Archive for Livescribe

Livescribe pencasts on my iPad!

Livescribe recently announced a fantastic new player for their pencasts!   Since none of the Apple portable devices are allowed to run Flash, we haven’t been able to use our iPads, iPods and iPhones to view any of the Livescribe pencasts.    Well, that is not the case any longer!

Here is a link to Livescribe’s article announcing their player and how to get the free player on iTunes.

I downloaded it on my iPad to try it out.  It has a great interface and allows you to download any of the Livescribe pencasts you have made with a Pulse or Echo smartpen, and you can also download any other Livescribe pencasts that are contained on their community site.    Here is a screenshot of the opening menu on my iPad:

Once a pencast is downloaded to your iPad, iPod or iPhone, then you can view it as an animated movie with sound.  This is a screenshot of one of my pencasts that I downloaded, and then played on my iPad.

* I just created a resource page where I will be starting to place my .pencast files if you want to download them and try them on YOUR iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone

Clip to Evernote

 

A Great Way to Answer Homework Questions

A student in one of my Algebra classes emailed me a screenshot of her online homework question:

The question, as you can see, is written horizontally, but she told me in her email that she thinks she would understand it better if she could see it worked out vertically.  So, I pulled out my Livescribe Pulse smartpen (which is never too far away) and quickly worked out the problem for her vertically and sent  her a link to the pencast on the Livescribe community page.

Here is the solution I sent her:


Clip to Evernote

 

My Latest Article for Livescribe: From Traditional to Innovative

I was asked recently to write an article for Livescribe about the Math Foundations workshops  that were created by the team I was a part of this summer at Mesa Community College.    To read about the transformation of Mesa Community College’s Arithmetic course, the article I wrote is posted on the Livescribe Education Blog

The article contains a link to the new Math Foundations website that houses links to all the Livescribe pencasts, Flash animations and workshop handouts created by the team this past summer.   Check it out and let me know what you think!


Clip to Evernote

 

Presenting….my syllabus!

I have been spending the past few weeks trying to think of better ways to get my future teachers to be more engaged in their learning. I have decided to model several ideas after a great friend of mine who writes the amazing Teaching College Math blog, Maria Andersen.

Not only am I going to use hands on manipulatives and technology (like I have been) to teach with, but to help my students organize their thoughts and the material for the course, I am going to have them create a Prezi, a Wiki, a Blog and a Mindmap. One fourth of the class will be doing each of these for every test. Each student will rotate through the 4 types of online tools for every test (but not in the same order as the rest of their group). All students will also create a google website to house links to all of their creations and any notes or other information they want to add, along with their service learning journal. The website will be private and they will only share viewing privileges with me. The other 4 online components will be public and shared with the rest of the class.

I am hoping that not only will they have a better feel for the material in each quarter of the course, but it will be theirs to keep online and reuse the ideas and links when they become teachers. It will be helpful for them to study for each test because all 4 types of models will be created by the class for each test, and they will be able to use one another’s to help them study.

I decided I would model some of the types for the students, by creating my syllabus as a Prezi, and also in a mindmap format. (I will write a new blog entry when I finish my mindmapped syllabus).

I thought it would not be as helpful to show them the syllabus in Blog format (they can see this blog for ideas), and my syllabus is already on a website (just not a free google one). I am still contemplating whether to show an example of my syllabus as a wiki.

Here is the first pass at my syllabus as a Prezi:


Clip to Evernote

 

My Google Website From the ACTEaz Workshop

Today I gave a 3 1/2 hour hands-on workshop on teaching with technology, in Tucson, AZ

Looking at the screenshot of my website for the workshop above, you can see the major topics were:

  • Animationish (FableVision Learning)
  • Google websites
  • Jing (TechSmith)
  • Livescribe Pulse smartpen
  • Workspace (eInstruction – comes with the Mobi)

To see the full workshop, along with all the materials presented, you can visit my google website for the workshop. During the workshop I presented with the Mobi, and had the participants often answer questions using the CPS Pulse clickers (eInstruction).   It was really a lot of fun!

If you view the workshop website, to have it make more sense, scroll down on the HOME page to see the schedule and follow the links IN ORDER that are in the schedule.   When you make a google website, the side links are alphabetical, NOT in the order I presented them in!

The workshop was in a computer lab, so each participant was on a laptop.  My 13 (soon to be 14) year old son was my technical helper during the entire workshop, walking around helping anyone who had questions.  He also taught the part of the workshop on Animationish!   He did a fantastic job and I was very grateful to have him with me!  I hope he can help me during my 8 hour workshop I am giving in October!  🙂

 

My Next Adventure in Teaching

In just a couple weeks I will be down in Tucson, AZ giving a hands-on workshop to teachers and administrators.  They will have full versions of software in a computer lab to play with!

A representative from the AZ Department of Education emailed me and asked me if I would give a workshop this summer on using technology to teach math, and I jumped at the chance!

I, however, did not write up the introduction to my workshop, as you can see below:

I am actually teaching more than the Livescribe Pulse smartpen in my 3 1/2 hours.   I am also going to focus on Animationish (FableVision) and Workspace (eInstruction), along with showing Jing and Google apps.    I hope to have time to share a little about Hyperstudio5 as well!

Here is a link to the conference details:

Arizona Career and Technical Education Conference 2010

Hopefully I will see some of you there!

 

My Activities at ISTE 2010 in Denver

Link to the actual Hyperstudio Stack in HTML5

I had a great time at ISTE!  This is the first time I have ever been to a conference and stayed in the vendor area the entire time!

I worked with several companies while I was there.   Every day I spent some time in the eInstruction booth showing folks how I use the Mobi, CPS Pulse student response clickers, ExamView and Workspace in my own classes.   That was very exciting!  I was so busy that I didn’t get any photos of their booth!

I also presented with Jim Marggraff, CEO and founder of the Livescribe Pulse smartpen at a breakfast on Tuesday morning.   It was amazing to meet the man who invented the Leap Pad and the Livescribe Pulse smartpen!  I presented the next day at their poster session as well.

I spent a lot of time in the FableVision Learning booth as well, with my friends Peter and Paul Reynolds and the FableVision Learning staff!   I finally got to meet Peggy Healy Sterns, who created Stationary Studio and The Graph Club (Tom Snyder Productions).  She is currently working on a new project called fab@school with FableVision and Mackiev Software (and other great folks).  Photos and more information about this project if you click on the photo above!

You can see some photos of my adventure on the link below:  It will take you to my Hyperstudio 5 stack on the web.    If you are using a Mac, you need to use Safari, and on a PC, you need to use Internet Explorer (there is a plug-in for Hyperstudio for Safari and Internet Explorer).  I had fun making it!  Be sure to click on the pictures!  Some will take you to other websites and some open videos!  Pretty neat software created by my great friend Roger Wagner (Mackiev Software sells Hyperstudio 5), who spent some time showing me the ins and outs of Hyperstudio AND a chained Bible from the 1500s!  I wish I had a photo of that

 

Upate on ISTE Breakfast with Livescribe

To see the article directly, go to Livescribe Blog

This is the breakfast I will be speaking at, right after Jim Maggraff, Chairman and CEO of Livescribe Inc!

 

Speaking at ISTE 2010 with Livescribe!

I am excited to be able to present how I use the Livescribe Pulse smartpen twice at ISTE!    On Wednesday, from 11-1 I have been asked to help present their poster session:

My greatest excitement, however, is having the incredible opportunity to co-present with Jim Marggraff, Chairman and CEO – Livescribe Inc. at a breakfast on Tuesday.    I will be presenting on how I use the Livescribe Pulse smartpen to help answer student homework questions and to create online examples for learning new material in my Hybrid Algebra courses.

I am a featured presenter on the Livescribe website.  To see some of my pencasts, go to
My Community Page

 

MyScript for Livescribe: a truly amazing tool!

I have been searching through the Livescribe website looking for some great applications for Administrators, since I will be presenting a demo on how to use the LivesScribe Pulse smartpen to the President’s office at my college on Monday.

I’ve had the MyScript application since I purchased the pen over a year ago, but never really tried it since I use my pen to write out math.  I assumed it would not translate it very well.      I was glad tonite to find out I was wrong!    I took a story problem I had written with my pen and “translated” it into text and it came out really close to the original!    I would assume most people would use the translator to convert their hand written notes (no sound or animation) into typed text, and it would be fantastic for that!   But in taking a math problem and converting it, I realize how useful this conversion tool could be for writing a test!   I could take some of the problems that I have posted, and translate them into text to include on my test covering that material.   That would save a lot of time not having to type out the question.   My brain is now buzzing with ideas on how I can use this amazing tool!

I have included a short video and some screen shots of how I converted a story problem using MyScript.

In the video you will see that I started the process by opening up my Livescribe Desktop.  From there I selected a pencast, and then went up to the menu “File” and then “convert to text”:

I found it easier to show the first steps in a movie.  The original pencast (static now) is on the left, and the new typed translation is on the right hand side below.  You can see that the translator did a pretty good job!

Now I can go in, line by line, and edit any of the text that is incorrect

It is really exciting how many new things I am learning about my LiveScribe Pulse smartpen, now that I am starting to teach others about how to use it!  Isn’t that the way it always works?  🙂

 

Analytics Plugin created by - Powered by Womens Sunglasses and Human Services Degree.