisors’ conversations with the listed companies, its an unintelligible mess…”

Given the work we’ve done with the legal community over the past three years – from suburban law firms, barristers, to many of our State-based Law Society’s – I think it’s fair to expect a key Federal agency would be able to capture, share, and utilise notes to a higher standard – maybe we just need someone from either the ASX or ASIC to put their hand up and ask for more information – heck, we’d even give them a pen to trial…

Since being introduced to the Livescribe smartpen range to Australia over 3 years ago, teachers in both Australia and New Zealand have been strong ambassadors – enthusiastically using the product and promoting its role within the education environment.

In recognition of this, Livescribe and Smartpen are pleased to announce a very special offer for teachers across Australia and New Zealand. We have on offer the Livescribe 2GB Pulse smartpen for $50. This is a ‘while stocks last offer’

Teach It Once – Helping Students Learn Anytime, Anywhere

The Pulse smartpen is already used in hundreds of primary schools, high schools, TAFE’s and Universities around Australia and New Zealand. The Pulse smartpen is helping teachers deliver a rich, anytime, anywhere learning experience for students.

Here’s an example:

Do You Qualify?

This special is open for a limited time and is based on stock availability. You qualify if:

• You’re teaching full time or part time within a primary school, high school, TAFE, or University in Australia or New Zealand.
• As a school you can purchase up to 25 pens for your school.
• If you require more than 25 pens for a school please contact Mark Parker to discuss your requirements (reach him here – mparker@smartpen.com.au)

How to Order

You can find details about the product here on our smartpen site. (Note that delivery is not included in the product cost). Please note, Smartpen ANZ accepts school issued purchase orders. Simply raise an order and fax to +61 (7) 3102 6274 or email to sales@smartpen.com.au

Questions?

Feel free to drop a comment below, or use one of these contact methods:

• Phone – (1300) 305 514 or +61 (7) 3117 2584
• Email – sales@smartpen.com.au
• Facebook – our Livescribe superstore
• We tweet here on Twitter
• Follow our company on LinkedIn
• Google+ is our latest hangout

We hope you take advantage of this special offer!

Stock Update – 5 December 2011

Please note, any orders placed on or after 5 December 2011 will be shipped to customers in mid-January. Orders placed before this date will be shipped to customers starting 5 December.

If you own a Pulse Smartpen in either Australia or New Zealand then this will be of interest to you.

We’ve now extended the offer till March 31 2012 – simply spend $25 or more in our online store, you’ll be eligible for a free Pulse smartpen accessory. We’ve got the following Pulse accessories:

Pulse Pro Charging Cradle

This is perfect for your desktop at home or in the office and gives you a convenient extra charger for your Pulse smartpen.

Pulse Premium Leather Case

If you’d like a stylish black leather carry case for your Pulse smartpen then this is perfect. It includes a flip top and a clip.

MyScript for Livescribe

Technically this isn’t a Pulse accessory but we are offering it as a free option. This is a fully licensed version of MyScript – allowing you to convert hand written notes into editable text. This option has a retail value of $29.95

How to Redeem

To take advantage of this offer:

• Spend at least $25 online with Smartpen.com.au (excluding delivery charges)
• When you checkout, includes in the order notes which accessory you would like and we’ll add it to the order

It’s that simple. This offer is available whilst stocks last.

We’ve taken the hugely popular 2GB Echo smartpen and added two extra items to this product for a short period to make this smartpen the best value for money for customers. From the 26th November, the 2GB Echo starter pack includes the following extras:

• MyScript for Livescribe – a fully licensed version of MyScript valued at $34.95
• Three-Subject Notebook – the three-subject notebooks are the best value large notebook product in the Livescribe range. Valued at $9.95 this 300-page notebook will keep you in paper for a long time.

This is an additional $44.90 of value is included for the standard price of $149 (inc GST). Standard delivery fees apply.

The Echo 2GB smartpen special offer is detailed here. You’ll note that the standard 2GB Echo is still available and will be supplied as the special offer. The 2GB Echo + MyScript will be unavailable whilst we have this special offer available.

This is an exclusive offer by Smartpen and will be available till the end of the year.

I work as a public affairs specialist for the military, a demanding position where deadlines are critical. Through this job, I have the chance to tell soldiers’ stories to the public and it’s really something I love. My Livescribe smartpen, Excalibur cuts my writing time in half. You heard me right, the smartpen cuts my time in half! Priceless.

Angela Ali Shah, Army Reserves

The ability to capture audio and notes – yet be more involved in a conversation is a real benefit of using the Livescribe pen – we hear this feedback from similar users here in Australia and New Zealand quite regularly.

If you need to take notes, conduct interviews, or be involved in conversations then the Livescribe smartpen can really help you.

One idea we are currently considering is providing smartpen’s to some students around the region who are studying journalism and communications. Let me know if you’d like more information.

As a final point we’re launching a new 2GB Echo Smartpen special which will run between now and Dec 31, 2011. For the standard price of $149 we’re going to include MyScript AND a 3-subject notebook for free. This is an additional $40 of value included at no extra cost. Simply purchase the standard 2GB Echo to take advantage of this offer.

Given the level of interest around this, I’d like to share this video from our US Livescribe K-12 team. In the video, a student, parent, and teachers are interviewed about how the student (who suffers from dyslexia) is using the smartpen in her learning environment.

We’d love to hear your stories as well. Feel free to start or join the discussion below

With this in mind we’ve launched a special offer for schools, TAFE’s, and universities around Australia and New Zealand. With the help of Livescribe we’ve packaged up the 2GB Echo smartpen with a 3-subject notebook into a School Awards bundle for schools to consider as graduation or awards for academic excellence.

What’s in the School Awards Package?

We’ve focused on a package that is simple, low cost, and will get a student up and running as they head into the workforce or further studies:

• 2GB Echo smartpen – RRP $149
• 3-subject notebook (single notebook) – RRP $9.95

We’re offering this bundle for $129.95 (inc GST) a 20% saving on the RRP.

As an additional bonus, schools or school associations who purchase 5 or more pen packages will receive a fully licensed copy of MyScript for Livescribe – an additional $29.95 of value – increasing your saving to 40% per package.

This offer is available till November 30 2011 (please be sure to read the eligibility details on our site).

If you’ve got any questions, feel free to contact us via the blog, Facebook, Twitter, or email.

Thanks to the schools and users in Perth, Brisbane, and Melbourne for your feedback re this product idea