Live+Scribe+Pens+-+Mother+Teresa+-+January+2012

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** 2. Students have acquired new technology skills that they had not had previously: **
Through use of the LiveScribe pens my students have acquired a variety of new technology skills and 21st Century skills. Because they used the pens in small groups or independently to explain concepts in Social Studies, specifically Canadian history, they were explosed to effective communication skills such a __**collaboration, interpersonal skills and interactive communication**__. Working independently with the pens also focused the students on __**self-directed learning, adaptability and creative thinking**__ as they created their pen casts. Creation of pencasts also involved a great deal of __**prioritizing, planning and managing**__ - in all honesty, my students took way more ownership of the pencasts then I had anticipated and the creation of their pencasts took a lot longer than I had anticipated due to their strong desire to create a __**high-quality product**__. My students also developed a whole new world of __**technological literacy**__ as the pens were a technology they had never worked with or even seen before.

Throughout the project, my students identified the guidelines of __**safe and responsible technology**__ use. We did not upload our pencasts to a public domain, yet my students were aware of the fact that others would see their pencasts within their classroom and treated the project professionally. The students definitely exhibited a __**positive attitude**__ towards the new technology that the pens had to offer. At times, there was frustration (especially in the initial phases) if they did not know exactly what to do to troubleshoot a 'pen problem', but overall the students received the pens very well and were excited to use them on a regular basis. They also very much enjoyed sharing their new technology with passers-by when working in the hallway or gathering area and enjoyed answering questions about the pens and how they worked (__**leadership in digital citizenship**__).

** 4. How has your teaching changed? What practices will you continue? **
The pen definitely offers a nice opportunity and tool for __**backwards design teaching**__. You can upload a pencast of a concept for students to view for homework the night before you tackle that concept in class. I wish I would have done more with backwards design during the duration of this cycle because I am seeing the benefit of it more and more. One difficulty for me was getting students to buy in to backwards design, which definitely hindered use of this teaching method. During this project, I noticed the __**students take more ownership in their learning**__ through the fact that they would be __**responsible for teaching/sharing information**__ with their classmates based on their pencasts. Because they were accountable for this sharing, they took more pride in their work and wanted to make sure they had created a solid, professional product (their pencasts). I was stunned to hear some of the clarification and probing questions they were asking me about the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Not all of the information they gathered made it into their pencasts, but it definitely showed me that their level of interest in the topic had increased dramatically over other years I have taught the same subject matter. I think __**giving the students more license to direct their own learning and giving them the opportunity to teach one another really increased their interest overall**__.

** 5. What are some best practices? **
**1)** Make sure you are comfortable and confident with the pen and its applications before bringing it to your students. Because it is a new technology to them, there may be issues when first presenting it and it is very beneficial to know your way around the pen and how to troubleshoot if things don't go according to your plan. **2)** Use the pen to create pencasts as a unique way of presenting information to students both in class and through the use of backwards design. Pencasts can also be of assistance when you have a substitute teacher in - you can explain the concept through your pencast and leave it for your sub to play for the class. **3)** Allow students to create pencasts to teach each other concepts - this is working on higher level thinking in terms of Bloom's Taxonomy (Synthesizing and Creating) **4)** Interactive note-taking that could be played back to students for future reference. (I think this practice has great potential. We did not use it as much as I would have hoped as we did not have a pen for each student, but I feel this would be greatly beneficial for all students and specifically students with special needs - assistive technology.) **5)** Allow students to work both independently and collaboratively with the pens. Creating a pencast can be difficult for just one student (depending on the concept) as they are expected to talk and write/draw at the same time. In Social Studies, this was the case. However, I also think it is important to allow students to have individual pen time so they can become fluent with the technology, develop the necessary skills to use the pen effectively and to foster self-directed learning. **6)** Have students plan their pencasts before creating them. I had my students plan their pencasts like they were planning a skit/presentation. This was one reason our pencast creation took so much longer than I had anticipated, which limited how much we used the pen for other purposes. Planning took a lot of time, but my students created professional, high-quality pencasts due to their thorough planning and attention to detail. **7)** Assign the same pen to the same students each time. This makes management of pens easy and ensures that if an issue arrises, the teacher know which student(s) to address.

** 6. What I have learned and what were some of the challenges: **
**1)** I have learned to know your equipment well - Uploading pencasts has been a bit of challenge at times - software issues. **3)** Finding quiet spaces for students to complete the recording of pencasts was also a challenge. **4)** Some assignments/concepts are not for the pens. I think some subject areas such a math, might be better suited for teaching with pencasts. In my class we developed the terms of 'dynamic' and 'static' pencasts - dynamic being that the pen would appear on the PDF as the pencast progressed. Static pencasts were ones where they students had done all of the drawings and writing in their notebooks before recording. In this case, students created 'buttons' on the paper and recorded their information in steps. **5)** Not having a pen for each student was a limiting with what you could do - especially for interactive note-taking.
 * 2) ** Just as with any aspect of teaching, effective planning is key - especially because there are not enough pens for each student. When doing collaborative projects, the group expectations and assignment criteria have to be clearly laid out before sending students to work.

This project has been a great opportunity to further develop my strategies for using technology in the classroom. There are so many avenues and ways to implement technology use that at times it becomes overwhelming. It is meaningful to have the ability to share with other professionals and learn from one another in terms of __**best practices, strategies and options for implementation**__ whether the technology piece be a LiveScribe Pen, a Netbook or a Wikispace. __**Support in implementing technology successfully is key**__. I know that many teachers shy away from using a variety of technology in their instruction largely because of the unknown. It is nice to have the opportunity to try new technologies and experience the __**support and collaboration from colleagues**__ who share the desire to learn more about such technologies and how they can improve student success and achievement.

Many of these have been mentioned throughout, but I will quickly touch on them again: **1)** Give students time to play around with pens before giving them an assignment you will assess. It is important for students to have familiarity with the technology they will be using to increase comfort and confidence. Have the students begin working with the pens right away! **2)** Have students plan pencasts before creating them and give students clear criteria for such pencasts. **3)** Assign certain students to each pen/notebook to help with management. **4)** Refer the Livescribe's website for support and ideas and the wiki for how previous users used the technology. **5)** Test all software ahead of time - especially when attempting to upload pencasts

===** 9. What is your legacy piece? How have you left a digital footprint to let other know about your important work with kids? (Video, digital storytelling, celebrations with parents, inviting senior administration, manual, collaborative place for yourself and your students) **===

Sharing pens with fellow staff members. Photos and videos of students using the pens. A pencast about how to create a pencast?

Only the LiveScribe desktop and the pencasts to show to students as samples of the work they would be completing.